When reading the article, I thought it was a well-written, nuanced, breath of fresh air about someone as famous and complicated as Diego Maradona. Beginning in our youth and continuing throughout our lives, we hold up our favorite athletes as heroes, whether it be on the local to national level, and heroes who can do no wrong. Nowhere is the deification of man of such prominence than in soccer with the particular focus on how Argentines nickname Diego Maradona as “God”. We often forget that these athletes, especially those with fairy-tale like stories, embedded in the national mythos of Argentinian politics and culture, are simply men just like the rest of us, albeit with extraordinary talent and prestige.
I found it interesting how sports define how we view people. For example, Jackie Smith caught 480 receptions in his Pro Football Hall-of-Fame career, made 40 touchdowns, yet when people bring up his name, he is most remembered for the pass he dropped at the endzone of Super Bowl XIII which ended in his team’s loss. Diego Maradona in this case, is known only for football within Argentinian culture. Growing up in the slums, he had natural talent but also had to work for hours upon hours to advance through the soccer world of Argentina to advance to the national team. Once he was there, his story almost seemed mythical, as occurrences such as the “Hand of God”, embody the national myth that God was on Argentina’s side against England after their devastating loss to the English during the Falklands War. Diego Maradona won the World Cup for Argentina in 1986 and was a feat not repeated until the 2022 World Cup with Lionel Messi at the helm.
The article then goes into details about Diego Maradona’s skeletons in the closet, beginning with his years long friendship with Cyterszpiler, which began in both their respective boyhoods. Cyterszpiler played a pivotal role in helping Maradona get a good amount of money from the soccer teams as well as negotiating his contracts and pitching him to others. However, Maradona abruptly fired Cyterszpiler without telling him. Maradona has also lost in court and been forced to admit to having fathered multiple children out of wedlock, with still many more presumed to be unknown. Maradona was also famous for his addiction to cocaine and his lavish lifestyle with a marble home and nice cars.
However, the side of Maradona that will be immortalized long after his death will be his achievements in soccer. Diego Maradona represents the hopes of a nation repeatedly in crisis as someone who came from nothing, never left Argentina unlike Messi, and fought for their World Cup victory. To Argentines, Diego Maradona is a part of them and exemplifies the hopes and dreams of their young nation.
