Maradona | Page 3 | Vital Football

Maradona

Great player, flawed character
As are most genius players. Sad but true - we have to just remember and admire their pure talent. Didn’t like him as a person but as a player he was brilliant (apart from one obvious moment of course 🤬). RIP Maradonna
 
Very few players dont cheat. Maradona only singled out because of the occasion and opposition. Clearly a flawed character who lived a very unusual life, but ive never understood the vitriol.
 
Imagine the outcry if Harry Kane punches one in to win the next World Cup. It would be the same reaction as when Michael Owen blatantly dived to win penalties in the 1998 and 2002 world cups ironically both against Argentina. 2 of the most outrageous dives you could see but laughed off by English commentators as poetic justice.
No question Maradonna was a brilliant outstanding footballer up there with Pele, Cruyff and George Best and the hand of god moment doesn’t sour his memory for me.
 
No question Maradonna was a brilliant outstanding footballer up there with Pele, Cruyff and George Best and the hand of god moment doesn’t sour his memory for me.
Perversely perhaps, but the hand of god moment adds to who WE are and contributes to the mythology.
 
The GOAT 🇦🇷

I too despised him that late evening 34 years ago, but after the 2nd moments later, appreciated that he was something extra special. Only Messi comes close for me ... RIP
 
The GOAT 🇦🇷

I too despised him that late evening 34 years ago, but after the 2nd moments later, appreciated that he was something extra special. Only Messi comes close for me ... RIP

I despised him in 86 and ever since. It wasn’t just the handball, although that went a long way. It his attempts to justify the handball and subsequently his general demeanour. There are many other instances too....for example at the last World Cup when Argentina scored a late winner to beat Nigeria, the cameras panned onto Maradonna in the crowd celebrating and he promptly gave ’The finger’.
There is no doubt the guy was an incredible player, his second goal against England in 86 was astonishing. However, unlike many other greats he showed a total lack of humility and decency and seemed to want to be unliked outside his homeland. With me he succeeded.
 
I despised him in 86 and ever since. It wasn’t just the handball, although that went a long way. It his attempts to justify the handball and subsequently his general demeanour. There are many other instances too....for example at the last World Cup when Argentina scored a late winner to beat Nigeria, the cameras panned onto Maradonna in the crowd celebrating and he promptly gave ’The finger’.
There is no doubt the guy was an incredible player, his second goal against England in 86 was astonishing. However, unlike many other greats he showed a total lack of humility and decency and seemed to want to be unliked outside his homeland. With me he succeeded.

Unliked outside his homeland? Tell that to Naples in a state of mourning, or the Scots!

If he was yours I imagine he was pretty much the best thing ever.
 
He was a great footballer that is why he didn't need to cheat. if you separate the man from the football he was a great footballer - not sure about him though.

To be honest a lot of the most gifted footballers are train wrecks - Best, Gazza, Maradona. Perhaps there is something about being on the world stage one minute and not the next - could it be similar to the come down rock stars have? Musicians can reinvent themselves and keep touring - what can footballers do once they retire?

Even the players that are not that gifted are liabilities - I heard of one player who owned money to his club as they paid off debts to stopped him from coming to harm. Didn't we even have a defender (not naming names) who seem ok but owed thousands in gambling debts.

Sweeping generalisation but I get the impression that the average footballer is a bit dim and because they have lots of money they are probably quite vulnerable/susceptible to bad influences and will fall into the bad habits.
 
The point about Cruyff is probably a little dubious as well - I'm not sure he was a fantastic bloke from everything I've read. Not doing loads of cocaine or whatever, but comes across as a bully in some of the teams he played for - can view that as not tolerant of second best at points but also as pretty mean spirited and strong headed. He kicked off as I recall when the squad voted Keizer to be captain ahead of him at Ajax too - not sure he was always universally liked!
 
Unliked outside his homeland? Tell that to Naples in a state of mourning, or the Scots!

If he was yours I imagine he was pretty much the best thing ever.

Good point re Naples....re The Scots, well, that incident is as as close as they have come to glory, hence they still celebrate it.
 
Good point re Naples....re The Scots, well, that incident is as as close as they have come to glory, hence they still celebrate it.
They did recently beat a country younger than every one of their squad members 😆
 
Unliked outside his homeland? Tell that to Naples in a state of mourning, or the Scots!

If he was yours I imagine he was pretty much the best thing ever.

Good old English exceptionalism, never goes away does it? Reminds me of the General Melchett gag about the English and German spies.
 
Very few players dont cheat. Maradona only singled out because of the occasion and opposition. Clearly a flawed character who lived a very unusual life, but ive never understood the vitriol.
The point is that Maradona‘s handball was the turning point. There is far more cheating now than there was pre 1986 and the change started with Maradona. Not only did he get away with it but the failure by the media to condemn him for it and to instead praise him to the skies for his second goal sent all the wrong messages. That was when the rot set in.
 
The point is that Maradona‘s handball was the turning point. There is far more cheating now than there was pre 1986 and the change started with Maradona. Not only did he get away with it but the failure by the media to condemn him for it and to instead praise him to the skies for his second goal sent all the wrong messages. That was when the rot set in.

It's a nice narrative, but I don't believe it for a moment.

See "Dirty Leeds" in the 70s, for example. Football cheating far proceded Maradona in this country alone.

Or "The battle of Santiago". That was 1962. Some right dirty cheating bastards in that.
 
It's a nice narrative, but I don't believe it for a moment.

See "Dirty Leeds" in the 70s, for example. Football cheating far proceded Maradona in this country alone.

Or "The battle of Santiago". That was 1962. Some right dirty cheating bastards in that.
I entirely agree that there were villains around before 1986. However they were largely held in contempt by all but their own. Maradona was glorified for it and that’s when cheating was normalised and became acceptable for many
 
The point is that Maradona‘s handball was the turning point. There is far more cheating now than there was pre 1986 and the change started with Maradona. Not only did he get away with it but the failure by the media to condemn him for it and to instead praise him to the skies for his second goal sent all the wrong messages. That was when the rot set in.

The "change" came well before Maradona. In the old days the "cruncher" tackles to put players out of a game or (let him know he's in a game.) Dennis Law liked a dive or 2. Franny Lee even moreso, Bargin into the goalkeeper to score goals by pushing him over the line. Ridiculous to say it started with Maradona. There has always been cheating in competitive sports and there has always been players (and fans) saying "part of the game" or defending their actions.

If anything there was as much or even more cheating back when you could get away with leg crunchers and barges. Highlighted more these days but then it is up to the authorities (and technology) to deal with it and stop it from happening.

Even now people argue about VAR. They want offside goals to stand. They want penalties ruled out or ruled in. Whether you agree with the actual rules here these people are arguing that they want to ignore the rules and thus "cheat."

"The change" came when any sport has rules and thus when football became "Association football" making rules as to how the game should be played then people started to cheat. You can't cheat if there are no rules. Once there are then everybody cheats to some degree.

Strange how his goal is held up as so bad yet nobody remembers the multitude of goals sopped on the line by a hand but not noticed by a Ref or Lino.

We as fans (as a collective, not everybody) invariably try and influence decisions, more often than not when it isn't a handball but lets shout it in unison anyway. When it shouldn't be a red but let's chant "OFF, OFF, OFF" for the umpteenth time in a game and quite often get it wrong when we see later on the replay that the referee actually did know what he was doing.
 
It's a nice narrative, but I don't believe it for a moment.

See "Dirty Leeds" in the 70s, for example. Football cheating far proceded Maradona in this country alone.

Or "The battle of Santiago". That was 1962. Some right dirty cheating bastards in that.

Football cheating was going on well before Maradona . As Notty mentioned , the "Battle of Santiago" lives in the memory
. Italy v Chile . Two sendings off , and police called onto the pitch to stop the fighting . Incidentally the ref for that match was English

Then 1966 , the treatment Pele got in this country , especially from the Bulgarians , and then by Portugal, was horrendous . Today half the Bulgarians would have been sent off . Nah long before Maradona
 
The point is that Maradona‘s handball was the turning point. There is far more cheating now than there was pre 1986 and the change started with Maradona. Not only did he get away with it but the failure by the media to condemn him for it and to instead praise him to the skies for his second goal sent all the wrong messages. That was when the rot set in.

Sorry... but what nonsense.