Football deity played on the global pitch non-stop, a wild life of dizzying highs and demonic lows forever in the public eye
By Pepe Escobar with permission and cross-posted with Asia Times
His life was a running planetary pop opera for the ages. From Somalia to Bangladesh, everyone is familiar with the basic contours of his story – the pibe from Villa Fiorito, a poor suburb of Buenos Aires (“I am a slum dweller”), who elevated football to the status of pure art.
Being the king of the pitch is one thing. Playing on the global pitch non-stop is a completely different ball game. Multitudes instinctively seized what he was all about – like he was always emitting a magic buzz in a higher frequency, beyond the Empire of the Senses.
Italians, who know a thing or two about aesthetic genius, would compare him to Caravaggio: a wild, human – all too human – pagan deity dwelling in light and shades, hitting all time lows over and over as virtually his whole life played out in public: the dizzying ballet of all inner demons exploding, family scandals, divorces, rivers of alcohol, doping, evading the income tax enforcers, Himalayas of Colombian marching powder, countless intimations of death amid perpetual joy.
He personified the non-stop crossover of Olympian Heights with The Harder They Fall: a walking – dribbling – fest of wild contradictions, beyond good and evil. To borrow, laterally, from T.S. Eliot, he was like a river, “a strong brown god – sullen, untamed and intractable.”
The late, great Eduardo Galeano did picture him as a pagan deity, just like one of us: “arrogant, womanizer, weak…. We’re all like that!” El Pibe was the ultimate dirty god – “a sinner, irresponsible, presumptuous, a drunkard.” He could “never return to the anonymous multitude where he came from.”
He may have mesmerized the world with the Argentina celeste jersey, but his masterpiece, arguably, was performed in real time at Napoli FC – the quintessential Italian working class club. Instinctively, once again, he aligned with the underdogs, the despised, the beggars’ banquet, and like a natural-born David he slew the northern Goliaths – Juventus, Milan, Inter.
He never ceased to see himself as a kid from the barrio. And that forged his politics – his instinct always pointing towards justice. He was always on the progressive side of history – a tattoo of Che on his right arm, a tattoo of Fidel on his left leg.
El Comandante Fidel was like a surrogate father. (Another intimation from the heavens: They died on the same date four years apart.) He embraced Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales and Lula. And he considered himself “a Palestinian.” Anti-empire – all the way.
By poetic justice, the Hand of God had to be intertwined, in the same match, with the most spectacular goal in history. “What planet are you from?” cried the legendary Uruguayan-born narrator at an Argentina radio station. The dirty god himself later acknowledged those were a one-two counterpunch against the Brits for the Falklands/Malvinas.
In “10.6 Seconds,” set on that fateful June 22, 1986 in the Aztec Stadium in Mexico, Argentine writer Hernan Casciari engaged in no less than an astonishing update of “El Aleph,” by that Buddha in a grey suit Jorge Luis Borges. That sets the legend in stone – echoing in eternity:
“The player knew he made forty four steps and twelve ball touches, all with his left foot. He knows the play will last 10.6 seconds. Then, he thinks it’s about time to tell the whole world who he is, who he was and who he’ll be till the end of time.”
Epic and transcendental in every way, Pepe!
Metaphorically, spiritually ……..sportingly, jounalisticly …..politicly….. and Ironically, “San” Diego …..Marandona
…..belongs to the Global South.
Y Las Malvinas Son Argentinas!
Gol!…….. GOL!……. GOLAZOOOOOOO!
Hi,and thanks, Pepe, for your very nice, quite poetic article about Diego Maradona.
I loved Diego as a soccer player, and also share his admiration for Che.
Long ago I spent some time in Bolivia where Diego’s idol Che got killed as you surely know…
and I went to a conference of María del Carmen Garcés in Lap Paz, who presented her new book ‘La Guerilla Del Che en Bolivia’, which gives a pretty good detailed description of the events preceding Che’s capture, and how it was followed up in the Bolivian press as well as other Latino sources from that the Andes region.
I’ve seen the extreme poverty of the people living there in the barrios of La Paz ( I don’t remember their own word for the popular suburbs of La Paz and El ALto) but remember vividly being confronted with the pack of perros vagabundos on my daily morning walk, which wouldn’ t let me pass the narrow streets when fighting each morning with the gente sin hogar for a peace out of the cubos de basura.
Life is very hard there for the poor out there. You can’t imagine it !
That period in my life is a precious one, and it stays with me for ever.
Maradona has never been a soccer player .He played football …Foot…..Ball ….Thank you .
AAMOF Maradona played fútbol, and Czerny played… the piano. Both very well.
Even better…Thank you Wilfried :)
Did you ever visit the families of those many people who Che tortured to death immediately after the revolution?
a revolution is not a promenade , mr or mrs Sue.
He did nt torture anyone, he sighed shooting death penalties for a few of Batista’s worst henchmen.
Because the Batista dictatorship was bloody enough to make the cuban soil safe, very safe for americans to Visit and enjoy the upperuppers casino…
But look at one thing now ,mr or mrs whatever sue: Despite all blockade and US criminal assaults against the neighbors, Cuba is without question and the by far the best health system in the world.
And WHAT IF the USofA permitted american citizens go to Cuba in a half an hour flight to get treatment and medicine for their illnesses?? And for a cost of 1/20 of the domestic one…
Yes,it is practically forbidden… Because otherwise they would be a million a year health tourists… IMAGINE what a doom catastrophe for the big Pharmas.
SAnd last not least, any killings made by the Che WERE NOT a tiny fraction of those the US commited for decades in the vicinity medieval jail, called Guantanamo.
Next time, sue, you just begin your historical and political literacy courses, please.
No, Sue, I have not met any family members like that, and did not intend to hurt your nor anyone’s feelings.
I respect your view on Che, but have a hard time to believe what you ‘re writing about him.
Anyway, I’ve seen the daily torture of kids and homeless people, living in the street in La Paz, Bolivia, desperately trying to survive at an altitude between 3.600 and 4.100 meters, and at some point literally laying death in the street in the morning.
Pepe—a tome in a few hundred words, so well-crafted.
A perfect roadmap to a compelling life story.
You always have the “quotes”, the sources, the precise phrasing.
Malvinas son Argentinas but Zico was way better than Maradona.
Great player. I’ve watched several games from Napoli in the 80s. The team with Careca and Alemão was top but never got supremacy in the field.
That’s the reason I prefer other players like Zico and Cruyff. Team players that made everyone around to play better.
Well, ok, Zico and Cruyff team players? Only pitty that their teams never won world cup. But individualist Maradona won, isn’t it odd?
There is no one above Maradona in modern football – no one!
Oh Yeah, there is no one at Zico or Maradona lv today. Not even Messi…
About Maradona,…he was spectacular during one WC and that had more weight because there was a game with England like 6 months after the end of the war between those 2 countries. Maradona was spectacular but won with a goal scored with his hand.
Four years later, his team won a game against Brazil and now we know, because they admitted laughing, that they drugged Brazilian players with sleeping pills in the water given to Br players in the field.
I cant stand this kind of behave that was the rule in Argentinian football.
Zico(playing in a team with 3 attackers in front of him) scored almost 800 goals in his career and Maradona something like 390. And zico was famous for the passes to other people score goals.
And one more thing that differentiate both is the fact that Zico was marked by an individual player off tactic just to shadow him. They do not do this kind of thing today. That ended in the mid 80s…
Im sorry but Maradona was great during 1 month and thats all. Great player, a legend and one of the best of the history for what he made in 1 WC and the overall quality of his game.
Just a fy for you here…
https://youtu.be/0mzx9W019wM
Zico I think you mix apples with oranges, This beautiful article from Pepe was about the human side of Maradona not about his skills as a player which made him to be recognized by many as the greatest ever.
agree with you Oscar. He was soccer genius and a free man because he always said what he felt was right to say guided only with his human instinct and his sense of justice, did not care about consequences or damage to himself. and his word reached a good part of planet. Zico was great but just a soccer player, Maradona was an artist
It is a great pity that a man of such talent and passion became wedded to cocaine whilst still a player. This drug produces enormous performance enhancement, and unfortunately, I feel that it has sullied his legacy. Yes – one can argue that he had reasons – coming from his background of terrible poverty and injustices; however, it still pollutes his performances, for we will never know, especially in his legendary goal where he got past nearly the whole team – how much of that performance was the real spirit and how much was cocaine? It also almost certainly hastened his early death. A great fighter and a great spirit, and a true victim of this inequitable world.
I’m no angel, I my steal your diamonds but I will give you back some gold, I’m no angel. Hats off to a legend. The peoples hero.
I never cared much about football but i do remember him playing and watching with my dad.
Maradona was so great and so tragic. Love him or hate him, his performances on the pitch will be forever legendary. He created pure excitement no other player since has accomplished. Everybody, and I mean everybody, players, coaches, fans, knew he could explode at any second and turn a dull game into a lifetime memory. In his prime, he was unstoppable. The only other player of this standard is Pele. It’s pointless to argue which is greater, for the level of the game increases over time. But both had talents that far surpassed their peers, and both created excitement the entire 90 minutes. And, both did not need other players to support them. Both came from poverty. But Pele did not succumb to the temptations thrust before him, and Pele became a true role model and hero for many generations of aspiring kids. For this reason, Pele is the greater. Regardless of my bias, Maradona was unique and I doubt we will see his like again.
Don’t put them on pedestals please, they were all human, each with their own faults…………..great football players on the pitch, yes, but just like you and I off it. Also, temptations come in many forms not all associated with drugs and alcohol…………as we see with Pele…………….just another human.
As a child of footie, my on field top three favs, Pele, Best, Maradona……..and I’ll throw in that Spanish guy Ronaldo………all players who could will a win.
Thanks Pepe for the tribute……..Maradona was truely one of the best who never forgot where he came from and stood by his convictions.
Cheers, M
My first soccer balls were made from pig bladders inside an old sock. As a child I followed Puskas and Bobbek ( a child from the slums like Diego) as well as Mitic. In early 1950s Hungary and Yugoslavia were world-class. I would like to know about Maradona’s family, his 9 siblings, children, parents relations with the Generals. Football we all saw but what kind of brother, father son, and teammate was he.
Fascinating reading, Pepe! Thanks. He would approve it, too…
A beautiful essay on the magical Diego Maradona by Mr Escobar! I watched that famous goal of the century and can still remember the great joy and happiness all of us, who were watching that game, felt at this resounding slap on the face of an has-been empire. Although there have been many great footballers, Maradona was like Halley’s comet, blitzkrieging through the football field, and also our lives, like an unstoppable force force from a different universe. Just like in the case of the great Brazilian, Pele, there was something cosmic and eternal about Maradona and his art, which can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmyssDtOiLM
Hasta Siempre!
This article will remain forever. Those unborn will c ok me to read and see a clear picture of an athlete, who boldly and consciously impact the world and politics using his talents.
This is the best readable version of an imperfect player. Just like any other side of the coin, you painted a image about a football god, that will be remembered since the beginning of time. Thank you so much for this piece. You have given me an assignment for constant reading.
Bertrand Agbaw-Ebai, Boston MA.
I´m Argentine, but in no way a “football fan”, I just watch a game sometimes, but one thing that I love in Diego is the fact that he gave many, many joys to many humble people. And Pepe is right, he was just a “fragile god”… Very fragile, sadly.
Rest in Peace, Diego.
Many thanks for the elegy…
It is no surprise that Maradona was at home in Naples: most of the urban poor in Argentina have their roots in Southern Italy rather than Iberia, and there is the same aggressive machismo in Naples and Buenos Aires. I am told by (impoverished) residents of BA that there is a breakdown of civil society and the poor prey on the poor : it is not possible to leave the week’s shopping in the car and take it into the house in several trips: everything has to be taken out and then a rush made for the front door, rapidly locking the door after everything is inside. There is no working class in Naples (in the sense of people doing something useful for a low income), but there is a huge underclass making a living from various types of trafficking. Italy south of Rome consumes 49% of Italian national income and produces 29% of it. BA analogously leeches on the productive agriculture and mineral resources from sparsely-populated regions further south and west. The Perons’ attempts to imagine an industrial proletariat into existence to bolster their regime failed, but created a poorly-skilled underclass with a sense of entitlement, that the murderous regimes of the Argentine military have not snuffed out. Diego Maradona was a nasty piece of work, but very much a product of a dysfunctional, even evil, national culture. Back in the 1980’s a former resident said to me “They think Alfonsin is the new Messiah, but God wouldn’t send anybody to Argentina”
Diego Maradona Scored Politics in Sports… That’s Why He Was So Loved
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/11/27/diego-maradona-scored-politics-in-sports-thats-why-he-was-so-loved/