Nobody has given football as much as he – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

For a “normal” person, it is too early to die at age 60.

For Diego Maradona, who in practice lived six lives in one, it was strong to be around six decades.

The Argentine legend, who died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday, was not only one of the best players of all time. He was a coach, commentator, ambassador, and political supporter. For many, he was also a god.

Many books are needed to tell everything that Maradona did. No player has reached such heavenly heights, like the 1986 World Cup title, or diabolical recessions, like when he was on the brink of death in the 1990s.

But despite all the controversy, it has been easy to forget what it must have been like to be Diego Maradona.

It was probably never very easy.

Prophecy

From day one, Maradona was special. In 1928, Borocotò, editor of Argentina’s leading soccer magazine, had The graphic, written a tribute to an imaginary street child; a version of the country’s ideal footballer.

The boy had long hair, a dirty face, and a ball of cloth on his legs.

Then, 32 years later, in a poor neighborhood in Buenos Aires, this street boy was born.

Maradona had a talent impossible to explain with theory or logic. He became a national sensation, first with Argentinos and then Boca Juniors, which led to a long-awaited league title in 1981.

The following year, Maradona became the most expensive player in the world when he went to Barcelona.

But with all the fame came challenges that a street kid couldn’t be prepared for.

The pressure

One of them was sports pressure. In Boca, Maradona had to play friendly matches around the world because that was the only way the club could make money. He was expected to play every game, even though he was injured.

He often had to take painkillers to complete.

He had the expectations of a nation on his shoulders. Before the 1982 World Cup, he was bent by his own because they thought he was in bad shape. Actually, he was exhausted. At one point, he fled to his parents’ home in Corrientes, where he spoke about expectations.

“People must understand that Maradona is not a machine to make them happy,” Maradona said.

But the demands never went away. His agent, Jorge Cyterszpiller, created his own company for the crowns to arrive. Maradona signed a series of endorsement deals, while Cyterszpiller hired a camera crew that followed him everywhere.

This was at a time when players barely had agents. While those things are common now, Maradona was the first superstar to discover just how draining this was on the psyche.

Nor did he have anyone to tell him what to do with the money. In Barcelona he used them at wild parties and in a growing clan of friends and acquaintances.

It was also there that he started using cocaine.

When he went to Naples in 1984, his lifestyle became even more intense. Off the field, the cocaine and partying continued, occasionally under the auspices of the local mob, who viewed him as a valuable supporter.

At the same time, the entire city wanted Maradona to lead Napoli to their first league title.

The result was a routine in which Maradona buckled up, trained for battle, and often took painkillers and other means to get through the 90 minutes.

It eroded both the body and the psyche. However, he hardly ever complained.

Accomplished dreams

And that was perhaps one of his best Y worst qualities. Almost his entire life he was haunted by fans, journalists, whips, critics, agents, presidents, and / or politicians.

They all wanted something from him.

Often – maybe for often, he gave them what they wanted.

Both in Naples and Argentina, he was part of this sporting success. He transformed Napoli from a team threatened by relegation to league champions in 1987 and 1990. Since then, they have not won the league again.

In 1986, he led a disgraced national team to the top of the World Cup in Mexico, making it by far the greatest individual achievement in an international soccer championship.

For a nation that has been through economic crises and a recent military dictatorship, it is difficult to overstate how much this title meant.

But Maradona was not loved for everything. When he turned all of Italy against him by pulling the nation out of the 1990 World Cup in Naples, his life fell apart. He was linked to cocaine smuggling, tax evasion and prostitution.

When he was taken to doping control and banned by FIFA for 15 months in 1991, he was forced for the first time to live a life without football.

And that was never good for Maradona.

Near death

Because he always needed football to stay on the right track. In 1991, he was arrested by the police for using more cocaine. He struggled with the weight. He was taken to a new doping test at the 1994 World Cup.

In 2000, three years after retiring, he collapsed on vacation in Uruguay. The diagnosis was a heart attack, caused by cocaine. In 2004, he collapsed again and was taken to hospital.

In both cases, there were rumors in Argentina that he was dead.

But it survived all the time. And no matter how low he sank, he gathered enough strength to start new projects. One of them was when he coached the Argentina team at the 2010 World Cup.

If soccer talent made Maradona special, the same can be said for willpower.

For the past 10 years, Maradona has taken dark coaching jobs in the Middle East and the Mexican Second Division. When he left Mexico last year due to health problems, his body was beaten after 40 years of cocaine, alcohol and injections.

The knees were broken. He struggled to walk. The head didn’t always seem sharp either. On one occasion, a television reporter asked him a question and he spent half a minute answering.

Friend of fidel

At the same time, it can be said that the health problems reflected the intensity of Maradona’s life. In addition to his career as a player and coach, he had time to make friends with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales.

He had his own television show. He was part of a dance program in Italy. He was a television commentator in Venezuela. He was vice president of Boca.

Wherever he went, something was happening. He was always praised, always asked for his opinions and feelings. Sometimes he made harsh and unforgivable statements. Other times it could enchant and entertain.

Furthermore, he was never afraid to criticize anyone, not even politicians and FIFA. Special not politicians and FIFA.

And whatever happens, he was always himself.

One last birthday

Until the end, it was soccer that Maradona lived and loved. Last year she fell in love with him again, when he took over as coach of Gimnasia de La Plata, a last team in Argentina’s top division.

Immediately there was a huge uproar throughout the club. He was given a throne by fans to sit and sing outside of his hotel. The stands were suddenly packed.

Suddenly, Maradona’s health improved again.

Unfortunately, he was no more than 60 years old, but the fact that he had that birthday, and all the tributes that flowed to him from all corners of the world, was beautiful.

And while Maradona will be remembered for his sporting triumphs, especially the World Cup title and league titles with Napoli, these constitute only a fraction of all the memories he leaves behind.

No player has given so much to football.

Part of what he gave was talent. An even bigger part, and the reason why it remains so beloved in Argentina, was the passion for the sport itself.

It was the effervescent celebrations of victory, the gloomy pain of loss.

It was all the cheers, the songs, the dances, and the tears.

This is how Maradona showed us what football can mean.

Thanks for everything, Diego.