Do we really want to see Maradona play again? Efforts are afoot to stage a rematch of the 1986 England-Argentina game, but perhaps it would be better not to toy with a glorious memory. Marcela Mora y Araujo October 12, 2007 12:52 PM
Woody, Danny, Jeremy, Mikey and Sami are five young men<http://www.allocine.co.uk/video/player_gen_cmedia=18741960&cfilm=130404.html>who can do with a ball what few mortals can: their freestyling skills have not guaranteed them careers in professional football but when it comes to busking, their routines always draw the crowds. These lads have a dream: to meet the one man alive who they all revere as the absolute authority on ball skills - Diego Maradona. Driven by desire, they set out to search for their hero with their command of the ball as their only weapon. Their journey has been cut into a film that makes for compelling viewing: In The Hands of The Gods<http://www.inthehandsofthegods.com/#ithotg/home> . They are not alone in their desire to spend a few minutes in the presence of the Great Small Man, who in turn has learnt the value of such an audience and over the years has proved elusive to those unwilling to meet his terms. Many TV and film producers, publishers and journalists have arrived for an appointment with Maradona only for his people to begin upping the ante. I once found maself watching frantic efforts to secure a private plane to fly Diego to a stadium in Bosnia in time for kick-off. "Asleep and undisturbable", he had managed to miss the scheduled flight while an exasperated match organiser scurried around wailing: "But we had an agreement!" Why is Maradona so sought after? According to Dr Cahe, his physician since he was 17, Diego has charisma. "Of the people I've met in my lifetime, only Evita and Castro had it to such an extent," the doctor told me once, "although I've heard Bill Clinton has it too." Clearly it's more than just charisma. An elite professional career of over 20 years served to establish Diego as the undisputed No1 of his generation, possibly of all time. Diego's mastery of the ball was out of this world. He could also boast an extraordinary vision for the game and he worked incredibly hard - this combination of skills brought joy to millions of football lovers. But more than that, he had attitude, personality, and a code learnt in the backstreets. Rules, protocol, formality, these things meant nothing to him. If cinema history can be split into before and after Gone With the Wind, I think the history of international football can be defined in relation to the 1986 World Cup. More specifically, it can be gauged against a single match, indeed a few minutes in that match between Argentina and England, during which everything that is possible in football happened. The extremes of good and evil, of foul play and utter genius, the old resultist-versus-beauty dichotomy... everything was exemplified with two goals that happened within a few minutes of each other. Maradona was the author of both, and nothing quite dramatic has happened in the World Cup since then. At least, nothing that is so purely football. Over the years I have come across proposals to recreate that match, to get the protagonists face to face again, to celebrate and relive the moment. Thomas Campbell, creator of reality TV show Football Icon<http://www.northonetv.com/flash_content/footballview.htm>, has come closest. A fortnight ago, while driving Carlos Bilardo away from Old Trafford, he got Peter Reid on the phone and passed the blower to the Argentinian manager of 86. "Hallo Reezzy," bellowed Bilardo, pronouncing the 'h' sound in hello with the back of his throat, rendering the already surreal moment extra-comical. "I see you in Villa!" said Bilardo. Here was proof that the rematch would turn into reality. It was scheduled for Sunday October 14 at Aston Villa. John Barnes, Ray Wilkins and Terry Butcher were all on board. Even Gary Lineker, who hasn't played in any sort of game since retiring 13 years ago, couldn't resist and agreed to kick-off. Lineker, who once told me that he felt like applauding Maradona's second goal on the Aztec turf itself, is no stranger to the perils of pursuing The Ten, and when he finally caught up with him last year for a BBC documentary, he admitted on camera that he was close to pissing his pressed pants. Sir Bobby Robson, although not in the best of health, agreed to be involved. Steve Hodge, who swapped shirts with Diego at the time, was relishing the prospect of seeing "the best player, without doubt" put his boots on again. "Everyone's on board," said Campbell assuredly. "Even Shilton?" I asked, for although in an interview in 1996 Shilton spoke highly of Maradona to me, he has since played harder to get when it comes to media coverage of this great story. "We're still talking to Shilton," Campbell admitted, but with hope. The five freestylers from the film were invited to show off their skills during the warm-up and enjoy dinner with Diego on the eve of the show. All systems seemed to be go for this most ambitious of recreations. On the Argentinian side, however, things were going less smoothly. Ricardo Giusti said he was concerned that he hadn't been given a detailed itinerary. He and Sergio Goycochea were up for it, it could be nice afternoon. One player, however, doubted Diego would be roped into something so "grotesque" as attempting to recreate what once was. A couple of other players said they had work commitments. So who would come from Argentina? "Everybody," said Campbell. Although motivated by the anniversary of the Falklands War and the business potential of reality TV (albeit with a charity slant), Campbell's plan, grotesque though it may be, had its appeal. Taking the notion of "something to tell grandchildren" a couple of notches higher, both squads are almost in a position to actually take their grandchildren to the stadium itself. The attraction of seeing Maradona led to the sale of around 40,000 tickets. "Even at 47, the idea of seeing him put his boots on and play..." said Hodge, adding: "We were all very impressed when he played at [last year's] Robbie Williams match. His touch is still there, and so is his range." But alas, for all those looking forward to *feeling* the effect on the atmosphere when Diego's left foot meets the ball, the rematch has been postponed. "The postal strike means we can't get the tickets out in time," said Thomas Campbell. One cynic retorted: "I didn't realise Diego was arriving by post." And last week, a source close to the man confided that Diego hadn't "actually closed the deal with these people yet". The organisers still hope to stage the match early next year. But perhaps it would be for the best if they didn't succeed? Maybe we should accept that some things happen once and once only - good and evil, beauty and the beast, joy and despair. There's no going back, we can't turn the clocks back, and the magic that once was may no longer be. *El Diego: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Footballer<http://www.amazon.co.uk/El-Diego-Autobiography-Greatest-%20Footballer/dp/0224071890>, by Diego Maradona and translated by Marcela Mora y Araujo, is published by Yellow Jersey Press* --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
