For the love of Maradona: Argentina's 'golden boy' who turned football into poetry

We lamented Morocco's loss to Germany due to a treacherous goal scored by Matthaeus. But our admiration for Maradona helped soften the blow of Morocco's defeat and subsequent disqualification; after all, they still had achieved an unprecedented feat: they were the first African and Arab team to reach the round of 16. 

Maradona was the overwhelming reason behind my love for the Argentine national team and football in general, which went beyond watching the games.

At the time, local shops across town were selling photo albums, which kids would fill with pictures of footballers. Thus began my near-impossible quest for snaps of famous players. If you were lucky, you would find a rare treasure: pictures of Maradona or Socrates. 

Often, we lacked the financial means to buy albums, so we created our own games. We used the pictures to make bets on penalty kicks or as an award for whoever among us could juggle the ball the longest.

Each street or alley formed a team, every one of them bearing a name more peculiar than the next. We competed in fierce matches that ended up sparking conflicts, as sore losers sought revenge against boastful winners.

The Maradona calibre 

Many of us dreamed of becoming football players of Maradona's calibre – the undisputed idol of our generation.

As we grew older, the pressures and responsibilities of life began to overshadow our dreams. Football remained a source of joy, entertainment, and competition, with intense rivalries breaking out between fans of national and international teams, be it Raja Casablanca vs Wydad Casablanca, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, or AC Milan vs Inter Milan.

Unfortunately, these rivalries often escalated into actual fights, bringing about real harm and deepening the divisions among fans.

My love for football peaked in my youth, but it began waning when I discovered the joy of reading and, in a way, the most beautiful and dangerous game of all: writing.

Even my interest in watching matches diminished. That's especially true lately.

Nowadays, I increasingly find that football has become a commercial enterprise. Fans are being pushed into the market of speculators and brokers. Financial and advertising management is being monopolised, marked by impudence and corruption. Not to mention the transformation of a beautiful game into a cheap tool for political regimes to divert attention from pressing issues. 

However, I still believe that the game of football is the most creative invention in the history of sports spectatorship. It leaves a lasting impression of gratification on the senses, and its poeticism never fails to captivate the eyes.

It's like a symphony that brings together the mental, spiritual and physical in an irresistible package. 

Maradona's ten virtues 

I learned a lot from Maradona's transcendent nature. I managed to narrow it down to ten takeaways.

1. Thanks to the magician Maradona, I fell in love with a charming country called Argentina. It became a totemic nation for me, one I supported out of great admiration for its awe-inspiring talent, long before I became familiar with Guevara, Borges, Julio Cortázar, and other Argentine wonders.
2. Thanks to the magician Maradona, the very real 1986 Mexico World Cup became a legendary tale, the most captivating cinematic portrayal of football in history.
3. Thanks to the magician Maradona, I discovered an unexpected and newfound love for the city of Naples. Even without physically visiting the city, it still managed to find its way into my heart and consciousness. The undeniable truth was that Maradona's left foot was the miracle that led a boy from Buenos Aires to extraordinary glory in the southern Italian city that had been longing for a Golden Boy.
4. Thanks to the magician Maradona, football has transformed into an art form akin to poetry and music rather than just a spectator sport. 
5. Thanks to the magician Maradona, I discovered magical realism before I even knew of Gabriel García Márquez. 

1. Thanks to the magician Maradona, we learned that poetry is not achieved through words alone, and that football, too, can be poetry. 
2. Thanks to the magician Maradona, the number ten became even more sacred. It became synonymous with his name forever. 
3.  Thanks to the magician Maradona, the blue of Argentina became the colour of the pitch, and the sun of its flag became the ball rolling in the fields, pursued by determined feet striving to reach the cup of immortality.
4. Thanks to the magician Maradona, in suburbs across the world, a round ball became the highlight of our days: the moon that illuminated our most glorious nights.
5. Thanks to the magician Maradona, we believed that planet Earth itself was just a ball in the court of the gods of Olympus.