Maradona RIP

[Kev0909]

Wasn't looking good a bit ago, sadly he's passed away

at least he lived it up I suppose

[Balinkay]

Fuck mee.....

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54810392

Fuck me. RIP.

He will be remembered as one of the very greatest artists to ever grace the green canvas.

[Steveo]

Absolutely gutted.


RIP Diego...


https://youtu.be/N8yPN-KEppE

[scientificred]

RIP Diego.

[miller0863]

Just 60, what a player, best ever for me.
RIP Diego.

[teesred]

The GOAT. A I feel truly genuine sadness. Hes always been one of my heroes.

[skyebo]

R I P Great player. A lot of posts on Facebook are getting removed because of some sick people and their comments about him.

[Pigsy]

Greatest player ever bar none, looks like his lifestyle sadly caught up with him. RIP

[southernboy]

Genius, nutcase, talisman. Take your pick. The best footballer the world has ever seen. Gone too soon. RIP.

[CCTV]

My first footy top
Argentina no 10 on the back

A colourful 60 years :)

[justme]

Im sorry anyone loses their life and he was a genius with the ball at his feet,.and like a lot of genius they have a lot of flaws.But i think its more sad when footballers get motor neurone disease and other things like that.Its not self inflicted.

RIP

[teesred]

R I P Great player. A lot of posts on Facebook are getting removed because of some sick people and their comments about him.

Yeah the kind of dickheads who think England won the war.

[fagin]

R.I.P to a Great Legend taken too soon........One of the best the World has seen.

[ianlfc]

RIP to the great man. One of his many highlights was his cameos during the last World cup in Russia. The man new how to party. Mad that he died on the same date as another maverick genius, George Best.

[Steveo]

From The Guardian

When I was 10, I went on a summer football camp. One afternoon, it chucked it down with rain, so they took us inside to watch a video. Hero: the official film of the 1986 World Cup. Still maybe the greatest football film ever made.

Rick Wakeman's soundtrack was extraordinarily vivid and sits in my mind to this very day. Michael Caine's narration was, um, linguistically questionable, but still somehow fit perfectly. And then there was the main subject. Diego Armando Maradona, captain of Argentina.

Every time he was featured on screen, every boy around me yelled "CHEAT! CHEAT! CHEAT!" I just sat transfixed, in awe. Because he was a genius, who towered astronomically above his contemporaries.

Football is the greatest sport in the world because it is the game of the people. It still retains the capacity to move entire nations from triumph to despair. And Maradona, arguably its greatest exponent ever? The point is: he was, truly, a man of the people.

His poor background meant he was totally ill-prepared for global superstardom, its distractions and temptations. Yet the pressure was unimaginable. How does someone handle the hopes, dreams, expectations, demands of all their compatriots and the success-starved, so often downtrodden people of Naples?

Answer: by playing like this. Taking Napoli to undreamt of heights in by far the highest quality domestic league there's ever been. And despite receiving no protection from referees either. This was a completely different world to now. Red cards were vanishingly rare; bookings were handed out far, far less. So defenders spent their time trying to cut him in half... and in Spain, the hideous Andoni Goikoetxea did just that.

That Maradona came back and rose to such exalted heights in the years that followed was such a tribute to him. Not just his genius, but his courage. Meanwhile, his national team was just 9 minutes from not even qualifying for the World Cup. It featured two very good players, Valdano and Burruchaga, and not a great deal else. But superman that he was, Maradona dragged that entire side up multiple levels through sheer force of personality.

Every opponent Argentina faced was terrified. They could all feel Diego's personality, his charisma, all over the pitch. Despite Argentina's central defence being fragile, vulnerable, there for the taking even. Yet none of Uruguay, England or West Germany got at them until it was too late. All three (and Belgium too) were beaten mentally; beaten before the games even began in many ways. Again, that was Maradona's impact. Germany even sacrificed their best player, Lothar Matthaus, in the final, for a man-marking job on Diego.

Maradona, like only Ali before him, transcended his whole sport and impacted massively on the world. The Hand of God was, as much as anything else, about revenge for the Malvinas; and his first and second goals that day summed up the paradox of Argentinian football like nothing else ever has.

Goal 1: the malign. Viveza criolla. Craftiness and cunning. You're a fool if you get caught. You're immortal if you get away with it. Goal 2: the sublime. Maybe the most beautiful goal ever scored by anyone... on a pitch so bad, so bumpy, it should've been impossible.

He scored another jawdropping goal in the semis. He laid on the decisive through ball in the final. Then, for good measure, well past his best and barely 50% fit, he dragged a bunch of streetfighters all the way back to the final 4 years later. His through ball to Caniggia against Brazil defied gravity itself. Many Argentinians still celebrate the 1990 team even more than the 1986 one. What it did was impossible. Ludicrous. It should've gone out in the first round; it ended up beaten in the final by a non-penalty (albeit, such a violently cynical side certainly had it coming).

Yes, the years that followed were sad, awful. But this was always a man of the most profound contradictions. He could be a horrible arsehole; but also a kind, massive-hearted man who adored his people and his country... and stood up against corporate and political greed and corruption. He never forgot where he was from. That's why he was, and will always be, so revered at Boca and Napoli. And by football lovers around the world.

60 is no age at all. But like many other geniuses, he always found life far more challenging than his chosen sport. George Best, Alex Higgins, Paul Gascoigne or Garrincha, among others, would've sympathised.

There will never be another footballer to compare with Diego Maradona. I would say "rest in peace", but that'd be to entirely miss the point. Rest in Power, Sir - and keep raising merry hell while you're at it. He was a rebel. He broke all the rules. He did it his way. And he moved billions along the way.

[teesred]

Great epitaph Steveo.
A bonafide rockstar footballer who lived an incredible life. My best pal went to Argentina around 20 years ago and he brought me a gift, it was little flick book of his 2nd goal against England. I recently showed my kids it and they love it, it's on display in my front room.
A true icon of life not just football due to huge positive impact he had on people.

[ianlfc]

The 2nd goal against England has been shown loads of times over the past couple of days ,and it's one of those goals you could never tire of watching. It's up there with Stevie's goal in Istanbul.

[stevie harkness]

Yes I can watch that second goal again and again.

They've shown the first goal way too much, as usual. England aren't the only team whose World Cup hopes were dashed by a handball get over it already.

[ianlfc]

Apparently a worker at the morgue were his body was took a selfie and posted it on social media. Yesterday he was sacked from his job and today his body was found in a bin !!

[Kev0909]

Apparently a worker at the morgue were his body was took a selfie and posted it on social media. Yesterday he was sacked from his job and today his body was found in a bin !!

really not seen anything on the news here apart from him asking for forgiveness

[skyebo]

The 2nd goal against England has been shown loads of times over the past couple of days ,and it's one of those goals you could never tire of watching. It's up there with Stevie's goal in Istanbul.

They interviewed Reid about his 2nd goal. They just need to speak to the other half dozen that he made a complete fool of.

[RedNoodle]

Yes I can watch that second goal again and again.

They've shown the first goal way too much, as usual. England aren't the only team whose World Cup hopes were dashed by a handball get over it already.

There's a bit of a difference between being denied a place at a world cup, and potentially actually being denied winning a world cup.

The vast majority of people would feel equally as aggrieved if they were denied one of the biggest prizes/highest accolades going in any kind of similar circumstances. Those that say otherwise are either very, very forgiving, or a liar.

[skyebo]

There's a bit of a difference between being denied a place at a world cup, and potentially actually being denied winning a world cup.

The vast majority of people would feel equally as aggrieved if they were denied one of the biggest prizes/highest accolades going in any kind of similar circumstances. Those that say otherwise are either very, very forgiving, or a liar.

If people want to point the finger they should look at the officials for allowing it. If they had done their job right there is no "Hand of God". Had he scored that goal against another country we wouldn't still be discussing it 34 years on.

[stevie harkness]

@Noodle it depends on expectations I suppose. If your country doesn't often qualify then it's a big prize just to get there, and gutting to miss out. If you think your country has a chance of winning the thing then you're just as gutted. It's all relative. I don't think England will ever win the World Cup so I find the 'if only' attitude a bit tiresome. Certainly not a champions mentality.

[RedNoodle]

If people want to point the finger they should look at the officials for allowing it. If they had done their job right there is no "Hand of God". Had he scored that goal against another country we wouldn't still be discussing it 34 years on.

The officials may have been incompetent, but they weren't the ones who knowingly cheated, and then went on to celebrate that ****ish act.

[RedNoodle]

@Noodle it depends on expectations I suppose. If your country doesn't often qualify then it's a big prize just to get there, and gutting to miss out. If you think your country has a chance of winning the thing then you're just as gutted. It's all relative. I don't think England will ever win the World Cup so I find the 'if only' attitude a bit tiresome. Certainly not a champions mentality.

As an expert on the subject I can tell you for a fact that individual acts can have a permanently devastating impact on how things pan out for you, irrespective of how much effort you put in thereafter, or how much you want things to be different.

Sliding doors and all that.

[skyebo]

The officials may have been incompetent, but they weren't the ones who knowingly cheated, and then went on to celebrate that ****ish act.

If one of our players scored a goal like that, you wouldn't mind as long as it counted.

[RedNoodle]

If one of our players scored a goal like that, you wouldn't mind as long as it counted.

Actually I would. How I view us, our players, and the things we/they achieve is very much affected by the things we/they do and how we/they conduct themselves.

[Steveo]

https://youtu.be/mUZ56esNvQY

[southernboy]

Actually I would. How I view us, our players, and the things we/they achieve is very much affected by the things we/they do and how we/they conduct themselves.

Same here mate. I don’t mind winning due to slightly dubious behaviour, (going down slightly easy to get a soft penalty), but I would rather not win than be outright cheats.

[RedNoodle]

Same here mate. I don’t mind winning due to slightly dubious behaviour, (going down slightly easy to get a soft penalty), but I would rather not win than be outright cheats.

It takes away the sense of accomplishment. You'd always know that you truly didn't deserve the win, or the rewards that came as a result of it.

[teesred]

Anyone seen the pics and videos doing the rounds of the funeral workers who took selfies whilst he was in the casket. 2/3 are dead. Boca ultras with some vigilante shit.

[miller0863]

Yep, someone sent me one of the selfies this morning. What the fuck where they thinking but Jeez... beating them to death is a bit strong

[RedNoodle]

Yep, someone sent me one of the selfies this morning. What the fuck where they thinking but Jeez... beating them to death is a bit strong

The world is full of crazy mo-fo's. It's becoming harder and harder to avoid them as you go about your everyday business.

[Steveo]

Just shows the lethality of social media. They were crazy stupid to do what they did yes - misguided and stupid as can be BUT beaten to death... Bloody hell - WTF is going on.

[ianlfc]

Yep, someone sent me one of the selfies this morning. What the fuck where they thinking but Jeez... beating them to death is a bit strong

Just a bit ? 🤣🤣

[teesred]

Argentina's favourite son. They were never getting away with that. Harsh but I'm not sure what they were thinking was going to be the fallout.

[RedNoodle]

Argentina's favourite son. They were never getting away with that. Harsh but I'm not sure what they were thinking was going to be the fallout.

I don't think they were thinking at all, or that they had the organ required in order to actually do that in the first place.

[Kev0909]

Not surprised probably a dodgy gang that maradona knew, probably his dealers.... it's a big sign of disrespect so to them it's probably a huuuuge thing not saying it's right but.. i'm honestly not surprised, they're nutters around that side of the world (not all obviously)

[teesred]

I don't think they were thinking at all, or that they had the organ required in order to actually do that. in the first place.

Agree. A rush if blood to the head for a bit of pointless social media fame. Probably left several children without a father. Social media has a lot to answer for. I hate it.

[RedNoodle]

Agree. A rush if blood to the head for a bit of pointless social media fame. Probably left several children without a father. Social media has a lot to answer for. I hate it.

I've never used it myself. I wonder what it will take before something is seriously done to tackle how these platforms operate and what can be posted on them?

[teesred]

I've never used it myself. I wonder what it will take before something is seriously done to tackle how these platforms operate and what can be posted on them?

Me too. Theres always articles,reports on why they should take more responsibility for their content etc, theyve always got excuses or reasons and retort with "we are doing what we can etc".
It really should be as simple as "do more or your being taken down" but it's not or it doesnt seem to be.

[RedNoodle]

Me too. Theres always articles,reports on why they should take more responsibility for their content etc, theyve always got excuses or reasons and retort with "we are doing what we can etc".
It really should be as simple as "do more or your being taken down" but it's not or it doesnt seem to be.

There are too many influential people with too many of their fingers in too many pies for that to happen anytime soon.

[southernboy]

I've never used it myself. I wonder what it will take before something is seriously done to tackle how these platforms operate and what can be posted on them?

You can use social media without contributing to it. I love Twitter but never post on there. I’ve never had Facebook.... that really does strike me as pointless.