6 years back this week in December was an experience of a lifetime. Looking back the thrill and amazement has stayed the same.
He had just about settled down in his chair for the interview when I decided to try and see if I could unleash a bit of a tackle. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo claims he is the greatest’, I said. ‘How do you react to it?’, I asked El Diego. As his interpreter translated the question for him, I thought I sensed a degree of unease. Clearly I was wrong. All of a sudden he burst out into a fit of laughter. And interestingly it continued for nearly 15-20 seconds. “Cristiano is a very good player”, Maradona started. “But greatest”, he looked at me and just indicated to himself with a certainty that made him what he is. A temperamental genius and perhaps the most charismatic footballer ever.
Not to give up I tried one more time. ‘Messi was brilliant in that match against Ecuador and made sure Argentina made it to the World Cup. If Messi does lead Argentina to a World Cup win (and he has done so in 2022) do you think he can claim to have equalled you?”, I asked. This time round the answer was immediate. “Leo can never be Maradona. I am the best ever.”
He may have put on weight but the skill was still there. In one of the programmes I hosted during his visit to Kolkata, a charity fund raiser for cancer patients he was at his best. With a 6000 plus crowd cheering for Diego, I thought it would be befitting to ask him to sign a few balls and kick them into the crowd. Maradona was keen to oblige. But just as I handed him the marker to sign the ball, something changed. Even as he signed the ball his gaze was somewhere else. I had lost him. And even before I had realized he had back heeled the ball into the crowd. In a minute three balls had been sent to three different corners of the crowd sending them in ruptures. And all of it happened in a flash leaving me a little stunned and bewildered. If the entire English team was unable to stop this man in 1986, who am I to feel stunned!, I consoled myself. And Diego enjoyed every bit of the action. He knew he had scored over me and had left me speechless. He laughed and gave me a pat as if to say try another time.
In the three days that I spent with him, three things stood out for me. His love for music for example is a therapy to all his moods. When he got a little heckled in one of the programmes and was upset, very normal in India with a celebrity of his league, all he needed was to hear Charles Antony, the well known singer and musician, to perform for him. Hearing Charles sing Guantanamera, Maradona was all smiles. He started singing midway into the song and even broke into a faint dance. His mood was immediately transformed and he was yet again back in sync with the requirements at hand.
That he was temperamental was known but when such temperament gets mixed with wit, we have an incredible cocktail at hand. Immigration at the Kolkata airport for example was all drama. Having taken their selfies with Diego, when the immigration officials just could not process his passport and stamp it, Maradona was frustrated. He kept saying “20 minutes, 20 minutes” and waved his hand in the very same manner he had waved at the referee in the 1990 World Cup when claiming a penalty against the Germans. And when he was made to move from one computer terminal to another to complete the process, he asked the official to even scan his feet in disgust. But the moment he was out of the airport and could see proper security in place for his passage to the hotel, he was all smiles. Jumping on the footboard of the car to wave to the crowd, he was the Diego millions in India enjoyed watching and literally adored.
The best, however, was reserved for the moment he was asked to sign a life size cut out of his. Before I could hand him the marker, he had run to the cut out and started speaking to the photograph. This monologue continued for a good 3-4 minutes and ended when he carried the cutout with him to the interview set and placed it in a strategic position where it was visible to him. “He is saying are you the same person my dear”, said his interpreter. “He is saying this man (referring to the photograph) has scored some fantastic goals and is the best football player in the world. And sensing this is the cut out from the 1986 match against England, he says this is the best he has ever played and this goal is the best ever in the history of world football”.
Vanity- may be. Deserved? Most will not disagree.
When I asked him about his Napoli years, he was all smiles. To win the Serie A and the UEFA cup remained very special to him and more importantly he managed to transform Napoli into a household name in Italy and the world over. When I mentioned that Napoli for us was a favourite because of Maradona, he was thrilled. “He had still not conclusively proved to the world that he was the best. There was never any doubt about his talent but Napoli allowed him to tower over the rest”, declared his interpreter having discussed the question with Diego. “Napoli will always remain very special to him and every time he has gone back to the club he has been received like royalty”, he concluded.
Sourav Ganguly, one of India’s biggest sporting icons of all time, was more of a fanboy when he met Maradona. “I am biased you know”, Sourav said. “I grew up watching him and my love for football was largely because of Maradona. His performances in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico will forever remain with me”, Sourav concluded with a smile as it was time for him to toss the coin at the start of the charity match against Maradona’s team.
So what is it about Maradona that made him such a legend, I asked Sourav. “Pele had the team of the century in the 1960s. Vava, Didi, Garrincha were all legends in their own right. But look at Maradona. Take him out and none of the others in the team were real legends of the game. He carried the team on his shoulders and to win a FIFA World Cup on his own made him what he is”, said Sourav.
When I repeated this to Maradona, he was all smiles. “He is very kind”, he said pointing at Sourav before scoring one more with a volley. “I had to win the World Cup. They had all gone after me in 1982 and I was much too young. 1986 had to be my year. Beating England and Belgium and Germany it could not have been better”, remembered Diego.
I said three things stood out for me in the three days. The third and final will always be the most powerful association with Maradona. His identity with the ball. His world and his domain. As he entered the field for the workshop with kids, he seemed the happiest. Magic with the ball for a good 45 minutes and he seemed totally at peace with himself. Juggling the ball as it just did not want to leave him, the kids were all enthralled and mesmerised. Diego had gone back 20 years and taken the 5000 plus present with him. It was clearly an ‘I was there’ moment for every kid who attended the workshop, something none of them will ever forget.
And as we parted, Maradona scored his last goal. “He is asking you have met Pele and now you have met Diego. So who do you think is better Diego or Pele?” asked the translator. Diego, I could see, had a wicked smile on his face. He was jury and referee clubbed in one. I had no option of saying Pele and he was enjoying the awkwardness. But as with everything Diego, these three days are memories that will last forever.