Maradona, Messi and the Holy Grail

A couple of Argentinian’s that need no introduction. Who will ever forget the hand of Maradona when he played that match against England but lets move on from that. So this is what I discovered about them in Argentina. Of course, Messi plays for Barcelona and the national team. He spent his early career at the Newell’s Old Boys in his hometown of Rosario before moving to Barcelona in the year 2000. The rest is history. I have yet to meet anyone in Argentina who reveres him. The general consensus is that when he plays in the national team he basically holds back and simply doesn’t give his all. One reason for this I was told is that when he was younger he had a medical condition which affected his growth, He supposedly felt that his own country had not given this the attention it deserved and he was left, possibly unconsciously, with a feeling of either shame of resentment. This is then reflected in his game when he plays for Argentina. Obviously, this in no way reflects on how he plays for Barcelona.

Maradona on the other hand has god like status here. Considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. He played for one of the most famous teams in Argentina Boca Juniors and will be largely remembered for his time at Italian club Napoli. He played a great influence on the national team helping them to secure the world cup in 1986. However, he will also be remembered as much for his life of the field for both his drug abuse and his many relationships. So one story that circulates here is his dismissive attitude to his children. He has several children with different women but barely retains a relationship with any of them. So recently one of his sons tried to contact his famous father for no other reason than to get to know him better.  Sadly, he was rejected, and the reason was that Maradona felt he was only interested in his money.

Another guide told me that the massive reverence for Maradona, apart from his footballing skills is in a large part due to the many scandals that have followed him around for most of his career. This has only added to his charisma it seems people simply enjoy his bad boy image. Messi has a much more strait-laced image which sadly people find rather boring.

Maradona manages the Argentinian team of Gimnasia. With some luck they will play Boca Juniors on the 1^st March. I am willing to break the bank to go to that match. The match will take place in the holy grail of Argentinian football. The Boca Juniors stadium, situated in La Boca