World football: kids on the loose (II)

Tomorrow is the big day. South Africa 2010. Heaven coming down to earth, as it does every four years. If I were blogging directly from J-bourg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, down the Cape around the Tip or any of the townships, today would already be this big D-Day in anticipation to V-Day on July 11.

It's the perfect moment to remember the second golden kid. Diego Maradona: gifted, self-assured, strong, feisty, rebellious, loyal to team mates and to his team, opinionated, a blessing and a curse. A leader. He came to this world to flood it with the beauty of football to the highest pitch of plasticity. Some top ranked coach in Italy used to say: "Thanks God, it's Sunday. It's Maradona Day."

And yet, Maradona was a tragic hero. All the foundational narratives, myths and legends that speak of the mysteries of human life and the divine took up residence in this unique man that keeps on challenging his destiny today that he aims at claiming a top spot as a respectable coach. The divine and the plain human, Cain and Abel, angel and demon, light and darkness, ying and yang, but above all pure passion, love for beauty, all those constructive and destructive forces drive this genius who was once a kid. His temperament didn't help him to surf easily into adulthood. Just check this out:



I am one of those who grew up giving thanks for the blessing of seeing his prodigious left foot unleash terror and awe in foe and friends alike around the globe.

Dieguito was just coming out of his teen years when he touched the sky as a world champion, but by then he had already built a strong reputation as a world class footballer. In the World Coup of Mexico 1986, he created the masterpiece that you can see below. To many the best goal ever was the one that Maradona scored against England after leaving Her Highness's subjects and realm all scattered behind him as he proved to be the unstoppable little giant that snatched the world trophy for his country for the second time. Thanks, Diego, for so much beauty!