Diego Maradona died on Wednesday at the age of 60. The Figaro sports department makes you relive some of its finest statements.
“I swear on the head of everything I love: I went to the duel with Shilton [le gardien de but anglais, NDLR] and I hit the ball with my head. What happens is that Shilton came out with his fist forward, but I have no doubt that I hit the ball with his head: I even have a bruise on my forehead that can attest to that. This gesture, I did it with the head of Maradona and the hand of God. “
During the legendary quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup, Argentina faced England, four years after the Falklands War won by the British. Diego Maradona changes the game by scoring a goal with his hand. Its achievement is legendary, as are its words.
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“I dream of being able to score another goal for the English, with the right hand!”
A little less than a month ago, when France Football asked him what would be his perfect gift for his 60 years, the Argentinian had not hesitated to room the English, evoking the episode of “the hand of God”.
“My dream is to play a World Cup and win it.”
Interviewed on the show Circular Saturdays in 1971, Diego Maradona, then only 11 years old, clearly displayed his goals. Fourteen years later, “El Pibe de Oro” won the 1986 World Cup, which was played in Mexico. Premonitory words?
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“I grew up in a private neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Deprived of light, water and telephone. ”
Diego Maradona grew up in a poor neighborhood in Buenos Aires. He is one of the symbols of those who started from nothing to reach “the top of the world”, to use his words.
>> READ ALSO – “We believed him immortal”: Argentina pays homage to Diego Maradona
“Blatter loves me like a son … like a son of a bitch.”
Argentina’s number 10 did not carry Serge Blatter, FIFA president between 1998 and 2015, in his heart. His comments about him in 1998 attest to this.
“Getting into the box and not being able to shoot on goal is like dancing with your sister.”
Diego Maradona was not only gifted with the ball, he was also able to juggle words to create vivid images.
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“Crazy people, drunkards and kids are the only ones who tell the truth.”
This is what he said in 2013, at the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“In my clinic, there is one who thinks he is Napoleon and the other who believes to be Robinson Crusoe. And me, they don’t believe me when I say I’m Maradona. ”
In 2004, consumed by drugs, the Argentinian underwent drug treatment.
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“If I hadn’t taken drugs, we wouldn’t even be talking about Pelé.”
For Diego Maradona, there is no debate between “King” Pelé and him as to which of the two is the greatest player of all time.
“If I die, I want to be reborn and become a footballer. And I want to become Diego Armando Maradona again. I am a player who has given people happiness, that fills me up and that is enough for me. “
From Diego Maradona in the text.
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