In 1982, Xeneize toured six countries in 21 days and played two games against the Japanese team at the National Stadium, the main venue for the Tokyo Olympics. On that visit, the Ten astonished the local public.
The Tokyo Olympics 2020 had their opening ceremony on July 23 at the New National Stadium that was built on the ruins of the old enclosure, demolished in 2015. That temple took with it the nostalgia of Argentine football because there are several teams that became world champions in that scenario. Independiente, Vélez, River and Boca make up the exclusive list. However, he also gave away much lesser-known stories. One of them involves Xeneize, who in 1982 participated in an exotic tour around the world and ended up playing three games against the Japanese national team in just nine days. and with a Diego Maradona in its splendor.
Argentina was going through the last military dictatorship and was suffering an economic debacle caused by the skyrocketing price of the dollar and rampant inflation. Boca, who the previous year had been champion of the Metropolitano, was no stranger to the situation in the country and was beginning to show the first signs of the crisis that would take him to hit rock bottom in 1984. For that reason, the club decided to a tour of the most remote destinations in which he passed through 6 countries in a span of 21 days throughout January.
The first stop of that group that drove Vladislao Cap, who had assumed after the departure of Silvio Marzolini, was the United States to face El Salvador in Los Angeles. After a victory, the delegation headed for Asia. Defeated Seiko in Hong Kong, repeated against Selangor in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, with goals from Carlos Córdoba and Maradona, and finally he landed in Japan where three friendlies with the local team awaited him.
That squad had renowned players such as Hugo Orlando Gatti, Roberto Mouzo, Marcelo Trobbiani, Ariel Krasouski and Hugo Perotti, plus some juveniles who would later become great figures, such as Ricardo Gareca and Oscar Ruggeri. However, the mere presence of Maradona revolutionized the Japanese people. Although Ten had several milestones to achieve in his fledgling career, three years earlier he had given the first taste of what he would be like as a footballer when he was crowned U20 world champion precisely in those lands. The Japanese people knew that it was someone out of the ordinary, that’s why Xeneize training and matches took place under the gaze of several curious people who came to see Ten.
The first match of the trilogy against the Japanese was on Saturday, January 16. The Argentine team drew 1-1 with the local team at the old National Stadium. Ruggeri converted for Xeneize 17 minutes into the first half and at the end of the first stage Takeshi Koshida declared a tie.
The following Wednesday Boca jumped onto the field again, although this time the meeting was in the city of Kobe and against a B team from Japan. To the surprise of the Argentine cast, the Asians quickly took the lead. At 18, Kimura, with a free kick, made the first and 10 minutes later Nomura stretched the lead. However, those led by Cap turned him by the hand of the man whom everyone had come to see.
That day, Pelusa celebrated twice. First he discounted at 4 minutes of the complement and, a minute after Gareca equalized at 39, Maradona again appeared to rescue a victory for Xeneize. Even, Diego himself a few years ago shared a video of that meeting on his social networks in which the astonishment of the public is perceived in each of his interventions.
Finally, the last match took place on Sunday 24. Again in Tokyo, at the National Stadium and against the main team of Japan. Boca beat the locals and the only goal of the match was made by Maradona at the end of the first stage. Two days later, the Ribera team defeated América 2-0 in Mexico and just one day later defeated Comunicaciones de Guatemala before returning to Argentina.
Undoubtedly that tour was lost in the memory of the xeneizes fans, except for some memorable ones. But the presence of Maradona in Japan left an indelible memory in that country. “His body was like a rock, even if you hit him he wouldn’t stumble. But the ball was stuck to his feet. Playing with him you felt that he was a different person. It’s a God”, It was recalled by Hideki Mada, the captain of that team who played with Boca, in an interview with The Japan Times newspaper in 2020, after the death of the Ten.
Just six months later, Maradona would leave Boca to move to Barcelona. Over time, Pelusa would return as a footballer on two other occasions to those lands in which between July 23 and August 8, hundreds of Argentine athletes will try to write their own history. In 1987 he was part of an ideal eleven from South America that traveled to play and a year later returned wearing the Napoli shirt. Surely more than one Japanese, the first thing they will do when they see an Argentine is to shout the word that breaks all the borders of the language: “Maradona.”
Foto: Getty Images y Masahide Tomikoshi.
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