Jimmy Burns's Blog, page 12

Why this Burns would vote ‘No’

This article appeared today in Spanish in El Mundo

I write, in the week Scotland votes for or against independence,  as the son of a Scotsman and a Spanish mother who spends most of the year between his homes in  London and Sitges (Catalunya) . I have worked and enjoyed enduring  friendships over thirty years of life as an author and journalist  throughout the  UK and Spain. Because I am not a British citizen resident in Scotland , I am not entitled to vote in  the Scottish referendum  but the historic nature of the event cannot leave me silent. I owe I to my paternal ancestry.

Prompted my friend and colleague’s John Carlin’s excellent piece-another hispanic/scot/brit- in sunday’s El Pais http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/09/12/actualidad/1410539330_875426.html ,

I too can imagine that my late father-were he alive-would be voting NO while I myself have few doubts that Scotland, the UK, and Europe would be much diminished were the Scots to go independent.

And yet Carlin’s  Scottish background is different from mine.My grandfather Charles Burns was a Scottish presbyterian from Brechin (Carlin’s father was from Glasgow) who in the late 19th century went to Chile where he married a daughter of English and Basque immigrants and worked as a bank manager when this  was considered a noble profession.

The Burns’s  were adventurous Scots-other great  uncles went to  far away places like Argentina and Australia-the kind that effortlessly engaged with other communities and with their hard work and inventiveness contributed to making Britain Great.

Unlike Carlin’s father, mine, Tom Burns,  did not have a visceral dislike of the English establishment because of Churchill. My Chilean grandmother was  a Catholic,and Charles converted to Catholicism in late life.  My father who was brought to England after being born in Chile, never saw a contradiction between his faith, his Scotishness,and his patriotism towards Britain. His older brother David joined the Black Watch regiment -which has its own much respected tartan kilt and colours-as a young soldier and was killed days before the end of the First World War. He is buried in a cemetery in Belgium with his grave marked by his service to a a British regiment and a Celtic cross.  Scottish rebellions form part of our shared historical narrative , as do great British military victories and defeats involving Scottish soldiers fighting for Queen or King and country (and democracy).

My father worked for Churchill in WW2 in the British embassy in Madrid, countering Nazi propaganda and engaged in other pro-ally intelligence activities. I was brought up in London as a British citizen proud of his Scottish and Spanish roots , feeling enriched and made more tolerant by my multiculturalism. I learnt to love Scottish dancing as I did flamenco, and sardanas. Malt whiskey flowed as did Rioja wine. We celebrated the poet Robert Burns once a year with haggis and his verses.(My Scots family were not related to the poet but we do have an ancestry that links us to a wife of the Scottish King Robert the Bruce!)

My father preferred playing chess to football but my mother was a Real Madrid supporter, and I became a Barca supporter because I thought they played the most magical football.I become as emotional walking the Highlands of Scotland as I do looking out across the Channell from the cliffs of Dover. Scotland is part of a great island people who ae proud their traditions but also look outwards.

I am a member of the Labour Party. I can see why some Scottish Labour supporters might believe an independdent  Scotland will be a better country, serving their ideal of the common good.  They look at the UK and think Conservative government with an upper class Eton boy as a prime-minister,  and a Labour party that has abandoned its founding principles of human solidarity .

I do not share this view. Cameron has demonstrated  his democratic credentials by allowing Scotland to have its referendum on negotiated terms.  The referendum campaign has allowed all the issues to be openly debated. Labour MP’s who are themselves Sots,are highly principled men and women , as is party leader Ed Milliband.  Not only is there now a broad  political consensus to devolve greater powers to Scotland short of independence, Labour could well be returned to government to the UK in the next election , delivering on a programme that will better serve the interests of the British and Europe, Scots included. But whatever the outcome of the next election, a ‘Yes’ vote later this week is based on illusions that will be shattered at an enormous cost to those who hold them. Scotland will not become freeer. It will not only become  poorer economically- it will become a smaller , meaner place,in heart and soul -and Great Britain will become little England, closed in on itself.

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On the death of Ian Paisley

I remember Ian Paisley personally and professionally.

I covered his politics as a journalist during some of the worst and some of the better days in Northern Irland. I reported on the public man before having the chance to meet the private man.It was in the early 1990′s that I encountered the private and the public man for the first time. During a flight from London to Belfast we sat next to each other. It was still a  difficult time in Northern Ireland. The IRA were engaged in a new bombing campaign on the British mainland , while unionist loyalist paramilitaries remained fully armed and also active.

As a Catholic British citizen, I was firmly opposed to the IRA’s violence and Paisley’s DUP party which also seemed to epitomise the religious bigotry and extreme nationalist politics at the heart of the Northern Ireland’s troubles. A few years earlier Paisley had mobilised a mass protestant protest against any settlement with the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland and Dublin. He had later gone on to stage protests against the visit of Pope John Paul 2 to the UK.

On that flight we shared , the Paisley I got to know in private was  very different to his public persona I had reported on as a journalist covering the Nothern Ireland. He was engaging, conciliatory, thoughtful and with a decent sense of humour. By the time we landed in Belfast, I felt that a new political dawn was approaching-as indeed it proved.

Paisley, with an important part being played by other significant parties including the British and Irish prime-ministers and the IRA high command,   went on to move from the politicis of confrontation and ‘no surrender’ to the politics of dialogue and compromise, sharing government with his fomer sworn ennemies. He came to believe that it was possible for people of different religious faiths and different nationalist politics to live together. This was one of the key elements that made Northern Ireland’s Good Friday agreement possible. It did not satisfy everyone, but it brought about a settlement for the region that a majority accepted as serving the common good of Catholics and Protestants, British and Irish.

Paisley showed that the men who deserve a noble place in history are those who are prepared to walk that extra mile to listen to the other, and find ways of beter understanding the other -politics as a way of being a true citizen, leadership as statesmanship. May he rest in peace.

 

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The day before La Diada

 

I write these lines , looking out at the Mediterranean from my hillside home. I am in Sitges, Catalunya, Spain.

I chose a house here because of the town, the region, and the country. Sitges is a hugely cultural and tolerant town, just a short train trip south of Barcelona, and a slightly longer train trip from Madrid. France is about an hour away . The Basque country a little further away as is Cantabria and Galicia. But I can embrace it all,including Aragon-in  a day. Spain’s beauty lies in its diversity and large open spaces.

But , when not venturing out, I am happy in Sitges. The magnificent modernist movement came together here while the seaside promenade celebrates culture  in all its varied splendour ,from  El Greco to  GK Chesterton. There  are regular festivals celebrating some art form, craft, or religious icon. The wine harvest is nearly upon- something for all of Spain to celebrate. My neighbours are Argentines, Americans, Catalans,Basques, Castilians, Andaluzes. Our shared gardner is a Moroccan. There is a large gay community as there are many families with young children and grandparents. Our local priest Father Josep celebrates mass in Spanish and Catalan, and the doors of his church are open to everyone, whatever their sexuality or political beliefs, on the basis of mutual respect.

Part of me here relives childhood . When I was a young boy during the early 1960′s, I spent my family holidays just up the coast in San Feliu de Guixols. I learnt the Catalan  dance the sardana and my friends also spoke Catalan and Spanish, although less freely than  they do now. There were fewer flags around and you talked politics in whispers. But that was over fourty years ago. I first became a fan of FC Barcelona in the mid 1970′s when its star Dutch player Johan Cruyff defied Franco’s law limiting the use of the Catalan language, and called his son Jordi-Catalan for George . But I don’t support Barca these days because it is Catalan or democratic.  I support Barca because I like the way it plays football and bring up young players. I am critical of who it chooses as its main sponsors.

Today I enjoy living in a region that is culturally enriched by drawing from its own language and traditions, continues to make an important contribution to the rest of Spain, with which it enjoys a free movement of trade and people. I believe that Spain is a better country,having Catalunya as an important part of it, and that it would be a much diminished country were Catalunya to break away. At the same I am not at  all sure that Catalunya would be a better place to live in were to be independent. It too would risk being diminished without necessary becoming more democratic. Although I can see the attraction of dreaming you can start a better life after a divorce, I also believe that marriages are worth saving if each side is prepared to better understand and find good in the other.

I don’t know what most depresses me: the lack of statesmanship emanating from certain circles in Madrid that cant consider a third way-different to intransigence-or the mythical politics that drive those who believe that independence represents the best future for Catalunya and are prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

I have never much liked the idea of mass demonstrations or unilateral declarations as a way of making progress- nor indeed a referendum- a caricature of  democracy  Dialogue, humility, honesty is lacking in Spain today, as is any sense of the common good. I do not plan to be in Barcelona tomorrow or in Madrid. I might head for the mountains of Aragon and go for a long hike.. On the other hand  might just head for the beach and embrace the ocean. Confrontation is not good for the soul.

 

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The Jijadist & The Player

I share in the widespread sense of horror at  the summarily execution-murder- of James Foley, a fellow journalist whose only alleged crime was that he was a US citizen reporting on the brutal reality of the Middle East.

We are told that his Jihadist murderer spoke with  an English accent, suggesting he might have been educated and brought up in London’s multicultural  East End. If and when he is killed or captured by his enemy, or some relative or friend spills the beans, further details of the personal history of  Foley’s executioner will , with all,  probability emerge .

Who knows what it will tell us. But let us imagine that for a moment that it will tell us of   boy born into very decent, God-fearing family, educated in an English state school along with other kids of varied racial and cultural backgrounds, watching images of conflict on English TV, when not following Spanish football on Sky Sports, and somewhere along the way encountering some preacher, website, or other would-be martyr to the cause.

Such a process of radicalisation of an ordinary life has become part of the widely accepted narrative in the discourse and analysis of the terrorism of Islamic  fundamentalism which terrifies with its fanaticism and ability  to regenerate.

The narrative is certainly different from that of, and certainly in no way involves,  Munir El Haddadi, the Madrid -born son of Moroccan immigrants (his mother came originally from the Spanish north african enclave of Melilla) who at the age of 18 is being described as the new star revelation of FC Barcelona, having already shown his remarkable talent in the first team along the likes of Lionel Messi , Neymar and company.  The other day, Munir wowed some 60,000 gathered at the  Nou Camp stadium ,  scoring two of the six goals  Barca scored against Mexico’s Leon in the pre-season Gamper tournament. We are told that Munir is not only a great player in the making but also  a good natured simpatico. He is popular with his team mates to whom he may soon show his other passion-break-dance.

If only football could bring peace and joy and fun and reconciliation  throughout the world! Of course it doesn’t. But the young Munir’s  happy upbringing and career break is a good story to hang on to and savour. It rekindles our faith in humanity despite  that lottery of life, in which are fate, as the Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset said,  is determined partly by ourselves, but also by our circumstances.

 

 

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A family war remembrance

This evening at ten o’clock local time , on this day marking the centenary of the beginning of the First World War, lights will dim in the city where I am now London , in streets and homes, and candles will burn in remembrance… of those who died. I share with you the remembrance of my uncle who was killed long before any of us were born- 2Lt David Chambers Burns, Black Watch Regiment- educated at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College.

“He was killed in Flanders during the Third battle of Ypres, on 1 October, one day short of his twentieth birthday and six weeks before the Armistice of 1918.

The Burnses were enthusiastic letter writers from an early age. During the last weeks of his life, David wrote regularly to his younger sister, Alice, who was a nine-year-old schoolgirl at the time, writing letters home that barely hinted at the horrors of the sodden trenches and the killing fields beyond. In early September 1918, he wrote to Alice with darkening humour: ‘Thank you very much for your interesting letter and the drawing of me in a gas mask. I will do my best to gratify your desires for a Hun helmet but at present I’m afraid the nearest I’ve been to the wily Bosche is when he comes over and bombs us as he did last night.”

David’s younger brother, my father Tom, (then aged twelve) was with his sister Alice and their mother Clara when the telegram bearing the news of David’s death arrived. After opening it, Clara sat stunned in the hall, with the paper in her hands, silenced by shock, and waiting for her husband to return from his job in the City. She told her children to restrain their tears and to mourn silently. ‘There was no more plotting of little flags on the map’, recalled my father many years later. ‘Our war was over. Quite soon it was over for everyone and they went mad with joy so that an awful irony was added to our empty world.”

Days later a Roman Catholic chaplain wrote to say that David had taken Holy Communion a few days before being wounded in the leg and then shot in the head by a German machine-gunner. His regimental commander commended Uncle David for his skills as a runner and his bravery in the line of fire. Then David’s adjutant, Tim Milroy returned from the front and married my father’s second sister Clarita. Later Tim introduced his younger brother Bill to Alice, and they too eventually married. My father’s faith in God was rekindled, and he would long treasure, with a mixture of worship and trepidation, the enduring memory of his beloved and heroic brother, an awkward role model of selfless sacrifice in the line of duty, cut off in the flower of youth.” Papa Spy, (Bloomsbury)

2Lt David Chambers Burns lies in the small cemetery of Slypskapelle, near to the field where he died.

Today we should mourn the dead of all wars and pray for human solidarity and peace. Never have we had more need of breaking of bread.

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World Cup 2014: when Messi was not Diego

While writing Hand of God,  my biography of Maradona , I recall Carlos Bilardo ,  telling me about the World Cup in Mexico 1986: “There was Diego, and then there was the rest of the team.”

Bilardo considered Maradona an exceptional creative talent that required a completely different and indeed very privileged handling to any other member of the squad. Bilardo’s indulgence included allowing Maradona to  stay up later than others, be surrounded by his own clan of friends , hangers on, and relatives and deal with his own personal life as he thought fit.

While no evidence has been produced he took drugs in Mexico, by 1986 Maradona had already walked very much on the wild side in Barcelona and Naples with a looming paternity suit looming over him back in Italy. Maradona went on to win the World Cup for Argentina . That World Cup will always be remembered as the high point of  his unrivalled genius.

Undoubtedly Messi came to Brazil with a cleaner personal image but for a case for unpaid tax taken against him by Spain’s Inland Revenue and a brief spell of uncontrolled nightlife with Ronaldinho and Deco prior to Guardiola taking over as manager- a problem Pep quickly fixed , by reading the riot act. Either Lionel quit partying and focused on his football (and training) or he would never be as good as Maradona, was what Guardiola told Messi.

The parallels between Maradona in Mexico 1986 and Messi  in Brazil 2014 is that they both had managers who believed they have special status which required special treatment on the field as well as off it.  Both Bilardo and Sabella built teams around their VIPs with the rest of the players playing the role of a supportive if functional cast .

The main difference was one of  outcomes:  while in Mexico Argentina had by the quarter final stage with England wowed people with the brilliance of Maradona and how much the team owed to him, Messi  was in shadow  through much of the tournament in Brazil ,  including the final where a run-down the wing petered out like a damp firework, and he fluffed a crucial free-kick.

By contrast it was  the supportive cast of Argentina’s  defence held together by the de facto commander and heroic Mascerano (as opposed to the de jure captain and evidently diminished  Messi) and the auxiliaries Higuain and, until his injury , Di  Maria , that  delivered for Sabella. All of this may have  proved academic if Messi had scored or contributed to an Argentine victory in the final but the fact was that he didn’t.

Instead Argentina were justly beaten by worthy champions Germany that showed skill, flair and determination as a unit, showing that their manager  had learnt from the heyday of  quick-passing attacking La Roja but also how to improve on it .

The result was a crestfallen Messi, knowing he had failed to deliver and  reluctant to accept the Golden Ball which Maradona had claimed had only been awarded on the basis of money (Messi as the iconic Adidas player) . How different and sweeter would Messi had felt had Argentina won the World Cup in Brazil.

It will now be up to Barca’s  new manager Luis Enrique to try and rescue Messi from the dark hole he must now find himself and prove that with Suarez and Neymar, and a new intake of  foreign  young home-grown players in other key positions , along with the likes of enduring veterans like Pedro and Iniesta and Busquets , FC Barcelona can also return to glory days. Johan Cruyff  believes the ego-studded Messi/Suarez/Neymar  trio –bite or no bite- is a disaster waiting to happen. We shall see.  Watch this space.

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A World Cup lacking a World Leader

I didn’t take long for commentators to conclude that Spain’s early exit from this World Cup marked not just a disastrous premature end in a group stage but the end of an era for  a national team that had retained their European and World Cup crown over a period of six years.

I argued that while a tragedy to see Spain humiliated in such a way,their early exit did not signify the end of an era, and nothing I have seen so far   in this World Cup has altered my view.

It was a tragedy to see some great players like Xavi and Casillas relegated to the subs bench, and to see Del Bosque blunder tactically and psychologically -in using  Diego Costa and failing to motivate a majority of players to believe that having got to the top of a mountain of success , they still could and had to conquer a higher peak.

And yet for all the sparks of individual brilliance,  (Messi, Neymar,  James Rodriguez) pace (France, Croatia) , resilience (Chile)  and goal scoring ability (Rodriguez, Muller, Messi, Neymar)  , no team unit has managed to so far  entertain still less dazzle us with the collective excellence that La Roja managed at its best.

Consider Spain’s campaign just two years ago in Euro2012 and the way they defeated Italy 4-0 in the final, putting to shame all those who has speculated that the La Rjoa’s brand of posession, quick passing football had become boring and ineffective.  Prior to that , Spain had not conceded a goal in a knock-out match since 2006, incorporating ten matches and almost 17 hours of pitch-time. More often than not, it is because their opponents simply couldn’t  get the ball.

La Roja was sheer collective brilliance, poetry in motion when not just one player but several  hugely talented ones contributed to its solid foundation.  The defence not only held up but was also and capable of great movement (Jordi Alba)the midfield orchestrated by the eyes the back of his head Xavi was a seamless transition belt, with three more advanced players – Iniesta , Silva and Cesc Fabregas  showing their ability to interchange positions, and , despite not having  a recognisable striker, the likes of Torres each contributing or assisting in some marvellous goals.

What sometimes got overlooked  was the skillfull and imaginative way they work Spanish players got the ball the ball back when they lost it. Everyone tracked back  if necessary and fought as well as created.

In this World Cup we have seen examples of collective spirit and organisation, but this has been lacking in both hosts Brazil and Argentina who just managed to get into the quarter finals by the skin of their teeth against very ordinary opposition.

As for Spain’s humiliators, Holland, noone can seriously  suggest  that they have the dash and flair that had Brilliant Orange define an era, nor that this  Germany,Belgium, France, Greece and Colombia  are playing a football that everyone else feels a need to follow and emulate.

Del Bosque and Spanish players must be watching this World Cup with a deepening sense of how different things might have been had Silva scored that second goal against Holland. Spain’s consolation is that they have a huge pool of new talent to draw on for the next European Championships, as well as some players who far from being past their sell by date will now surely be motivated to redeem themselves. Whoever wins this World Cup, people will honour individuals not teams. The great La Roja  has yet to be displaced in the history of the modern game.

 

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Luis Suarez y el Barca

Cualquiera que sea el resultado de la debacle de Luis Suárez, una cosa es cierta. Es muy poco probable que quiera quedarse en Inglaterra y, de hecho los ingleses no le quieren  . También es mas que probable que su valor comercial puede haber disminuido en los últimos días ya que los propietarios estadounidenses  de Liverpool y sus patrocinadores corren a esconderse.

Así que deja la pregunta, ¿qué futuro para Suarez? En el supuesto de que no va a montarse en  un avión a las Cataratas del Iguazú  para lanzarse desde una gran altura, ni simplemente renunciar a una profesión que es su sangre vital, la tentación más obvia tiene que estar allí para buscar un un país y un club que puedan valorarle como un gran jugador mientras que pasen un estúpido   velo sobre su su carácter diablero opuesto a la de un  miembro de una sociedad civilizada.

Para el FC Barcelona- que, más que cualquier otro club, siempre se ha enorgullecido de tener la exclusiva de  ser  precisamente eso , ‘más que un club’, es decir, representante de un ética  más amplia  y universal de los valores civilizados-  sería prudente pensar cuidadosamente antes de saltar al mar turbulento y ofrecerle una tabla de salvación de la perdición.

Por otro lado, se puede argumentar que el FC Barcelona p podría producir un  interesante golpe de relaciones públicas al convencer a Suarez que hiziese una disculpa  publica ydar una  promesa de nunca volver a comportarse vergonzosamente ,  a cambio de ofrecerle a  este jugador de enorme talento la oportunidad de resucitar y ayudar el club de nuevo a la gloria.

Pero  dudo que el Barca del futuro realmente necesita un equipo galáctico formado por Messi, Neymar, y Suárez . Qué efecto tendría este trio –despues de los Mundiales—sobre  la recuperación necesaria de un ética  y una  identidad de equipo que rompió con la salida de Guardiola y con la desaparición de Xavi y Pujol, para no hablar de los asuntos cuestionables alrededor de la  transferencia de Neymar, y el continuo patrocinio de Qatar? El nuevo entrenador del Barça Luis Enrique, debía de actuar con  cautela y  dejarle a  Suárez que se vaya al Real Madrid, si es que lo quieren.

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Suarez and FC Barcelona

Whatever might be the outcome of the Luis Suarez debacle, one thing is certain. He is very unlikely to want to stay in England and indeed he is less than wanted there now anyway.One can also presume that his asset value may have declined in recent days as the US owners of Liverpool and his sponsors run for cover making him a target for non-English clubs.

So that leaves the question , what next for Suarez? On the assumption that he will not next catch a plane to the Iguazu  falls and throw himself  from a great height, nor simply give up on a profession that is his lifeblood, the most obvious temptation must be  there to seek a transfer to a country and a  club that might value him as a player while drawing a veil over his less than saintly attributes as a member of a civilised society.

For FC Barcelona, which, more than any other club, has always prided itself in being just that –‘more than a club’ , that is to say,  representative of a broader, universal ethos of  civilised values- it might be wise to think carefully before jumping in and offering him a lifeline out of perdition.

On the other hand, it is arguable that FC Barcelona might think it could bring off an interesting public relations coup by having Suarez make an apology and promise never to behave disgracefully  again in return for offering this  hugely gifted player the chance of redeeming himself and helping the club back to glory.

But then does Barca really need a galactico team made up of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez. What effect would this have-post this World Cup- on the necessary recovery of a team ethos and identity shattered with Guardiola’s exit and with the demise of the likes of Xavi and Pujol, not to mention the questionable matters of Neymar’s transfer fee, and the continuing sponsorship  of Qatar?  Barca’s new coach Luis Enrique I think would be wise to leave Suarez to Real Madrid- if they want him.

 

 

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Messi y la memoria de Dallas

Hace diez años la carrera  internacional de Maradona terminó de repente y de manera espectacular en la Copa Mundial de EE.UU. cuando dio positivo a una prueba de drogas en un partido del grupo inicial jugando  Argentina contra Nigeria.

Hoya Messi  saltara al campo en Port Alegre con Argentina para jugar contra el mismo país, un jugador decidido a demostrar en esta Copa del Mundo del gran rival Brasil que él no solamente es el mejor, pero es mejor que Maradona. Brasil ha sido invadido por los hinchas argentinos  que sueñan con una Copa del Mundo celebrada por Messi.

Fue  Pep Guardiola que poco después de asumir el cargo de  ‘Míster’ en el  FC Barcelona que leyó la cartilla a un joven e inmaduro Messi que había ido peligrosamente perdido los estribos, golpeando la vida nocturna con Deco y Ronaldinho. Si quería ser no solo tan grande sino  mejor que Diego, Guardiola le dijo a Messi, era hora de  volver a una dieta decente, un dormir estable  y una entrenamiento disciplinad. Sin esto, la carrera internacional de Messi seria de  corta duración.

Messi se recuperó, le dio Guardiola sus mejores años como entrenador, y en el proceso se ganó la reputación de ser el mejor futbolista  en el mundo, hasta que los aficionados del FC Barcelona se resintieron de su aparente falta de compromiso y el mal juego a nivel de club, alegando que él se reservaba a sí mismo para este Mundial.

Así que ahora es el momento de la verdad para Messi. Gane o pierda, Argentina ya a pasado a la siguiente ronda del Mundial. Un empate el día de hoy será suficiente para Nigeria -una fórmula tentadora para un acuerdo entre los dos equipos de no ganar el uno o el otro? Espero que no. Messi necesita  salir de este partido sin mancha alguna, caminando con pasos seguros hacia la final y la conquista. Cualquier otra  resultado  no será suficiente para destronar a Diego de su legendario trono.

Y ahora para que no lo olvidemos La Mano de Dios, un poco de historia relevante:

“En el contexto de la vida de Maradona… los dos goles contra Inglaterra en México en 1986, pertenecían en gran medida al mismo hombre. El primero mostró Maradona el joven pícaro  que había crecido hasta convertirse en una estrella, siendo tan inseguro de sí mismo como para sentir la necesidad de hacer trampa.  habilidad excepcional cuya combinación de aceleración, control,  fuerza y ​​la precisión se tradujo en  la grandeza sin igual en el campo.

Maradona salió de la Copa del Mundo de México con su estatus como uno de los grandes futbolistas de todos los tiempos fortalecido, a pesar de su imagen de una persona que se vio empañada por la disensión. La victoria de Argentina sobre Alemania (occidental) en la final demostró ser una especie de anticlímax después de la controversia y el brillo del partido contra Inglaterra. Pero Maradona anotó un triunfo personal en su combate de gladiadores con el mediocampista de Alemania Occidental Lothar Mathaus, la pura habilidad y autodisciplina del argentino finalmente superando el duro e implacable marcaje por parte del alemán. Y al final fue Maradona que inclinó el partido a favor de su equipo: con un pase hábil a Burruchaga, estableció el gol de la victoria de Argentina.

Fue un final apropiado para una competición que había confirmado la medida en que Maradona había madurado como jugador desde su comienzo  en fútbol europeo de clubes en 1982. Había llegado a México con su vida personal por los suelos, su equipo en desorden, sin embargo, consciente de que su reputación como uno de los mejores, si no el mejor, iba a ser puesto a prueba en la Copa Mundial más visto nunca. Esas presiones  hubiesen destrozado a  una personalidad débil. Sin embargo, en México, Maradona parecía canalizar sus tensiones internas hacia  una combatividad positiva….

Si la ola mexicana nació en el estadio Azteca, trayendo de vuelta la alegría en las secuelas del terremoto, era Maradona que había cabalgado en la cresta de la misma, gracias a su magia en el campo….

En la Copa Mundial de EE.UU. en 1994, Maradona llevó a Argentina a una convincente victoria por 4-0 sobre Grecia, y un disco duro ganado la victoria por 2-1 sobre Nigeria. Tras el partido Nigeria, Maradona… fue uno de los dos jugadores argentinos que analizaron….

Fernando Signorino, el  que mantenía en forma físicamente a Maradona  rara vez había sido sorprendido por un acto o un dicho de Maradona, pero la escena que presenció ese día-una estrella internacional reducido en un instante a un desastre humano n- fue una que no fácilmente pudo olvidad. Más tarde recordó: “Parecía como si a Diego el mundo entero se le había terminado. “Estaba llorando desde lo más profundo de su alma, completamente fuera de control”.  Extracto traducido de mi libro Hand of God

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