Maradona calls for meeting with Argentina players

As the 14th minute came up on the clock at the Krestovsky Stadium in Russia where Argentina were playing a do-or-die World Cup group match against Nigeria in 2018, Messi brought down a laser-guided aerial through ball from Ever Banega with his thigh, and the second touch from Messi was almost instantaneous before a lethal right-footed shot curled away from the goalkeeper's reach and into the net. The stadium erupted with Messi's first goal in that World Cup but one man sitting in the arena had a limelight just about as big as the Argentina number 10 on the pitch.

It was none other than Diego Armando Maradona, arms outstretched and apparently in a state of hysteria as he thanked the heavens in celebration of Messi's goal. As iconic as they come, those scenes will not be repeated in Qatar at this World Cup. His dance with a Nigerian fan during the game caught attention and he even needed medical attention in the frenzy of Argentina's win.

Even decades after retiring, Maradona had hung over Argentine football like a giant's dead body. They had failed to win the cherished World Cup since Maradona led them to it in 1986 with a 'hand of god' and two magical feet that could only be stopped with the most atrocious tackles. Maradona's title-winning campaign was symbolic of how one player can get a team going, however, his fall from grace in later years had similarly hogged the spotlight.

Maradona has a special place in the hearts of people in Bangladesh too. His exploits at that 1986 World Cup, and especially those two goals against England, further fuelled his lore in the minds and hearts of people, given it was the first World Cup seen in colour TV.

Maradona, for the majority of the 90's kids in the country, became the most household name. Colour posters strewn across the study table walls, glued in by family members who would stay up into the night during the 1994 World Cup and shout 'that's him, that's Maradona' to the young ones, no matter how sleepy the kids were, are testaments to Bangladesh's love for the Argentina number 10.

In that 1994 World Cup, Maradona had failed a drug test following a game against Nigeria and it culminated in the saddest day in Argentina football. Maradona claimed responsibility as Argentina eventually fell out of the World Cup, but the story had been that he was a victim of circumstances.

It was not just Argentines who were left weeping but similarly heartbroken were fans in Bangladesh in tandem with the rest of the world. Famous Uruguayan football writer Eduardo Galeano mentioned the love people had for Maradona, following his banishment from the 1994 World Cup, in his book, titled: Football in Sun and Shadow.

"There was stupefaction and scandal, a blast of moral condemnation that left the whole world deaf. But somehow a few voices of support for the fallen idol managed to squeak through, not only in his wounded and dumbfounded Argentina, but in places as far away as Bangladesh, where a sizable demonstration repudiating FIFA and demanding Maradona's return shook the streets," Galeano wrote.

In a way, a star like Maradona falling from grace had made him more human and closer to the hearts of the mass. Indeed, no other great footballer has come to be accepted in the same way Maradona had been. When he passed away in 2020, the tributes flowed and it still continues to do so.

At heart, he remained a pure entertainer till the end and his frailties were accepted just as his genius was. Even as he coached Argentina in the 2010 World Cup, Maradona faced criticism for his theatrics as the results did not match expectations but he continued to grab headlines even after that. When he showed up at Argentina team hotel before the World Cup 2014 final against Germany, he had reportedly already irritated several Argentina officials. Maradona, however, had his own way of viewing things.

Always the showman, not afraid of criticism. There will be no wild cheers, no theatrics from the great man at the Qatar World Cup.

Brazilian legend Pele, who had enjoyed an immense rivalry with Maradona over the years on who was the better player and had shared the best player of the century award with the Argentine in the year 2000, had written an emotional goodbye a month after Maradona's death.

"One day, in heaven, we will play together on the same team. And it will be the first time that I raise my fist in the air in triumph on the pitch without celebrating a goal. It will be because I can finally embrace you again," Pele had written on a social media post. 

Maradona's passing away left a gaping void in the footballing world and his presence will be heavily missed in Qatar and the World Cups that follow.

 A trial of eight health workers charged with "homicide by negligence" over the death of Diego Maradona has been postponed from October until March, Argentine media reported on Thursday.

A court in San Isidro, a town on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, granted the request of three of the eight defendants to postpone for a second time the trial, originally scheduled for June 4 and due to start on Oct. 1.

The process will now begin on March 11, the Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported.

The footballing great, who led Argentina to a second World Cup title in 1986, died aged 60 in November 2020 from heart failure after undergoing brain surgery days earlier.

Among those charged in the death of the former Boca Juniors and Napoli player are his neurosurgeon, psychologist, psychiatrist and nurses, who could face prison sentences ranging from eight to 25 years.

Argentina and Nigeria will be battling it out for a last-16 spot of Group D in the World Cup at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg.

Argentina are currently enduring their longest winless run in a first-round World Cup group stage in history. Nigeria, on the other hand, has an advantage over Argentina in terms of points but has lacked consistently so far in the Group Stage. Nigeria are second in their group and could qualify should they beat Argentina. The South American side, however, still have a final shot at making it to the last 16 if they are to beat Nigeria, and if Croatia managed to avoid defeat to Iceland.

The match is scheduled to start at 12:00 am in Bangladesh time. Let’s look at some of the statistics ahead of the thrilling encounter.

     Head-to-head:

1. In each of the last four World Cups Nigeria have qualified for (2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018) they have been drawn in the same group as Argentina. They were also in the same group in 1994.
2. The Super Eagles have lost all four of their previous World Cup games against Argentina, with all of those defeats by single-goal margins (1-0 in 2002 and 2010, 2-1 in 1994, 3-2 in 2014).
3. The Nigerians lost a group game to Paraguay at the 1998 tournament, so have been defeated in all five of their World Cup matches versus South American opposition.

    Nigeria

1. Nigeria's six World Cup wins have all come against European sides - they have never beaten opposition from another continent.
2. The only previous time the Super Eagles won back-to-back World Cup games was in 1998, when they defeated Spain and Bulgaria in their first two matches.
3. Victory would ensure Nigeria reach the knock-out stage for a second successive World Cup, and for the fourth time in six appearances overall.
4. Ahmed Musa is Nigeria's all-time top scorer at the World Cup with four goals - two against Iceland at this tournament, and two versus Argentina in 2014.

   Argentina

1. The only previous time Argentina have failed to win a game at a World Cup was in 1934, when the tournament was a straight knock-out. They selected an inexperienced, amateur squad, and lost 3-2 to Sweden in the first round.
2. They have never completed a first round group stage at a World Cup without at least one win.
3.  The Argentines are enduring their longest winless run in World Cup history (D2, L2), although that four-match streak includes the 2014 semi-final against the Dutch, which they won on penalties.
4. They last lost back-to-back World Cup games in 1994 (against Bulgaria and Romania). They have never lost consecutive games in the opening group stage.
5. Lionel Messi has failed to score with his last 22 shots in matches at World Cup finals.
6. But over the last two years he has scored 14 goals in 18 games for Argentina.

Cesar Luis Menotti, who famously coached Argentina to their first World Cup triumph in 1978, has died at the age of 85, the country's football federation (AFA) announced Sunday.

"The Argentine Football Association regrets to report with great sadness the death of Cesar Luis Menotti, former world champion coach of Argentina," the AFA said in a statement.

Picture released on March 1978 of Cesar Luis Menotti, Argentine football coach and team manager. Argentine former football player Cesar Menotti, Argentina's 1978 World Cup winning coach, died at 85, announced the Argentine Football Association on May 5, 2024. Photo: AFP

The chain-smoking Menotti managed 11 clubs, some more than once, and two national teams in a coaching career that lasted 37 years.

But he will be best remembered for leading Argentina to the 1978 World Cup played on home soil at a time when the country was ruled by a repressive junta.

Argentine football coach Cesar Luis Menotti, director of national teams, speaks during a press conference in Buenos Aires, on January 25, 2019. Argentine former football player Cesar Menotti, Argentina's 1978 World Cup winning coach, died at 85, announced the Argentine Football Association on May 5, 2024. Photo: AFP

In the final, Argentina defeated the Netherlands 3-1 after extra-time with flamboyant man of the tournament Mario Kempes scoring twice against a Dutch side shorn of Johan Cruyff, who had refused to play in the World Cup.

Menotti opted not to pick 17-year-old phenomenon Diego Maradona, who had made his international debut the year before.

Diego Maradona's children filed a request with the Argentine Courts on Thursday to move the former football great's body "to a much safer place" and for fans "to pay tribute" in a mausoleum.

Maradona's remains lie in a private cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires where he was carried in November 2020 in a massive funeral procession. Only family members are allowed to enter the cemetery.

The mausoleum, called "Memorial del Diez," is located behind the Casa Rosada, the seat of the executive branch of the Argentine government, and will be open to the public, Veronica Ojeda, mother of Maradona's youngest son, told local media.

"All the heirs request by common agreement to authorise the transfer to his next destination of eternal rest (...) in a much safer place than the current one," said the note presented to the court signed by Dalma and Gianinna Maradona, and Ojeda on behalf of Diego Maradona Jr.

"And so that all the Argentine people and the citizens of the world can pay homage to our father who was the greatest Argentine idol."

The relocation will take place around Oct. 30, the birth date of the 1986 World Cup winner with Argentina, one of the family's lawyers told reporters.

Maradona died at age 60 in November 2020 from a heart attack. Fans of Napoli and of the Argentine national team worshipped him as the "god of football."