Diego Maradona tributes: Robbie Slater recalls the night the Argentine legend changed his life as Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo lead tributes
Robbie Slater shared the pitch with Diego Maradona in 1993. And what happened after the final whistle changed his life forever. He recalls that special night.
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One game changed my life — and it was all because of Diego Armando Maradona.
It was October 31, 1993, and Australia was playing Argentina. We were just two games against Argentina away from the World Cup, with the first leg in front of a then-record crowd of 43,967 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
You knew the majority of fans were there to cheer us on – but everyone was there for the genius of Maradona.
It was an extraordinary night.
To be on the same pitch as Maradona was incredible. I had watched in awe – like the rest of the world – as he single-handedly won the 1986 World Cup for Argentina, dragged them to the final in 1990 and taken Napoli, a poor club from the south of Italy, to two Serie A Scudettos against the might of Juventus and AC Milan, who had dominated European football.
Despite serving a 15-month ban the year before after failing a drug test and leaving Europe to play club football in Argentina, the Maradona magic was on full display in Sydney.
The mobility might not have been there but his touches were sublime – at times he was nearly unplayable – and the cross he put in for Abel Balbo’s headed goal was millimetre-perfect – the definition of creating something from nothing.
I absolutely revelled in that atmosphere. I felt like I could run for another week and I didn’t want the game to end. It was probably the best game of my whole career, certainly for the Socceroos.
But it was what happened after the final whistle in that 1-1 draw that changed my life.
Maradona came up and pinched my cheek, then kissed me on the cheek. All the other players were coming up trying to get his shirt and he wouldn’t exchange with anyone.
As I’m walking up the tunnel, I get a tap on the shoulder from a guy who turned out be the Argentinian team manager, who says ‘Excuse me, Claudia wants your shirt’. And I looked up at the Argentinian team seats and there was Maradona’s wife, Claudia – I recognised her from all the photos in the papers – and she’s pointing to me and gesturing for me to give her my shirt.
I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to give Maradona’s wife my shirt and I’m going to get nothing’. But what can you do? When Maradona’s wife wants your shirt, you give it to her.
So I’m sitting in the change room, shirtless, and one of my teammates has got Gabriel Batistuta’s shirt, another has got Fernando Redondo’s.
Graham Arnold looks at me and asks, ‘Whose have you got?’ And all I could reply was, ‘I had to give it to Claudia’.
All the boys started howling with laughter. At that moment, the Argentinian team manager walks in, points at me and says, ‘Diego wants to see you’.
Normally you wouldn’t go as we’ve got another leg to play against them in two weeks. Even some of the players said, ‘You can’t go over there’. I just said to the boys, it’s Diego Maradona. God has invited me to an audience.
So I walk in and Maradona, wrapped only in a towel, comes over to me and pinches my cheek again, then he reaches into his locker and hands me his match shirt, all sweaty and grubby.
He’s very jovial, talking to me in Spanish and Italian. I spoke a little Italian and all I could make out was “the best”. Then he reaches into his locker and gives me his tracksuit as well.
I walked back into change room and the boys were so dirty, all I remember are looks of awe and envy on their faces.
Then something even more extraordinary happened – Maradona wouldn’t stop talking about me to the world’s media. And when Maradona, talks everyone listens.
When we went to Buenos Aires for the second leg two weeks later, I was treated like a god because of him. He even gave me a nickname – “El Colorado”.
I thought, ‘Jeez, it must have some great meaning’, but when we got to Argentina, I asked someone what it meant and they said, ‘The Red One’. I was quite disappointed I thought it was some mythical Argentinian idol. But still, how many people get a nickname bestowed by Diego Maradona?
RIP the great Diego Maradona.Quite simply the best ever.Thank you!! pic.twitter.com/g5wGRXRVgX
— Robbie Slater (@RobbieSlater17) November 25, 2020
Those two weeks were to have a massive effect on my life.
I was playing my club football in the north of France and as much as I enjoyed my time at Lens, it was hardly the centre of the footballing universe.
Maradona was telling the world I should be playing with “the millionaires in Italy”. Suddenly player agents from all over Europe were calling me.
I didn’t end up with the millionaires in Italy but I did move a few months later to Blackburn Rovers and in a team featuring Alan Shearer. We won the English Premier League title in my first season there.
And that sweaty shirt he handed me in the SFS change rooms 27 years ago now has pride of place in the SCG Museum.
THE ‘CHEATED’ MAN WHO WILL NEVER FORGIVE MARADONA
Diego Maradona who died aged 60 on Wednesday possessed “greatness but not sportsmanship” said former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton who was was victim to the infamous “hand of god” goal in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.
Shilton told the Daily Mail he did not like that the Argentina football legend had never apologised for the first of his two goals in the 2-1 victory in Mexico.
Maradona, who Shilton described as a “the greatest player I ever faced”, went on to score twice more in the semi-final win over Belgium and lifted the World Cup after Argentina defeated West Germany in the final.
“What I don’t like is that he never apologised,” said Shilton. “Never at any stage did he say he had cheated and that he would like to say sorry.
“Instead, he used his ‘Hand of God’ line. That wasn’t right.
“It seems he had greatness in him but sadly no sportsmanship.”
The 125-times capped Shilton, who won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest, added: “My life has long been linked with that of Diego Maradona - and not in the way I would have liked.
For balance, this is how Maradona summed up Shilton in his book pic.twitter.com/kjrNJvBedr
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) November 26, 2020
“But I am saddened to hear of his passing at such a young age. “He was undoubtedly the greatest player I ever faced and my thoughts are with his family.”
Shilton, 71, says England were still reeling from the “cheating” when Maradona scored his sublime second goal.
“It was a great goal but we were in no doubt - without the first goal he would not have scored the second,” said Shilton.
Shilton - who reached the 1990 World Cup semi-finals where England lost to Germany on penalties - said he had rejected the chance to appear with Maradona on several occasions.
“My approach to that was always the same - that I would be happy to do it if I thought he was going to apologise,” said Shilton.
“I would have shaken his hand. But I was never given any indication that was likely to happen.
“Once I was asked to go on a talk show with him in Argentina. But again it didn’t feel right.”
Brazilian great Pele led global tributes to Maradona saying one day they would “play soccer together in the sky”.
PELE, CRISTIANO RONALDO LEAD TRIBUTES TO ARGENTINE LEGEND
Renowned along with Pele as one of the finest players ever to grace the field, the Argentine World Cup-winning captain had undergone brain surgery this month and died of a heart attack on Wednesday, according to a member of his entourage.
Maradona will forever be remembered for his “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final in Mexico City, when he pushed the ball into the net.
Stunning front page from L'Equipe, taking the famous line from Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Batistuta pic.twitter.com/K9oRzRbbUv
— Tom Peck (@tompeck) November 25, 2020
Minutes later he swerved through the helpless English defenders for a superb second goal, capping a victory that perfectly encapsulated the mixture of brilliant skill and often outrageous behaviour that ran through his life.
He struggled with addiction to cocaine and alcohol and had been plagued by poor health in recent years.
Maradona was most loved at club level for his spells with Boca Juniors in his homeland and Napoli in Italy, where he won the club’s only two Serie A titles.
Maradona is remembered for his masterly skill with the ball, but he was also famous for his frequent lack of control on and off the field.
He struggled with addiction, notably to cocaine, and with his weight, in contrast to the more clean-cut image of three-time World Cup winner Pele.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez announced three days of national mourning in the South American country.
“Sad news today. I have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a legend,” Pele wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of Maradona hoisting the World Cup trophy in 1986.
“There is much more to say, but for now may God give his family strength. One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky.”
Maradona proved an inspiration even to the current generation of football stars who were not old enough to see him play live.
“Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius,” tweeted five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
“One of the best ever. An unparalleled magician. He leaves too soon, but leaves a legacy without limits and a void that will never be filled.
“Rest in peace, ace. You will never be forgotten.”
Lionel Messi paid tribute to Maradona by calling him “eternal” after his fellow Argentine died of a heart attack.
“A very sad day for all Argentines and football,” Messi wrote on Instagram. “He has left us but he will never leave us because Diego is eternal.
“I will keep all the beautiful moments that I lived with him and would like to send my condolences to all his family and friends. RIP.” Messi and Maradona have often been compared in the debate about who was the greatest footballer of all time.
Both players are icons in Argentina and have been likened to each other due to their global status, dribbling style and famous number 10 shirts.
The San Paolo stadium in Naples has been lit up in tribute to Diego Maradona. 💙 pic.twitter.com/cyjjhOIxHK
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) November 25, 2020
Maradona was also Messi’s coach during his brief time in charge of the national team, which included Argentina being thrashed by Germany in the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals.
Maradona spent two years at Barcelona, where Messi is now captain and the club’s all-time top scorer, although Maradona’s greatest years were spent with Napoli in Italy.
Asked about Maradona in 2010, Messi said: “Even if I played for a million years, I’d never come close to Maradona. Not that I’d want to anyway. He’s the greatest there’s ever been.”
Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool held a minute’s silence ahead of their Champions League clash. Afterwards the coach paid his tribute.
“My entire life, he was part of it. I saw him first time when he was 16, he was THE player for me,” Klopp said.
Tomorrow's #Maradona front pages from around the world.#NewsDesign #SportsDesign #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/rnpBmnnbAT
— Society for News Design (@SND) November 25, 2020
RIP Maradona. My tribute. Genuinely upsetting doing this but needs must. #Maradona #MaradonaRIP pic.twitter.com/JlmkZv2uNb
— Graeme Bandeira (@GraemeBandeira) November 25, 2020
“I watched a documentary about him recently. Diego was a sensational guy, Maradona had some struggles, let me put it like this.
“I will miss them both.”
European footballing great Michel Platini said “a bit of our past has gone” after the death of Diego Maradona on Wednesday at the age of 60.
“I am very sad. I am nostalgic for what was a wonderful era,” Platini, who starred for France in the 1980s and played for Juventus against Maradona’s Napoli, told French radio station RTL.
“Diego left a mark on my life.”
Napoli bid farewell to Maradona, who won the hearts of the southern Italian city of Naples by leading the club to its only two league titles in 1987 and 1990.
A moment of reflection to remember the great Diego Maradona. pic.twitter.com/OUAKicEfMY
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 25, 2020
“Always in our hearts. Ciao Diego,” the club tweeted alongside a blue heart emoji shortly after the news broke that the Argentine had died of a heart attack aged 60.
“Everyone is waiting for our words,” the club said in a second post with a photograph of the Argentine in the club’s blue jersey.
“But what words can we use for pain like the one we are experiencing? Now is the time for tears. Then there will be the time for words.” As a sign of mourning, Napoli changed the blue background colour of its club logo on their social media accounts to black.
“By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time,” said Gary Lineker, who scored England’s goal in that match.
“After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RipDiego.”
Hoje despeço-me de um amigo e o Mundo despede-se de um génio eterno. Um dos melhores de todos os tempos. Um mágico inigualável. Parte demasiado cedo, mas deixa um legado sem limites e um vazio que jamais será preenchido. Descansa em paz, craque. Nunca serás esquecido.ðŸ™ðŸ½ pic.twitter.com/WTS21uxmdL
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 25, 2020
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