Malaysians remember magical Maradona
Published on: Thursday, November 26, 2020
By: Bernama
Photo: reddit.com
Kuala Lumpur: Arguably one of the greatest footballers of all-time who displayed his magic to the world, Diego Maradona once manifested his supernatural ability with the ball at Stadium Merdeka in January 1982.
After four years, he captained Argentina's national team and inspired his team-mates to success in the 1986 World Cup, winning the final against West Germany but it was the quarter-final with England which remains an astonishing moment in his career - the Hand of God.
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In the unforgettable World Cup quarter-final, Maradona (pictured, right) displayed a stunning solo effort and dribbled past a number of defenders to score what has gone down in history as the 'goal of the century' - four minutes after his notorious ‘Hand of God’ goal in the game.
Back in 1982, the 22-year-old Maradona with his team Boca Juniors came to Malaysia and played a Selangor Invitational XI side in a friendly match and added his name on the scoresheet after slamming the ball past national legendary goalkeeper - the late 'Spiderman' R. Arumugam.
Approximately up to 23,000 local fans were shouting his name as the former Barcelona and Napoli star walked out of the tunnel before they were awestruck by his performance on the pitch.
"When he came, everybody knew that we will be looking at the future star coming from Argentina. At the time he was a maestro in the making," said former Bernama journalist Tham Choy Lim as she recalled one of those historic nights in Malaysian football to Bernama.
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Tham said most people flocked to the stadium just to watch Maradona who rose to prominence while playing for Boca Juniors.
She also revealed that the Malaysian fans were fortunate to see Maradona and his team come to Malaysia and wield their magic before their own eyes.
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"Since January is the off season in Argentina, the Boca Juniors team decided to choose Malaysia as one of their stopovers for the pre-season, and I was lucky to be given the chance by my superior to cover the match which I would not forget in my entire life,”she added.
Selangor at the time featured their own top players such as the late Datuk Mokhtar Dahari (pictured, left), Datuk Santokh Singh as well as invitational players like Malaysia legend Soh Chin Aun, Singapore legend Fandi Ahmad and Thailand star Piyapong Pue-on.
Meanwhile, Santokh described Maradona as a nifty and skillful player despite only once playing against the latter before the packed stadium.
"It was very nice and very great to play with a great player like Maradona. His skills were fantastic and I found it difficult marking him," he said.
Maradona died on Wednesday due to cardiorespiratory arrest at his home in the Tigre district on the northern outskirts of the capital Buenos Aires.
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