Monthly Archives: July 2014
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 …
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 …
