Africa also mourns Diego Maradona

When we mention the name of Maradona in Africa, a date is still remembered. World Cup 1990. Argentina are the title holders, but Cameroon will be heroic in Italy. Reduced to nine on the field, they won the match after 90 minutes thanks to a magnificent header from François Omam-Biyik against Diego Maradona’s team. “I don’t think they had the slightest intention of hurting us to win this game. There is nothing to complain about, no apologies. If Cameroon won, it is because it was the best team, ”Maradona had recognized fair play. it was thirty years ago.

1990 World Cup: the day Cameroon beats Argentina’s Maradona

This Thursday morning, Fecafoot, the Cameroonian Football Federation, posted on Twitter the video of this unforgettable match. “Tribute to this player who marked the history of football. At the 1990 World Cup, Cameroon won their match against Argentina, with the legendary Maradona on the pitch. ”

In the aftermath of the news of the death of the Argentine football genius at the age of 60, Africans remember the key moments that marked the relations between several generations of their players and this god of the round ball.

A special relationship with African players

Among them, the Senegalese international Kalidou Koulibaly. Without doubt the African player who will have been closest to Diego Maradona. “I will never forget your words to me. I only have one word in mind: thank you. For everything. Forever, ”he wrote on Twitter.

It should be remembered that the one the world nicknamed el pibe de oro had publicly sided with the central defender on several occasions in recent years. “If Koulibaly was white, he would already play for Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. He’s a phenomenon, the best defender in Serie A. […] In football, racism continues to exist. White players are always favored over black players, it’s a shame, “Maradona was carried away in 2018.” I played seven years with Naples and I too was the victim of racist chants from of some fans. I still remember the “Welcome to Italy” banners. I feel even more Neapolitan and today I want to be close to Kalidou Koulibaly. I hope this episode will mark a turning point: eliminate racism from football once and for all, ”Maradona wrote on Instagram in 2016 when Koulibaly was the target of“ monkey cries ”in the middle of the game. Maradona did not hesitate to appear with a jersey flocked to the name of the Senegalese.

Maradona to Abidjan

To fully understand the almost magical relationship that the Argentinian god of football had with Africa, we have to go back in time, well before 1990. “Africa, the twirling Argentinian striker who made the most reckless defenders dizzy , discovered it, on October 6, 1981, with Boca Juniors, in a match against the Abidjan stadium, tells, in its edition of the day, the Burkinabè daily Wakat Sera. It was at Félicia, the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny-d’Abidjan stadium, in a match won by the Argentine club by a score of 5 to 2, including two goals from the prodigy Maradona. He was only 21, but was already lifting a crowd. And it didn’t stop there. Even in his style of play, Africans recognized each other. “Diego Armando Maradona was undoubtedly the footballer closest to magical African football, with his swaying and bewitching gestures, his devastating dribbles that he succeeded well helped by his low center of gravity and his spontaneity in the game”, further decrypts the newspaper.

An ambivalent relationship with Africa

A spontaneity that has not always succeeded for the Argentine player. In the memories of Africans is also this day of June 26, 2018 when Argentina faces Nigeria. Maradona is then on the sidelines, as coach. “As Nigeria stood up to Argentina, it [Diego Maradona, NDLR] will literally explode in the stands when the Albiceleste take the advantage 2 to 1. It is then that the legendary Diego Maradona insults the African supporters by making a middle finger at the camera ”, reveals The Paalga Observer. “A gesture that shocked the entire African continent, but which he will have forgiven all the same. ”

The icon of all generations

Big names in football on the continent can be remembered. “It’s the football prophet who is gone. When he saw me play, I don’t know how he got my phone number, but he contacted me to congratulate me and encourage me. If I’m one of the 100 best players of the century, it’s thanks to him, says the former Senegalese international El-Hadj Diouf, interviewed by the daily Survey in Dakar. “He fought for it, even though he’s not an African. It is because he knew how to recognize and appreciate the talent of the other. Today, the whole world has lost. Maradona brought happiness to everyone. He embodied respect. ”

“My idol is dead”, regrets, for his part, the Ivorian Didier Drogba, “my first football shirt, the man at the origin of my passion”.

Same sadness expressed by Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o. “Good rest, boss,” wrote the former FC Barcelona scorer, like Argentina’s Maradona who also wore the Catalan jersey in the 1980s.