By: EFE
Anecdotes, stories, memories and some of the main emblems of the Argentine team champion of the world in 1986 met this Thursday in an emotional tribute to Diego Armando Maradona , one year after his death, in a conference organized by the Conmebol in Montevideo.
“I’ll stick with what he was, beyond being a player’s genius, Diego had a gift that went beyond the footballer, you saw it do pirouettes in the 86 hit him 30 subway s up and we looked like children who were in a circus watching an acrobat ” , emphasized his former teammate and multiple champion Jorge Burruchaga.
For the idol of Independiente de Avellaneda, Maradona he was “from another planet” , who lived both on and off the field “in his own way” and left them “very early.”
“It made us happy and the happiest of all was him, he needed to be world champion. It still seems incredible to us (that he is not there). I still stay with that genius who left us many lessons, many joys and a legacy not only in Argentina and South America, but in the world, because Diego is going to remain a myth “, he reflected.
Along with him, some of his colleagues also participated in the World Cup in Mexico: the exporter Nery Pumpido, the former defender Oscar Ruggeri and the former midfielders Sergio Batista and Ricardo Giusti.
Ruggeri said that is “a fortune” for Argentina that the 10 was born there and that the rest of the players only accompanied “this great captain.”
“He arrived in Mexico and said: ‘ I am going to lock myself up, I am going to train all day, you are going to help me and we are going to get to the last day ‘ “, Recalled the former Boca Juniors, River Plate or Real Madrid defender with respect to what was that world historic won p or Argentina.
Pumpido was one of those who showed his emotion the most when referring to the Argentine star, and before speaking he burst into tears.
Later he recalled that “was happy with the simplest things” and narrated the happiness that caused Maradona that Pumpido’s daughter, on her birthday of 15, give him a flower.
“That was Diego, a guy who was the best in the world outside, the one who couldn’t walk down the street. Aside from how great it was, it was easy to enjoy things with us (…) we are going to have him in our memories all our lives, someone who was number 1, the best of all ”, he stressed.
The president of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), Paraguayan Alejandro Domínguez, led the tribute and said that Maradona’s story from Overcoming adversity is what inspires all of South American football .
“Today we have to be without Diego. It was inspiration and it will continue to be inspiration for generations of girls, boys and those we love and we are the football family “, he highlighted.
In addition, he rescued” the self-criticism “of Maradona when he admitted that he was wrong and coined his famous phrase: “The ball does not get dirty”.
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