The tears took you back to a balmy July night 36 years ago. As Leo Messi stood there at the MetLife Stadium — defeated — on Sunday night, it was impossible not to be reminded of Diego Maradona . ‘El Diego’ was inconsolable as the Germans walked up to receive the World Cup at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome after their 1-0 win in the 1990 tournament.
Two geniuses, two completely different characters, yet so similar in their endeavour to defend the ultimate glory their professional lives had to offer. Messi could easily have walked away after the Qatar high. Not many would have questioned Maradona either if Argentina didn’t match the dizzying heights of 1986 four years on.
But they were not ready to give up. The two soldier artistes craved a return journey to the top of the world, an Odyssey of sorts, when the resources were drying up.
Going into the final, just as Maradona’s Argentina were underdogs against a German side at its prime, so were Messi’s Albiceleste against La Roja that had hit its stride.
A look at Argentina’s ball-possession in the two finals, too, suggest how they struggled to keep pace with their respective European opponents. On Sunday, it was a dismal 35% possession for the Argentines --the lowest by any team in a World Cup final --while the available stats say that it was 39% for Maradona’s team against the Germans.
Even the red cards — Gustavo Dezotti’s ouster late in the game in 1990 — took the last fight out of the Argentines, just the way it did for the Copa America champions when Enzo Fernandez was given marching orders on Sunday. Maradona, through the 1990 World Cup, had a team that was past its prime, quite similar to Messi’s this time around. Unlike his predecessor, who couldn’t score in Italy, Messi had eight to his name this time around.
But then, Maradona’s influence was massive. His assist for Claudio Cannigia brought down Brazil in the Round of 16 while the threat perception of the Argentine master didn’t allow Yugoslavia and Italy -both extremely drilled European units -to show their fangs.
Just as Messi missed a penalty against Egypt in the Round of 16, Maradona, too, fluffed his lines from the spot in the tie-breaker against Yugoslavia in the quarters, only for goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea to rise to the occasion and save Argentina the blushes.
The 1990 World Cup was also marked by the way Maradona divided the host country, also where he played his club football for Napoli. Before the semifinal in the stadium which is now called Diego Maradona Arena, the city of Naples was divided — one group cheering their boy while the other standing by the national colours and the Azzurri.
This time, Messi’s Argentina had a similar polarizing effect over the football universe. If you believed the noise, FIFA was playing a part in the champions’ rise, while the other stood by Messi’s sorcery and the team’s incredible ability to come back, time and time again.
And leading up to the final, Maradona, like Messi, was the biggest threat and German striker Juergen Klinsman explained on ESPN how they planned to neutralize the impact of the genius. “We knew one Maradona moment could finish us. Our coach Franz Beckenbauer told (defensive midfielder) Guido Buchwald to go with Diego wherever he goes, even if it is to the toilet ... Bucky clung on to Diego every minute of the game, rendering him largely ineffective. Buchwald’s persistence even earned him the surname ‘Diego’,” Klinsmann said.
Times have changed, it’s no longer the era of man-to-man marking and Spain’s tactic for Messi was slightly different. It was left to Rodri and Marc Cucurella to keep him in check when he was in their zone. The idea was to isolate him and dry up the passes to him. It wasn’t before the 117th minute that Messi took his first shot at goal, which might have gone in had Mikel Merino not stood firm and take fullblooded shot to his head.
Spanish coach Luis de la Fuentes’ instructions to his team to keep Messi in check were quite similar to Beckenbauer’s for his boys all those years ago “I told my players that facing Messi was the greatest challenge in football. Even at his age, he demanded our full respect from the first minute to the last. He pushed us to our absolute limit because that’s what the greatest players do,” de la Fuentes said.
The inevitable happened. Ferran Torres seemed like an Andreas Brehme figure from all those years ago, putting the dagger through Argentine hearts late in the game. And once the final whistle was blown, two magicians, divided by time, stood on the same platform, tears in their eyes. Just that, they weren’t the only ones crying across the world.
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