Maradona: The God of Naples

A few of us from work going to see this on Friday. Really looking forward to it.
 
He was Napoli. I never understood why he went there until his habit was exposed. What a player, and against some of the hardest defenders and roughhousing by the Italian players.
For me, and this is totally in my own opinion, he was the greatest ever player in football, bar none.
 
He was Napoli. I never understood why he went there until his habit was exposed. What a player, and against some of the hardest defenders and roughhousing by the Italian players.
For me, and this is totally in my own opinion, he was the greatest ever player in football, bar none.

You just said "for me " so that part is redundant.
 
Love Diego, first world cup I can remember is '86 before the oversaturation of football came along and seeing the best players in the world for the first time was special.

Hero the 1986 World Cup movie is on Amazon prime for anyone that wants to see it.
 
Watched the film on Monday night. Very good. A sympathetic portrayal of him and made me reconsider some of my opinions of him.

The Italians really wanted to win Italia '90, eh? Lots of skullduggery against him after he helped dumped the Italians out the World Cup. Blind eye turned to his shenanigans before that. Hung out to dry by Napoli in the end. Rather shameful. He wasn't a complete victim, though. Classic case, however, of someone out of their depth with the fame and fortune they have/had.

Great footage of the brutal treatment he received in Spain and Italy. Modern players simply don't contend with that and the game is all the better for it. But Maradona played like he did with opponents actively trying to break his ankles.
 
He was Napoli. I never understood why he went there until his habit was exposed. What a player, and against some of the hardest defenders and roughhousing by the Italian players.
For me, and this is totally in my own opinion, he was the greatest ever player in football, bar none.

The treatment he was on the end of from Italian defenders was brutal, straight red tackles aplenty, tackles from behind, kicked and punched off the ball, to put up with this and also excel in an ultra defensive league was incredible.
 
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He was Napoli. I never understood why he went there until his habit was exposed. What a player, and against some of the hardest defenders and roughhousing by the Italian players.
For me, and this is totally in my own opinion, he was the greatest ever player in football, bar none.
Watch it mate you will have the Messi/Ronaldo police on you any second,happen to agree with you!
 
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Great read OP, thanks for posting.

I was born the year before he went to Napoli, so my first real memories of him are from USA 94 when he was clearly off his tits and only managed 2 or 3 games before he failed the drugs test. Even then you saw flashes of his brilliance.

I've watched alot of footage of him and read a few books, and based on that I think he's the only other player even in the debate with Messi as the best ever.

Really looking forward to the film.
 
The trailer looks good. When is it likely to be available online or via Sky?
 
I know Carlos, and I am a massive Ronaldo fan, but he couldn’t handle the kickings Diego did.
agree its got to stage on here when the usual "greatest player in the world ever"post comes on i just ignore it! far better to put it as player of a decade!
 
agree its got to stage on here when the usual "greatest player in the world ever"post comes on i just ignore it! far better to put it as player of a decade!
It is very emotive and age dependant. I always thought Pele found great space on the pitch, where as Diego done it at close quarters, the original Ronaldo was electric and ice cold in front of goal, Romario was deadly, Cruyff was class, he had an aura about him, as if he played in 70 seconds per minute reality, never rushed but always lighting sharp. Then there are this generation of Messi and Ronaldo, both unplayable at times, but both play in an era of protection by refs, and the goalie having to play the ball with his foot from a back pass.
 
It is very emotive and age dependant. I always thought Pele found great space on the pitch, where as Diego done it at close quarters, the original Ronaldo was electric and ice cold in front of goal, Romario was deadly, Cruyff was class, he had an aura about him, as if he played in 70 seconds per minute reality, never rushed but always lighting sharp. Then there are this generation of Messi and Ronaldo, both unplayable at times, but both play in an era of protection by refs, and the goalie having to play the ball with his foot from a back pass.
yes feel the same pele was genius as cruyff,i do remember watching the real madrid side with di stefano for me being one of the most unsung players of the 60's could go on as yourself requelme van basten etc but pele i will remember for his quick thinking,and 2 misses he had,both against myiryzcovich(spelling)uruguayan keeper 1970 world cup,first he hit it from the half way line and just narrowly missed,and the one he dummied him running into the box only to see his shot ,miss by a few inches aaah breathtaking for an 18 yearold as iwas then!then again that brazilian side had another player never mentioned cloadaldo(spelling?)unbelievable player!
 
Maradona was toasted everywhere he went in Napoli: the restaurants, the piazza, the nightclubs where often he would party from Sunday evening after the game until Thursday morning when he’d finally pull on his tracksuit for training. Yet he was also public property, pawed at by his endless fans and increasingly beholden to the Camorra underworld figures who kept him supplied with cocaine and, it’s alleged, women. The seamy whirl of this existence is brought home in the film, most strikingly by the day-to-day footage commissioned by Maradona’s first agent, 500 hours of which Kapadia’s team were able to track down, featuring the star flirting, dancing, and carousing, in fur coats as shaggy as his hair. Naples, the world, and now we, three decades later, cannot take our eyes off him. Maradona was a superstar unlike any other.
 
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