What is the goal of a testimonial professional#

This isnРІР‚в„ўt soccer weРІР‚в„ўre watching itРІР‚в„ўs a street fight. It was the final of the Copa del Rey, played before the King of Spain, though these sporting details hardly matter. The filmРІР‚в„ўs first shocking sequence comes from the tail end of his time there: a young Maradona in an on-field brawl, wading fearlessly into the thick of the chaos. At twenty-one, he joined F.C.Р’В Barcelona, for what was then a world-record fee.

What is the goal of a testimonial professional#

Raised in poverty, he signed his first professional contract at age fifteen, and supported his family from that day forward. Maradona grew up in Villa Fiorito, a slum on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. What the film makes clear is that the origins of MaradonaРІР‚в„ўs downfall were always present the bold recklessness that made him successful also crippled him in the end.

The film, like all good sports documentaries, is only ostensibly about sport: in fact, itРІР‚в„ўs a tragic parable, a portrait of genius, a revealing look at the emotional cost of fame and how disposable talent can be, no matter how otherworldly the gift. Asif KapadiaРІР‚в„ўs remarkable new documentary, called simply РІР‚СљDiego MaradonaРІР‚Сњ and released, in September, on HBO, tells the harrowing story of what happened. Somehow, between scoring that goal, winning the World Cup two matches later, and that 2001 testimonial match, it all went wrong. The iconic Argentine-television narration sums up the feeling: РІР‚СљDiego,РІР‚Сњ the breathless announcer shouts, РІР‚Сљwhat planet are you from?РІР‚Сњ His second, scored minutes later, is known simply as the Goal of the Century: a dazzling, mazy seventy-yard sprint with the ball glued improbably to his left foot, as English defenders flail helplessly to the side.

The first, an audacious handball, is brazen, opportunistic cheating-which somehow worked. ArgentinaРІР‚в„ўs quarter-final match against England in the 1986 World Cup will always be remembered for MaradonaРІР‚в„ўs two goals, which, taken together, are a kind of shorthand into his genius and recklessness. If it seems strange to you that a med student could forget that another human being was subject to the same laws of life and death as the rest of us, itРІР‚в„ўs likely you didnРІР‚в„ўt see-perhaps РІР‚СљexperienceРІР‚Сњ is the correct verb-Maradona at his peak. My cousin was in medical school at the time. РІР‚СљDiego is going to die,РІР‚Сњ he said in an urgent whisper, the words tumbling out with the force of discovery, as if MaradonaРІР‚в„ўs mortality had never occurred to him. At the mention of MaradonaРІР‚в„ўs farewell match, he fell into a reverential silence, his eyes suddenly watering. A few days later, in Lima, Peru, I visited a cousin of mine. Seeing him in that tribute game was a reminder of all weРІР‚в„ўd taken from him, and I wasnРІР‚в„ўt the only one who felt that way. This, unfortunately, is how we often treat our heroes: with a kind of transactional love. It was harder to keep up with world soccer in those days, but thatРІР‚в„ўs only a partial excuse.

In the nineteen-eighties, when I was in middle school, Maradona had been my idol, but, by the time of the testimonial match, I admit that IРІР‚в„ўd lost sight of his career. Even for those of us who knew the broad outlines of MaradonaРІР‚в„ўs fall from grace, it was shocking. Each time the ball hit the back of the net, Higuita and Maradona locked in an embrace.Р”Р‡or casual fans, it made for uncomfortable viewing. He scored two goals that day, both penalties against RenР“В© Higuita, the former goalkeeper for the Colombian national team, who obliged his old friend by jumping out of the way. The opposing players indulged him, stepping aside as he lumbered by. In his prime, Maradona could flit past defenders with sublime ease, but now, at forty-one, he was overweight, with bad knees and bad ankles, and had been fighting drug addiction for nearly two decades. MaradonaРІР‚в„ўs testimonial was an all-star affair, with luminaries like Hristo Stoichkov and Eric Cantona, befitting a player who was once regarded as the best in the world. For those unacquainted with the tradition, testimonials are tribute games, played for adoring, nostalgic fans, in which friends of the honored player jog leisurely around the pitch, allowing him one more moment of glory. On November 10, 2001, Diego Armando Maradona played his final testimonial match, in Buenos Aires.