The reception of Central to Maradona: indifference, isolated insults and party in the stands

02/15/2020 - 20:03

• Clarín.com
• sports

Indifference, above all. Some isolated insult that went down from the stalls that are attached to the banks of substitutes. And most of all a party with its own colors on a full court. This was the reception of the fans from Rosario Central to Maradona.

"We think of our team, then the one who is a fan who swells for those who want," Maradona said as he entered the Gigante de Arroyito.

He crossed the playing field slowly, with the visor of his cap backwards while in the background the swine fans armed their party in the four stands. When he arrived at the visiting bank, Diego sat down and a few platelets insulted him while most encouraged the team.

Best regards between Diego Cocca and Diego Maradna. (Juan José García)

He was immediately greeted by Central coach Diego Cocca to greet him and they hugged without problems.

In the previous one it had become clear that it was not going to be another game. Those who gave the first message were the leaders of Central to anticipate that they would not prepare any kind of tribute to Diego, as they had been doing the clubs that received Gymnastics.

"You will receive it as one more technician , with the respect that any technician who visits the Gigante de Arroyito deserves, but absolutely nothing else. We deliver platelets to the technicians who went from the house or our kidney as Griguol, Don Angel Tulio Zof, Patón Bauza, Miguel Russo, Chacho Coudet or Miguel Ignomiriello, for example. For us Maradona is one more technician, "warned Vice President Ricardo Carloni.

The story had an obvious argument: Maradona played at Newell's and the rivalry between Rosario's two greats doesn't find space even to create an exception with Diego.

It was about the closing of 1993 when Diez decided to return to Argentina after his time as a Sevilla player. His destiny was La Lepra Rosario, where he barely played five official matches (against Independiente, Belgrano, Gimnasia, Boca and Huracán) and two friendlies (Emelec and Vasco Da Gama), and could only convert one goal.

Despite his fleeting pace, Diego knew how to build his own story with Newell's and his fans. "I am Diego Armando Maradona, DNI 14.276.579, I was, I am and I will be leper, without any doubt. Because I learned to love him, being very little in Rosario, but from where I touch, from where I am, I will always look at the result from Newell's, "Maradona said seven years ago, when the 20th anniversary of his arrival at the Rosario team was fulfilled.

And love is reciprocal, of course. That's why Newell's worried about giving Diego a special welcome when he went to the Park Colossus as a gymnastics technician, with that famous armchair in Rosario set a precedent.

The flag of Newell's fans in support of Diego at the door of the hotel where Gymnastics concentrated. (JUAN JOSE GARCIA)

On his return to the city, Newell's also said they were present to support Diego and made a flag at the door of the hotel where the Wolf concentrated.

This whole scenario created a hostile climate for the clash against Central by date 20 of the Super League, added to the fact that it was a direct clash for the fight for permanence in First.

On Friday, while Gymnastics was traveling to Rosario, a repudiable image was viralized on social networks with a bad chair and a lime bag on the side next to one of the substitute benches on the Central court. While no one was responsible for clarifying the reason for the photograph that came to the networks, it seemed a joke in bad taste for the "thrones" that prepared Maradona in other fields.

On Saturday, security measures were reinforced in the vicinity of the Gigante de Arroyito. And, moreover, they placed a sleeve outside the stadium so that the visiting squad, with Diego included, would pass by as soon as they got off the bus and thus avoid any possible inconvenience with the fans.