Oscar Barnade
08/12/2020 - 17:00
- Clarín.com
- sports
In the midst of quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic, the history of Argentine soccer is resignified . The AFA accepted the union members' proposal and the Footballer's Day will no longer be celebrated every May 14, in homage to the victory over England in 1953 at the Monumental with an unforgettable impossible goal by Ernesto Grillo. It will be commemorated, from 2021, on June 22, for the victory in the World Cup in Mexico 86 and, especially, for that magical goal by Diego Maradona in the quarterfinals.
34 years after that feat at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, it is a belated tribute to the top figure of Argentine soccer during the 20th century.
But it is also a decision that returns to center stage the ambiguous football relationship between Argentine football and the English, the "inventors" of the sport.
Modern football was regulated in a London tavern between October and December 1863. Four years later, there were already British in Argentina running after a ball in the Palermo area, where today the Planetarium is located. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the British community in Argentina created leagues, organized tournaments and cups; hired professional English teams.
The game became popular, embraced by all social classes, especially the popular neighborhoods near the port, it grew and became independent. In 1953, an English national team set foot on Argentine soil for the first time. That triumph was engraved in the hearts of all Argentines.
The visit of the English team generated so much expectation, that in addition to the meeting scheduled for Sunday May 17 at the Monumental, for which more than 90,000 tickets had already been sold out, another game was organized in a hurry, on Thursday 14, also in the River court, which was filled again. That day, Argentina won 3-1 and one of the goals, that of Ernesto Grillo, became eternal because he built it " from an impossible angle " according to his own and others' later chronicles.
On Sunday, the real official game, as approved at the time by FIFA, was suspended due to a deluge 23 minutes into the first half. They were 0-0 and so it was recorded in the official books. There was no revenge because there was no space on the British agenda.
But the euphoria was such that, immediately, an assembly of members determined that every May 14 the Day of the Footballer be celebrated , due to the triumph and the incredible goal of Grillo. There was no other reference as significant until June 22, 1986. That sweltering Sunday noon at the Azteca stadium, Maradona confirmed that he was the best player in the world and became a myth forever. That gray Sunday afternoon in Buenos Aires, all the media remembered Grillo's primary feat and elevated the stack of the " cosmic kite " to a higher category.
However, nothing changed the course of events, until yesterday, August 11, 2020. In addition, since 1972, players had to share their day with football leaders, since the AFA had established every May 14, as a tribute to José Amalfitani, the president of Vélez died that day in 1969. A chance and historical causality that will now be an anecdote.
Amalfitani, with the background of the back part of the West Stand of the Vélez stadium. who was baptized with his name.
Unlike the immediate decision made in 1953, it took 34 years for the leaders of Agremiados and the AFA to recognize Diego's marvelous work . "It is considered the best in the history of the World Cups and the best of the 20th century and therefore the recognition is fair," says the project presented by the union, which must now modify its own statute.
Precisely, these days the professional strike of 1975 is remembered (on August 15, River was crowned champion after 18 years with youth), which managed to definitively regulate the Statute of the Professional Footballer, in force since 1973.
The recognition comes at a time when the crack of all time continues to be the protagonist. Maradona is still Maradona . With his ghosts and addictions, with his firm convictions that generate the rejection of many, with his solidarity actions such as the one he is carrying out in those days with his beloved Villa Fiorito, that humble space in which he grew up, with a medical treatment that allowed him to lose 12 kilos in a short time and show himself a little better, healthier, with his desire to lead Gymnastics and return to the courts, with the emotion of Charly García's handwritten letter and that sentence, "everyone loves you", so deep.
About to turn 60, on October 30, the Creole myth continues to score goals, as in 1986, as in 1953, always with the English at the center of the scene.
The AFA and FFA statement
"A memorable goal shines in the firmament of Argentine soccer. On June 22, 1986, when the quarterfinals of the Soccer World Cup held in Mexico were played, the Argentine team and the team from Argentina met at the Azteca stadium. England.
Late in the second half, Diego Armando Maradona receives the ball in his own field, who for those who understand this sport, is considered the best soccer player in history. At that precise moment and without any hesitation, the young captain was about to enter history.
In a series of perfectly synchronized movements and dribbles, leaving no less than six rivals on the road, including the goalkeeper, our beloved Diego, in the final brushstroke of the memorable play, he scored the second goal that would lead Argentina to the semifinal, to later crown it with the so precious world championship.
It was a true masterpiece that will remain indelible on the retina of football fans, executed by a genius, a cosmic kite, just as the journalist Víctor Hugo Morales immortalized it in his memorable story.
This memorable goal was chosen as the best goal in World Cup history or the goal of the century by FIFA. Based on the foregoing and that the narrated goal will remain in the memory of the whole world and especially for the entire Argentine people, FAA proposes to the AFA, and it accepts, to replace the date corresponding to Footballer's Day by June 22 1986 ".