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Original sound: Toni Schumacher, former national goalkeeper “That was an instinct
- a
footballer who decided differently from one second to the next and who controlled the ball so well.
We just thought the ball had to be somehow tied to the foot with the string.
And when he started dribbling at top speed, stepping over, players came in striding: But none of that put him off his path. "
Toni Schumacher saw Diego Maradona live.
He stood with him on the square.
He will never forget the lost 1986 World Cup final against Argentina in Mexico City.
Mainly because of Maradona.
O-Toni Schumacher: “You had a high level of adrenaline even before the game, if you knew what a great kicker it is. A wizard for magic. When he was on the square, that was his stage. He was unbeatable there. He'd just been able to do such huge things. If you just watch the dribbling against England. Where he folds four, five or even six players. And finally, the gate makes. Brilliant."
Franz Beckenbauer had given his team to keep Maradona as far as possible from their own goal, i.e. from Toni Schumacher.
It only succeeded in phases.
Original sound: Toni Schumacher “Before the final it was our national team that we were not playing against Argentina, we were playing against Diego Armando Maradona. Who do we have in the team who can eliminate him because we really have to take him out of the game. Even if we only play ten against ten. Yes, of course we had a great man who did it wonderfully, Lothar Matthäus, who often enough attacked him in his own half and put him under pressure. But nonetheless, he didn't score a goal, but he made the decisive pass to make it 3-2. And with that he proved his genius again and we were second. "
Once in the final, Maradona Schumacher came threateningly close.
Original sound: Toni Schumacher »That was after a duel with Charly Förster, Maradona and me. And Diego Maradona then came into the 16
-
meter room.
He put the ball a little way in front of himself and then we both went in, threw each other at his feet.
He then tried not to get the hand of God this time, but to get God's penalty.
But the referee didn't fall for it. "
Was Maradona the best footballer in the world?
This question was and is often asked.
Schumacher doesn't think much of comparisons with Messi or Pele, but one thing is certain for him:
O-Toni Schumacher: “If there will ever be a team for ever, or a millennium, or a millennium, no idea. Then Diego Maradona will definitely have his place. "
Respect, appreciation and admiration.
For Toni Schumacher, Diego Maradona was unique in his very special way.
O-Toni Schumacher “When you see that there are now three days of state mourning in Argentina and he is laid out in the presidential palace and you see people passing by to pay their final respects to him. So in Germany, I find it very, very, very, very difficult to imagine that this also applies to us. Not only has he been respected, he has also been loved. When I think of the three years in Naples, there were pictures of Jesus painted on the house fronts and Diego Maradona right next to them. You can see how he was loved by people. "
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