08/25/2020 - 23:10
- Clarín.com
- sports
The saying goes that hope is the last thing to be lost. And if the Newell's fans, ever since they saw Lionel Messi emerge at Barcelona, were delighted that this talented little boy would one day wear the shirt of the club where he made his first football weapons as a child, the news Arrivals at this time from Catalonia must have made them fly as many birds as possible. And even a striking wink of the numbers, which comes from the hand of the other great 10 in the recent history of Argentine football, Diego Maradona, gives rise to dreams.
Reaching 33 is reaching the age of Christ. That number reached Messi on June 24, when he was still excited that this season's lackluster Barsa would take the titles of the Spanish League, which went to Real Madrid, and the Champions League, which he said goodbye to. with the thunderous 8-2 quarter-final elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich, then champion.
It is clear that Messi, although he is still in his prime and has a lot to give the world of football, is closer to the end of his career than to the beginning. Something similar to what happened to Maradona in 1993 , when he ended his relationship with Sevilla and decided to return to Argentine football.
Maradona and Messi, during the World Cup in South Africa 2010. (Photo: AP)
In Diego's case it was even clearer than it is now with Messi that his best days had already passed. After having left an indelible mark in history with the title in Mexico 1986 and having scratched the glory in Italy 1990, and with two Italian League titles for Napoli in between, the suspension for doping and a dark step in the Andalusian club. There, with the technical direction of Carlos Bilardo and the company within the playing field of a very young Diego Simeone, he had not even achieved qualification for the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League).
After completing his time in Spain, he analyzed the options to return to football. And for the first time since its prime years, the possibility of returning to Argentina was present. Boca seemed his natural destiny, but finally it was Newell's who made the bet and decided to hire him, in a cycle that started with all the lights in a friendly with Emelec , on October 7, 1993.
So luminous was Diego's return that 23 days later he celebrated his birthday in Sydney, Australia, concentrating with Alfio Basile's Argentine National Team. It was the first chapter of the repechage that would give the albiceleste the expected place in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
LA VUELTA DEL 🔟
Today #Maradona returns to Rosario to face @canoboficial 🔴⚫ at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium 🏟
A great reception is expected for who played with the colors of La Lepra in 1993-1994 🔙
⚽ We remember this goal from Diego against Emelec 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/9CQ6ws5fCw
Maradona's cycle lasted little at Newell's, where he played only five official games. It reached the Lepra fans to tell forever with pride that the Ten wore his jersey. For most of that brief period, Diego was 33 years old . The age of Christ. The same one that Leo has now.
At this point in his career, a landing of Messi in these lands does not seem within the logical lanes. Clearly he has a thread left to achieve more glory in Europe, in a football with more demand and more money. But in Rosario's leprous half there are those who dream: what if instead of seeing Lionel with a new shirt we see him, just at 33 like Maradona, with the shirt he used when he was a boy?
FK