A little less than a year after that fateful November 25, 2020, which will be impregnated in the memory of all Argentines, the club where the historic “Ten” of the Argentine team emerged decided to become the epicenter of this tribute, which was attended by of more than 5 thousand spectators in the stands.
The president of “Bicho” himself, Cristian Malaspina, reported when the event was just starting and took the floor that “the decision from now on is to celebrate Diego’s (Maradona) birthday every October 30”.
“He is the person who gave people the most joys without asking for anything in return. That speaks of his nobility, ”praised the Argentinos Juniors holder, on the playing field, when people were still accommodating themselves in their seats.
Malaspina also claimed the figures of the sisters (Ana, Rita, Elsa) and brothers (Raúl; Hugo was not present because they lived abroad), of whom he said that “they are people from the neighborhood who always lived nearby and whom we love very much” .
It is that the symbiosis Maradona-La Paternal-Argentinos Juniors is unequivocal, beyond the fact that Diego was forged as a Boca Juniors fan, from that romance he lived with the Xeneize people, including conquest of the 1981 Metropolitan.
And today that the eternal captain of the Albiceleste team is “… a dead man who never stops being born” paraphrasing Bersuit in La Murguita del sur, the so-called hotbed of the world spares no effort in proclaiming its pride from the rooftops: by Juan Agustín García and Boyacá came out the best soccer player in history.
For this reason, emblematic former Argentine players recognized the figure of 10 and the eternal legacy it left. Thus, Sergio “Checho” Batista, Diego’s partner in the title of the Argentine national team in Mexico ’86, recognizes that “all stadiums of Argentine football should have things that remind Maradona.”
Or Claudio Borghi, who also joined –although with little filming- that team of DT Carlos Bilardo that won the final against Germany 3-2 at the Azteca stadium, admits having been “a privileged person because I was able to enjoy the best player and, moreover, , of his gift of people, “he explained.
And even Adrián Domenech, historical leading scorer for “Bicho” in the 1980s, recalled that Maradona “changed the history of the club, just as (Lionel) Messi did the same at Barcelona. I was lucky enough to share that moment when he was promoted to First ”.
“Maradona is not for sale; Maradona does not leave; Maradona is from the neighborhood; La Paternal neighborhood “ intoned the occupants of the head that faces Boyacá street and the song supported the theory that – which time tunnel – had returned at the end of the ’70s. The truth is that, in this type of football situation, the story is transmitted from generation to generation so that the youngest children interpret the story as if they had lived it “in-situ”.
Everything was combined so that this “Eternal Fluff” (such the name of the event) is a true party. The set chosen by a generous popular singer of so many called Hernán “Cucuza” Castiello (Atlanta fan, but former player of the club in inferiors) to recreate ‘El Sueño del Pibe’ (with Ariel Ardit) or ‘Para verte dribble’ (with Ariel Prat), that candombe-gem devised by the Heretic Guard, some time ago, to pay tribute to Diego.
There was also time for a game of just 20 minutes, in which historical members of Los Cebollitas (such as Gregorio “Goyo” Carrizo, Daniel “Tabita” García, Victor Chaile or Claudio Rodríguez) were measured with former members of Argentine national teams, world champions in Youth Japan 1979 or Mexico 1986 (Sergio García, Juan Barbas, Osvaldo Rinaldi, Abelardo Carabelli, Ricardo Giusti, Héctor Enrique, Oscar Garré and Osvaldo Escudero were there, among others) The result (2-2) is simply an anecdote.
The only booed of the night was, coincidentally, the current president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, who received –from Malaspina- a framed Argentinos Juniors shirt with Maradona’s number 10 with red numbers on a white background.
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