The 1982 World Cup was one of the big disappointments for Diego Armando Maradona. On the 10th he came for the first time to play in a World Cup for seniors, after the frustration of not having been called up in Argentina 1978.
This time, bigger and consolidated as one of the great figures at the World level, Pelusa had his big chance. Once again, César Luis Menotti was on the substitute bench, as were many of the ’78 champions, such as Fillol, Passarella, Gallego, Bertoni and Kempes.
The team seemed to put on more of a candidate badge than ever, especially since it had the 10. Diego had already arrived in Barcelona after passing through Boca, in a figure close to 8 million dollars.
At the ’82 World Cup, things didn’t go as planned. Getty Images
After winning the 1979 Japan Youth World Cup and the 1981 Metropolitan title with Boca, Maradona wanted to add a new star. But things were not going to go as planned.
“We were not good physically. I arrived with a heavy load of training. We had several months of concentration, but we played few games… ”, declared the 10 in one of his books.
The start could not have been worse: the team had a pale presentation at the opening of the World Cup and lost 1-0 to Belgium.
Maradona began to discover in that World Cup that being Maradona would not be an easy task. Not only because of the recognition of the people and because he was going to be more than ever under the magnifying glass of the press, but also because the rivals were going to treat him roughly.
Impotence, it could be said, was part of that World Cup for the 10th. Except in the match played against Hungary, for the second date of the group, he was never able to score again: he scored two goals, 28 minutes into the first half and at 12 of the complement.
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After the thrashing against Hungary came a 2-0 victory against the weak El Salvador. A game that did not leave much to highlight.
But the most important thing was yet to come. The albiceleste was already in the second phase, but after finishing second in their area behind Belgium, they were drawn into a very complex group: Italy, who would later be champions, and Brazil, were the rivals on duty.
Against Italy he had lost in Argentina ’78, and against Brazil, in the same World Cup, he could not go beyond a draw. This time she would take two defeats that would leave her out of the tournament.
Italy beat Argentina 2-1, and Diego had a lackluster performance. Claudio Gentile made him a personal mark and did not give him many spaces so that the 10 could show his magic and his talent.
The game against Brazil was defining, you had to win to have a chance of advancing to the semifinals. But there was another hard defeat by 3 to 1. In that game, Diego suffered the first and only expulsion in a World Cup.
Frustrated, angry, powerless in the face of imminent elimination, he hit Batista 40 minutes into the second half of the game, leaving him out of the team. A few minutes later, Ramón Díaz scored the final 3-1.
It was a bitter World Cup, moreover, due to another important factor. While the World Cup was being played in Spain, Argentina was at war with England over the Malvinas Islands. It was not a minor fact: the squad felt in their souls the blow of that battle that left many dead in the country and a wound that still has not healed.
But, as always, Maradona had much more to give. The experience served to arrive more consolidated at Mexico ’86, where he was going to write the most glorious chapter in the history of the World Cups.
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