• Draw: The Champions Round of 16

Diego Armando Maradona is 59 years old , but he has been anchored in an eternal tribute for almost three decades. Neither matters his state of health, nor his work, nor his already impossible diction, nor his strange toasts in reserved, nor his slow walk because of a broken knee, but that does not prevent him from still giving the cumbia. Now the gymnastics and fencing technician of La Plata , there are even those who place him on top of a throne to direct matches. As if there was still a need to bring him closer to heaven in the face of so much claim from hell.

Leo Messi never had a church in Argentina to worship him. Six times the Golden Ball (to Maradona they had to give him an honorary one because he could never opt for an exclusive trophy at the time for the Europeans), the Rosario will always be the one who throws him in the face who failed to take the Albiceleste team to the conquest of a World Cup He stayed a span in Maracaná against Germany, so there was no way to recall those scenes of Maradona in Mexico '86 , where El Pelusa explored the taste of mythomania. The Falklands War in his left bootie and in his hand of God. A story, however, darned in the most populous and rogue city in southern Italy, Naples .

For the first time in his career and thanks to the match of the eighths of the Champions League, Leo Messi will step on San Paolo . Yes, the lair where Maradona felt fulfilled after his contradictory stage in Barcelona . Whether it was for Goikoetxea's wild kick; for that disease that, according to the official version, should be hepatitis; for his excesses under the protection of a legion of family and friends who gathered in his house to watch films by Adriano Celentano ; for that fight of flying kicks in the Cup final against Athletic ; or for his disagreements with former President Núñez , who ended up selling it to Naples after closing the contract of his transfer at the El Prat airport.

Maradona changed to the humble Neapolitan club since that July 5, 1984 in which the fans went from praying to avoid the descent to worship curls that became gold. In three years, Maradona had already taken Naples to the Scudetto, overthrowing totems like Juventus or Milan . The European success would come with the UEFA Cup of the 88-89 season after getting rid of Stuttgart from Jürgen Klinsmann in the final. A second Scudetto (89-90) would still arrive.

Although that was only the preamble of the sunset. After a win against Bari thanks to Zola's goal, Maradona tested positive for cocaine . He was suspended by the Italian Federation for 15 months. In April 1991 he left Naples to take refuge in Buenos Aires. There were those who demonstrated at the same airport. The most exalted considered that this had been nothing more than an Italian conspiracy for having eliminated Argentina to Italy in the semifinal of their World Cup, that of 1990.

Leo Messi will have time to be reminded of these stories. And also to know why life, not so much football, has taken him so far away from Maradona.

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