In 2001, four years after his retirement, Diego Maradona was honoured with a testimonial match: Argentina versus a World XI. It was farcical but entertaining.
Testimonials. Celebrity games for charity. ‘Legends’ tournaments. Football is more nostalgic than ever, and 40-something ex-pros are finding themselves with schedules no less crammed than those of their younger, non-retired counterparts.
Gone are the days when it was rare to see an ageing legend don their old kit. Today, footballers are only ever semi-retired.
What’s more, ex-pros tend to take these kickabouts quite seriously. Certainly, there will be smiles and silly celebrations when the goals go flying in past Jamie Theakston, but the competitive edge remains — and even appears to be growing.
During Andrea Pirlo’s star-studded testimonial in May 2018, the hunger of a 44-year-old Filippo Inzaghi was evidently still there as the Italian threw himself into goalscoring positions. As recently as January 2019, Jason McAteer was red-carded in a ‘Star Sixes’ tournament after clashing with Michael Owen.
And then there’s Jonathan Wilkes — his face stern, his celebrity qualifications long forgotten — taking things much too seriously in ‘Soccer Aid’. The contagious winning mentality infects even the amateurs.
Given the abundant (and sometimes excessive) competitiveness of today’s exhibition matches, it feels strange to revisit Diego Maradona’s 2001 testimonial match.
Because while there is some passion, skill and determination on show, there is also a generous dollop of fakery, joking around and basically doing everything in one’s power to let the opposition score.
At times, Maradona’s big shebang has more in common with scripted wrestling than football. Were it a competitive fixture, it would surely be investigated for match-fixing.
Below is an incident-by-incident recap of Argentina versus World XI, November 10, 2001.
Pre-match
November 2001. Diego Maradona is 41 years old, a…
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