Maradona Takes On a Country : Soccer: Argentina’s hopes rest on his shoulders against Italy, and he wants Naples to root for him.
A quarter-page sketch in the Turin newspaper Stampa Sera on Monday afternoon showed Italian Coach Azeglio Vicini on the foredeck of a galleon sailing confidently into Naples bay.
On the shore to meet him stood Diego Maradona, the Argentine captain and the only player Vicini and much of the rest of the country believe can possibly stand between Italy and its logical destiny--a place in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Between the two men, between European coach and South American player, the volcanic cone of Mt. Vesuvius smoked ominously in the background.
The suggestion, of course, is that tonight’s semifinal match between the World Cup host and the World Cup holder could be an explosive encounter. Rather than downplaying this potential, comments by Maradona in the last few days have fanned the flames.
Because Argentina is the underdog, Maradona has tried to use his personal popularity in the city to turn the fans, in effect, against their own national team.
“Now (Italy’s powers that be) are asking Neapolitans to be Italians for a day when the other 364 days of the year they forget about them,” Maradona said, alluding to Naples’ desperate poverty and shortage of services.
Naples is Maradona’s second home and he is looked upon almost as a saint here, not just for leading the city’s team, Napoli, to two Italian and one European championship since coming here in 1984, but also for giving Neapolitans at least one thing of which to be proud--their soccer team.
An article in Britain’s Sunday Telegraph magazine earlier this year described his influence:
“And still, six years later, on the walls of little workshops in alleys, next to crucifixes, you can see portraits of Diego Maradona, grinning, ripping past defenders, shooting at goal.
“At San Paolo Stadium on a Sunday afternoon, for 90 minutes he can make the inhabitants of this battered city forget the fearsome problems that beset them: the constant noise, the polluted water, the gridlocked traffic, the desperate housing, the crumbling sewers and public services, the paralyzing unemployment and the Naples Mafia, the Camorra, fastened like some awful bloated leech to the body of the city.”
That description is no exaggeration. Naples appears desperately near social collapse. Hand-lettered signs pasted to walls by the harbor greet World Cup visitors with the words: “Water not drinkable-no houses-no work-shameful Mondiali.”
The message is that at least some of the citizens resent the money that has been poured into the World Cup while other, in their view more necessary, projects have been shelved.
Which team will the people of Naples support tonight? Vicini said he knows the answer.
“They will be cheering for Italy as they have always done in the World Cup,” he said. “I have no doubts about it.”
Matching player for player, even including Maradona, Italy clearly has the better team, but Argentina has made a habit in this tournament of ousting better teams. Just ask Brazil and Yugoslavia.
Italy, however, has history on its side. Overall, the countries have met 11 times, with the Italians having won six, tied four and lost only once, in Buenos Aires in 1956.
In World Cup play, they have met on four occasions. Italy has won twice and the other two games ended in ties. Even in the two years that Argentina won the World Cup, 1978 and 1986, it failed to defeat the Italians, losing on the first occasion and gaining a tie four years ago in Mexico--on a goal by Maradona.
Carlos Bilardo, the Argentine coach, cannot be feeling too good about the prospects for victory tonight in what is certain to be the bedlam of San Paolo Stadium. His team has been described by some as the worst Argentina has fielded since the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. Certainly, it has not been impressive in reaching the semifinals.
In the first round, Argentina lost to Cameroon, defeated the Soviet Union and was tied by Romania. It then beat Brazil, 1-0, after having been dominated throughout the game. In that match in Turin, Maradona showed the only glimpse of his true ability that he has in this tournament, making a dazzling run past three defenders to set up the goal for Claudio Caniggia.
Argentina’s most recent victory was achieved on penalty kicks after a scoreless two hours’ play with Yugoslavia in Florence on Sunday afternoon. Vicini sees that game as having an influence on tonight’s.
“Argentina is a strong team but it will be feeling the effects of the heat (in Florence), the extra time and the penalties,” he said.
Italy has sailed a much smoother course into the semifinals. It defeated Austria, the United States and Czechoslovakia in the first round, then beat Uruguay in the second round and Ireland in the quarterfinals. If there is any qualm about this, it is that Vicini’s squad has not really met what would be called a quality opponent and so has not really been tested.
The Italians have not yet been scored upon in the tournament, and goalkeeper Walter Zenga needs only to keep that streak going for another 50 minutes to surpass English goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s World Cup record of 499 scoreless minutes set in 1982 and ’86.
Considering that the Argentines have managed to score only four goals in their five games--discounting the penalty kicks against Yugoslavia--Zenga may not be tested often.
His Argentine counterpart, Sergio Goycochea, is not likely to be as lucky. Italy has scored a modest seven goals in its five matches, but four of them have been by Salvatore Schillaci, the country’s newest hero.
“Schillaci is a real danger,” Maradona said. “Every time he touches the ball it ends up in the net.”
Well, not quite, but Goycochea is likely to be seeing a lot of the Sicilian striker before the night is through.
On current form, Italy should end Argentina’s reign as world champion, but let the last word belong to Maradona:
“Those who want it are going to have to tear the cup from inside Argentina’s heart,” he is reported to have said in Florence.
In Naples, that might happen. It’s that kind of city.
