Diego on my mind

I’m not exactly sure why, as I’ve never had a particular fondness for Diego Maradona.


Sure, I knew him to be an unbelievable attacking midfielder for Argentina. I watched with awe as he blew by five England players in WC ‘86 to score what FIFA has called both “The Goal of the Century” and “The Best Goal in the History of the World Cup”. That wondrous feat put Argentina ahead 2-1 against England and it, along with his infamous “Hand of God” goal, helped the team win the quarterfinal and ultimately the tournament.

He played in 21 consecutive games in four World Cups for Argentina (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994) (eight goals, eight assists). He has the World Cup record for being a national team captain 16 times.

And, standing at just 5’5” tall, Diego Maradona has become every coach’s staple example when the short kid on the team feels inadequate or too small to be competitive.

On the other side of the coin, however, we all know Diego has had his share of problems. He was reportedly addicted to cocaine for 21 years and in 2004 suffered a heart attack due to an overdose. He’s had his stomach stapled, has fired a compressed-air rifle at reporters, snubbed Pele, and in 2007 was quoted as saying that he “hates everything that comes from the U.S.” Most recently, he was banned by FIFA for a very colorful rant directed to the media during a live post-game press conference when Argentina qualified for South Africa. (No link provided here as we may have little eyes reading. If you haven’t heard it yet, trust me it’s worth the search. LOL guaranteed!)

So, now he is leading the Argentine charge into WC2010 with very little managerial experience. As of today, it’s reported on FIFA.com that Maradona has decided on 60% of his squad, but only mentioned secure spots for Messi, Veron and Mascherano. He says he’s going to “experiment.” That is enough to make even the casual Argentine fan nervous.

During the past two weeks I have set a picture of Diego as my screensaver, dressed my avatar girl in a light blue striped jersey and read everything there is about his advance scouting trip to South Africa. I’ve been unaware of the fact that it’s borderline-obsessive until now.

So just why is Diego on my mind? I have two theories.

The first is that I am hungry for any news coming directly from South Africa. There have been, coincidentally perhaps, more stories about Maradona in the country on FIFA.com lately than any other topic. Other stories have consisted of results of the African Nation’s Cup, various injury reports and the teams forecasting for June’s showdown. Maybe I am thinking of him because that is what I’m reading.

Or, perhaps it is a feeling or intuition I have that something big (good or bad) will happen to The Golden Boy between now and July 13. I hope that he enjoys some success because I don’t want to see anyone crash and burn, let alone a soccer legend. However, I can’t help but think that this is starting to feel like a scary movie – I’m watching with just one eye open.

First soccer job, favorite soccer job and the most important soccer job

While packing up the van for another long day of soccer, it hit me. I’ve been here before.


Directions with quickest route to the fields and game-day timeline - check.
Shin guards, tape, medical supplies, away jerseys (just in case) - check.
Ample supply of water and healthy snacks - check.


I actually had to sit down and think about this for a minute. This wasn’t just any old déjà vu. A stream of memories flashed before my eyes and when I came to, I shook my head and smiled when I realized what I’ve been doing all these years - working the same soccer job over and over.


My first soccer job was as the manager of the men’s soccer team at Kalamazoo College. I guess I was qualified because I had played soccer since age seven and that would come in handy at practices if one side was short a man. Another bonus - I was tall enough to put the nets up without any help.


My main job for the team was to ensure that they smoothly got to the games and back. (This was a riot in and of itself because transportation for the K College sports teams in the mid 80s consisted of four black Checker cabs. But that is a blog for another day.) I would gas up the giant cabs, pack the Umbro bags and more times than not, drive. I collected and washed the uniforms. In addition, I was responsible for equipment (flags, nets, water, medical supplies, balls), acted as a ball girl and made sure the players had their printout of the game-day timeline. In a nutshell, my job was to do everything I could to help these boys play their best.


Now fast forward six years.


My favorite soccer job was working for the 1994 World Cup Organizing Committee when the tournament was in the U.S. I was the Competition Manager at the Detroit venue (Pontiac Silverdome, real grass indoors, etc.). In my cover letter to the organizers, I wrote, “I can’t just sit in the stands for this one.” To any international soccer fan, this was a dream job. I was responsible for all aspects of the national teams’ stay in Detroit. Amongst the six teams playing at the Dome, were the most popular Brazil and U.S.


Main responsibilities as Competition Manager included overseeing transportation, accommodations, security, airport arrivals/departures and training sites for the teams. In addition, I was responsible for equipment (flags, nets, water, medical supplies, balls), managed the ball girls/boys and made sure the team managers had their printout of the game-day timeline. In a nutshell, my job was to do everything I could to help these men play their best.


Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before -- and fast forward another 16 years.


My most important soccer job is one that I have now - manager of my kids’ soccer worlds. It is my responsibility to oversee their transportation, security, physical state, mental state and general game-day preparedness. I’m in charge of their equipment (water, medical supplies, balls, uniforms) and am their biggest cheerleader and fan. In a nutshell, my job is to do everything I can to help my kids play their best.


Different teams, different stages, different players. Exact same job.