For the first time since the 1978 World Cup, Argentina is without Diego Maradona on soccer's biggest stage.
The team could use him more than ever as the South American team is off to a rocky start at the tournament.
"We miss him too much. He was always there for us," 64-year-old Julio Valsi said. "But we can still feel him. I'm sure he will be looking over the national team from wherever he is. We need him to help us right now."Lionel Messi is making what is expected to be his final appearance at the World Cup and the team lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the tournament's biggest upsets.
Maradona died at age 60 on Nov. 25, 2020, a date most Argentines will never forget. He passed away while under hospital care in his home following brain surgery, and judicial authorities continue to investigate if medical negligence was involved. "What this man has done to get people to fall in love with this sport, maybe nobody else has been able to do," he said."Everyone knows about the unique sincerity and charisma that Diego had," Infantino said. "He was a great leader in Argentina, South America and the entire world. We have to keep celebrating him.
Maradona played in four World Cups from 1982 to 1994, and was the coach of the national team in 2010. Not long before the 2022 World Cup kicked off, the Argentine soccer association received the original shirt that Maradona wore in the 1986 tournament as a gift from Germany great Lothar Matthaus, who exchanged jerseys with Maradona after Argentina's 3-2 win at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
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