A player in the World Cup caused Argentine legend Diego Maradona to cry, so what happened?
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Buchwald was Maradona’s “shadow” on the field (archive)
The joy of Argentine legend Diego Maradona was unforgettable when he lifted the 1986 World Cup at the Aztec stadium in Mexico, or when he was scoring goals in that tournament, especially his historic goal when he overcame the English players with great skill in the quarter-finals.
This joy might have been repeated only 4 years later in the 1990 World Cup, when Argentina reached the final, and once more once morest Germany, as happened in 1986.
At that time, Maradona’s joy turned to tears, because he was unable to lead Argentina once more to the title following losing a penalty kick scored by Andreas Brehme at the end of the match, but perhaps it might not have been the case, and that Argentina would not lose if Maradona was in that match at his best, As in the 1986 World Cup.
This is due not only to the level presented by the Argentine legend, but also to the presence of the German player Guido Buchwald in the match, who became famous following that for those who followed the World Cup, as Buchwald was like Maradona’s “shadow” on the field, and he settled everywhere he was positioned , cut off the balls, and remained close to him until the whistle of Germany’s crowning title.
It can be said that what Buchwald did was among the reasons for the Germans’ superiority over the Argentines in that match, despite the strength of the German squad at the time, with stars such as Luther Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann, Andreas Brehme, Rudi Voller, Pierre Littbarsky and others, but the Argentine team was playing the match The final was in high spirits, which was derived from its defeat of the World Cup host Italy by penalty kicks in the semi-finals, as many considered at the time that this difficult match was the gateway for the Argentines to retain the world title following 1986.
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Buchwald performed a heroic performance once morest Maradona (archive)
It all began with the “Kaiser” Franz Beckenbauer, who was coaching the German national team in the 1990 World Cup, and who knew Maradona well following he was also coach of Germany in the 1986 final, and knows what the Argentine legend also provided throughout the tournament.
At the time, before the final match in 1990, Beckenbauer considered that there must be a player who would be Maradona’s “shadow” on the field, and stay close to him wherever he was, to prevent his “danger”, which means Argentina lost more than half of its strength, to entrust the task to Guido Buchwald. .
Buchwald says of that confrontation with Maradona that Beckenbauer told him that he would become a “national hero” if he succeeded in his mission once morest Maradona, and added that he looked into the eyes of the Argentine legend when he was in the corridor leading to the stadium, and said in his heart: “Today will be mine, O Diego. I won’t let you pass me by.”
Indeed, Buchwald’s performance was heroic in the match, as he succeeded in his mission perfectly. He said regarding this: “Maradona was calm at the beginning of the match, but he started to get nervous little by little. That’s when I realized that I had succeeded in the task.”
Certainly, Germany will not forget Guido Buchwald, although many generations do not know him, because he was not one of the first stars and big names in the world of football, but at least he will always retain the status of “champion” once morest a legend like Maradona.
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Buchwald and Maradona during the match (archive)