30 years after Diego Maradona’s “retirement” at Pampa: days of happiness, abstinence, football and solidarity before his last dance

“I choose those 10 days over all the others I shared with him”. The teacher Fernando Signorini Don’t hesitate. That mini preseason, or rather eight days, at El Marito, a field located about 60 kilometers from Santa Rosa, in the Pampas, was unique, magical. Over time, the legend of Diego Armando Maradona in preparation for the last World Cup in which he played, the one in the United States, of which this Wednesday marks the last 30 years.

There are dates in history that seem like coincidences and not coincidences. Saturday 9 April 1994, as Massimiliano Uria recounts in a note published on Clarion This Tuesday 9th, Lionel Messi scored his first official goal with the Newell’s children’s team. The day before, at Segurola e Habana, Diego’s iconic home in the Villa Devoto neighborhood of Buenos Aires, the training location had been decided between three options. That Saturday, while the boy Messi scored four goals, Signorini accompanied him Don Diego Maradonathe driver The German Perez AND Rodolfo Gonzalezthe silent, went to Santa Rosa to organize everything for the arrival of the 10th, which revolutionized the city and its surroundings.

Voting took place across the country on Sunday 10 April and the conventions to reform the Constitution were elected. After paying, Diego moved in together with Marco Franchi, to the Aeroparque Metropolitano and from there to Santa Rosa with an Austral flight. His arrival could not be kept secret and therefore almost 1000 people They were at the local airport after 6pm. Greetinghe said a few words and took the field.

In speaking with ClarionSignorini recalls the reasons for the choice. “There were three places, one in Pilar and another in Norberto de la Riestra. Both seemed inadequate to me. The idea was to have as much privacy as possible.. And that place was ideal, it had no excesses or luxuries and the contact with nature was ideal. Diego had met Angel Rosa on holiday in the town of Oriente, in Coronel Dorrego, who had offered him his camp if he wanted to hunt or fish. “We called him and got everything sorted out.”

What did Diego do in those days and why did the mini pre-season become a milestone? Among the many details Signorini adds an objective that was not possible to achieve: “It was about arriving well at the World Cup in the United States, yes, but above all in the second phase, after the first three matches, that is, another 10 days to reach the optimal level. But then the sanction arrived…”.

In Maradona’s routine there were aerobic exercises in the morning in the countryside and gymnastics routines in the afternoon in the city. Boxing in the training place of the former Argentine champion Miguel Angelo Campanino Angelo, exercises in Omar Lastiri’s gym and swimming at the All Boys club. All supervised by the doctor Nestore Lentini. Furthermore, a lot of attention was paid to the privacy of crack, the frequenters of those places continued with their routine and there was only select guests.

There were local and national media covering Diego’s daily work and he also organized two press conferences. But little has been published and mostly informative. The juiciness of those days was known some time later. From what Diego told in his autobiographical books, from Signorini’s details and from the documentary “The Daughter of God”played by his eldest daughter Dalma.

Those were days of relaxed Diego, who enjoyed shaving under the rays of the sun with a mirror hanging from a pine tree and a hot water fountain. “My old man in Fiorito shaved in the sun, I inherited it from him”, he said. They were days at Diego’s with the family, because in addition to Chitoro (always responsible for the roasts), Claudia arrived in the last few days with the girls, Dalma and Giannina.

Those were Diego’s days with withdrawal syndrome. “It was a lonely night”Signorini clarifies, adding: “I was reading in my room before going to sleep, we had already played the internship and, suddenly, I found myself dressed in my training suit. She looks at me and makes a sign. I understood immediately. I bundled up and we headed out. It was a night that seemed like day due to the clarity of the stars. We jogged, jogged, ran…until she huffed and said “enough, it’s over.” And we went to sleep.” The story continues to move and excite.

Those were business times for Diego, because he had signed a contract with Tournaments and Competitions and there was a cameraman who continuously documented his steps. Also, the journalist Gonzalo Bonadeowho hosted the Orsai program in Medianoche on the TyC Sports channel, was one of the few to enter into that intimacy.

They were days of supportive and empathetic Diego, as he recounts from La Pampa Diego Dal Santo, who will publish a book about those days this year: “The director of a home school approached the gate with the Physical Education teacher and two students. They explained that the boys wanted to meet Diego. After a while they let them pass. Claudia, Signorini, Chitoro and the girls were there, they invited him to have some companions and suddenly Diego tells them that he would have liked to see the school, but without crowds, just directors, teachers and students. And so it was, unforgettable for everyone”.

Those were the days when Diego, a football fan, played with the people closest to him, family and field workers, facing, almost by chance, the former River Enzo Bulleri (he was hunting with some friends), from conversations with Alfio Basile, who went specifically to inform him that he was guaranteed a place in the national team both for the match against Morocco in Salta (it was played on 20 April, Argentina won 3 -1 and Diego scored a goal from a penalty) as in the final list of 22 for the World Cup.

We will certainly talk about those days ‘Diegologies’, the course which will begin next week and will be a space for reflection, debate, research and questioning about Maradona and the situations that build history. In addition to the journalists, Signorini will obviously speak Daniele Arcucci AND Ariel Scherresearcher Cora GamarnikWriter Juan Sodo and the former footballer and current Uruguayan poet Augustine Lukeamong others.

There will be two lessons per week, one in person and one virtual. People can freely register for both semesters, one or per class, by sending an email to diegologí[email protected].

Those almost 10 days were talked about, talked about and will be talked about forever..