Rajat Subhra Chatterjee
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Without dedication and discipline, one can not derive peace and happiness in life. It applies to any celebrity, who has had a slip or two in their way of life, must have ended in disaster. As we discuss these in the midst of Qatar World Cup when the stage is set for last 16, we obviously look back at few immortals who had sad end in their last appearance in World Cup.
Diego Armando Maradona, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Oliver Kahn, Ronaldinho, – these are not mere names; they each are an Institution of Football who had come into being like bubbling roses, became ominous geniuses who sparkled the green fields all over the globe, satisfying millions of eyes with their magnetic skills and output, yet finished their world cup endeavors in sadness, in dark web of hallucination that left fans shed tears and expressed acute exasperation of unfulfilled dreams.
The Football geniuses are left to stroll on a thin thread, balancing their performances. Little bit of mistake, and you are under guillotine. The court of football will not care a bit – whether you had scored after dodging five players, or when you had mesmerized your opponents with a curling free kick or defended an impossible situation. Football Judges will ignore whether you have been a Picasso, or a Vinchi or a Van Gogh. You would be considered high if you had obeyed all rules of the game. Then hats off to you. You would be treated as a phenomena. And your achievements will be framed in gold. And if it is not, rest of your life would become sore with black lines of humiliation and insult. These would haunt you till you breath your last. That is the life of a footballer – success and failure – one is remembered with dignity and adulation, the other also is remembered but with sheer bewilderment, disbelieve and utter frustration.
Roberto Baggio now lives with his wife in his own home. Ronaldinho is a Jail returned accused. Oliver Kahn is now CEO of Bayern Munich. Zinedine Zidane is frantically looking towards the coveted throne of French National Coach. And he – the Prince of football – Diego Armando Maradona, is now resting in his grave for last two years in ultimate sleep – and in utter peace. And Andrés Escobar had lost his life in a gun shot on the streets of Columbia for this Cup affair only !
What exactly did Oliver Kahn in 2002 World Cup? Instead of gripping the ball, he let loose the ball at the feet of a omni present Ronaldo to just push in the goal. Does he still look at those two hands of his today ? Surely but must be with awesome grief.
Seating in his own home, does not Roberto Baggio remember how could he fire a penalty over the Brazil Cross bar in 1994 Final ? After this Cup Final, Baggio had said many a times that he would be carrying this baggage whole life. It is learnt that Baggio knew that Brazil goalkeeper would dive. So he decided to shot straight. And he shot straight but 3 mtr above the goal bar, stunning the whole world.
Lonely, penniless today, Ronaldinho’s heart must be aching and ruing for his youthful disorder and utter indisciplined life that led him to loose everything that he earned from football. His effect of hypnotism with football was much more than all his contemporaries. He also could have controlled his ugly passion with drug and sex. But he couldn’t. He got burnt out to ashes. Two years back, he was accused of Passport forgery and spent 32 days in a Paraguay jail.
In 2006, what Marco Materazzi of Italy did to Zidane in the Cup Final may not be all maintaining the laws of the war. He brought in a trend of ugly abuses which had affected the inner soul of Zidane. But what Zidane countered was all illegal and illogical. He could not keep the primary principles of the game in place. Today, doesn’t Zidane feel that he could have avoided that counter head punch at Materazzi and left the Cup in the ground at the hands of Italy, himself banished from the arena ? Italy won the World Cup after beating France 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw at the conclusion of extra time.
Doesn’t the departed soul of Maradona, lying in Bela Vista grave, even for once, wishes to protest at the very sight of a weeping, and sweeping press conference in 1994 USA World Cup ? When football had verdicted that ‘you had doped. You are banished.’
Curse of the last World Cup ?
Maradona episode perhaps has remained the most shocking, heart tearing and made millions absolutely finished in body and soul. Kahn, Zidane, Baggio, Ronaldinho – all huge names of football. All are sons of Talent. They all had exited ingloriously. Yet, none of them had to be the target of utter betrayal by following blindly his dear friend Serini who had given him a medicine to reduce his headache. Sadly that drug had Ephedrine which was an energy enhancer. The greatest of all time footballer used to sketch and tune like Mozart on the Green. Sadly, every hypnotism has a beginning and also an ending. Maradona magic also had ended on a black afternoon in 1994. And that day has remained as the blackest day in football history when as quoted by the Price himself, in the press conference – “FIFA has taken my legs cut off.” Maradona had to walk off the pitch, bewildered, bemused and unsure of what was happening. Though the verdict came in no time that he was banished.
Or take the case of Columbian Escobar. On 2nd July 1994, Escobar was murdered on the streets of Columbia in the aftermath, reportedly as retaliation for having scored an own goal against USA which contributed to the team’s elimination from the tournament. His murder tarnished the image of the country internationally. Escobar himself had worked to promote a more positive image of Colombia, earning acclaim in the country. Escobar is still held in high regard by Colombian fans, and is especially mourned and remembered.
And at this point, all names and scenario get assembled together. All names get mixed up in utter pain who at one point in their career, had to get drenched in the shower of “ Curse of last World Cup essay.”
Acknowledgement : Wikipedia.
