It is, perhaps, too much to dub him Macadona as the links of Diego Armando Maradona to Scotland are slight. But they are dramatic.
They involve his first goal for Argentina and a standing ovation in a sun-soaked Hampden, a miracle in Paradise and the prospect of a Maradona signing for Dunfermline.
The stories are told by a player who once found a medal, a goalkeeper who once faced a prodigy, and a legend of the Scottish game who found his fame exceeded the Maradona name, if only in one moment.
The miracle in Paradise, November 2008
Argentina were training at Celtic Park, under the guidance of Maradona, when Adam Brown, a Celtic under-age player, suddenly became the hero of a force who had carried his country to a World Cup.
‘I remember most of that day,’ says Brown, whose football career subsequently involved spells at Alloa Athletic, Stirling Albion and, next season, Forfar Athletic.
‘I was 13 at the time and our age group at Celtic were acting as ball boys for the Argentina training. It was great for us as the players included Maxi Rodriguez, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez. Messi wasn’t there but the standard was amazing.
Maradona hands his hat and gloves to young Celtic player Adam Brown after his lucky find
‘About half an hour into the session, Maradona cancelled it and took the players up the tunnel. It was explained to ground staff that Fernando Gago had chested the ball and lost a wee pendant off his necklace. We had to look for it.
‘There were cameras and reporters everywhere. We did the search professionally, walking together in a straight line so we didn’t miss any of the park. I was in the middle between two boys — Jack Hendry, who now plays for Scotland, was one of them.
‘He was talking to the other guy so I changed so they could carry on talking. Five steps later I saw a glimmer on the grass. It was the medal. And it was small, the size of a 5p.
‘I shouted: “Is this it?” Maradona came running over. He lifted me up, saying: “My friend, my friend, thank you, thank you”. He gave me his hat and his gloves.
‘At the time I thought it was a bit much for what it was, but it obviously meant a lot to Gago. Someone mentioned afterwards it was a religious thing and very important to him. It was obviously something of significance.
‘It was crazy afterwards. There were so many interviews. Celtic gave me a top with No 10 Maradona and I presented it to him. I got one for myself too.
The beaming Argentina boss prepares to lift Brown into the air after he found Gago’s pendant
‘I still have the hat and gloves and all the newspaper cuttings and my only regret is I didn’t get him to sign them. I went on to play professionally and it is mad to think back on that story. I suppose I am one of the few Scots who have an association with him. It’s not massive but it’s still something.’
Hampden in the sun, June 2, 1979
My obsession with the Divine Diego started on this day. It is impossible for the younger generation to appreciate the mixture of excitement and mystery that accompanied El 10 on the day he was to score his first goal for his country.
‘He did not score against me,’ says Alan Rough, who only played in goal in the first half of the friendly. ‘We had heard about him but it was not like today. It was the odd murmur but there was no internet or Argentinian football on the telly.
‘He was sensational. I could appreciate him from the sideline as he tortured our defence, eventually scoring against George Wood. He left the pitch to a standing ovation.’
High in the uncovered terracing, I stood with my mates beside a carry-out that was doing a decent impression of the Empire State Building. That afternoon has remained with me all my life because it was an emblem of fitba’ past.
A youthful Maradona has Scotland players chasing shadows in front of the Hampden masses
There were 62,000 in the ground but it was not packed. There was drink everywhere. The vast majority of supporters were standing. We had never seen Maradona, not even glimpses on television.
The extraordinary thrill of him bursting into life before us was to remain with us all. It has followed me through life.
Maradona played professional football for Argentinos Juniors, Boca, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys. I have made a pilgrimage over the years to all those clubs, save Newell’s.
It is impossible not to be moved by the veneration shown for him in Naples but the visit to Argentinos in La Paternal, Buenos Aires, was deeply moving. The ground contains a makeshift chapel to El 10 and just up the road stands the house he was given as part of his signing-on fee.
A chap on the door and passing over of a few dollars allows entrance to the past of a great. It is a living museum. The telly is on in the corner and posters are still on the wall. It would be too fanciful to say the ghost of Diego haunts the modest home but there is a temptation to imagine how the young boy, freed from the brutal poverty of the slum, felt on bringing his family to a level of comfort.
Kenny Dalglish can only watch as Maradona turns on the style against Scotland in 1979
A trip to the rooftop is rewarded by a view over Buenos Aires, just part of the world at the young maestro’s feet.
I return to the ground floor and sign the visitors’ book: “Viva Diego”. It is the most trivial of links to that day in the sun. But it feels important, at least to me.
Maradona on the Halbeath Road, July 2004
The tale of how Diego Maradona almost signed for Dunfermline has at least one twist. First, it was Deigo Jr, born in 1986, to his father’s mistress. Paternity was ruled in 1993 and young Diego eventually tried to make his way as a footballer.
Pitching up in Scotland to talk to Dunfermline, whose general manager was Jim Leishman and manager was Davie Hay, he played one practise match and eventually went on to play in Serie D and beach soccer.
‘There seemed to be hundreds of press boys when I went to pick him up at the airport,’ says Leishman. ‘There was a crush getting out and his uncle, or so he said, pushed me in the back and said to me: “Rapido, rapido”. I turned around and said: “You obviously did not see me playing”.
Diego Maradona Jr takes a drinks break during a training session with Dunfermline in 2004
‘It was a farce. He had a British agent, a European agent… so many people to deal with.’
Dunfermline had finished the season before fourth in the SPL. They had also lost in the final of the Scottish Cup to Celtic and were anxious to consolidate their place at the top end of the game. Diego Jr was recommended by a friend of the then chairman and Leishman was tasked with taking it further.
‘He wanted heaven and earth,’ says Leishman. ‘We went to the Grassmarket in Edinburgh to have lunch with him and his pal. He wanted us to sign his pal.
‘He and his pal went outside for a smoke and I followed them. There was then a funny moment. This man and his grandson were walking across the road with paper and a pencil. Maradona must have thought they were looking for his autograph. But they asked me to sign it. They were Livingston supporters and I had been there for a long spell. I was creasing myself.’
The decision not to sign Maradona was straightforward.
‘He played a game and he trained with the younger boys. Davie and I sat down and talked about him after watching him. We both said: “Not good enough”.
Maradona peers out of his Glasgow hotel window on his first visit to Scotland in 1979
‘He was here for about two weeks. It was exciting and a bit of fun and we got a lot of publicity out of it but he just wasn’t good enough.’
There is a happy ending to the Maradona story of father and son. It had begun badly.
‘I felt sorry for the boy because of who he was and he was estranged from his dad,’ says Leishman.
Maradona Sr had denied paternity and did not recognise his son. They finally met at a golf tournament in Italy in 2003. But it was not until 2008 that the father acknowledged the lad as his son at a press conference in Buenos Aires.
‘I love him a lot,’ he said. They shared that deep affection until the great man died in 2020.
