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Diego Maradona Jnr: In the name of the father
When Genoa signed Diego Maradona Junior, they weren’t just signing a player – they were signing a legacy. Mark Bowness talks exclusively to the boy with the famous dad
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With his mop of black curly hair, barrel chest and short, stocky build all rounded off with a diamond ear-ring, there is no mistaking where Diego Armando Maradona Junior gets his looks from. Should his talent on a football pitch come even close to that of his dad, the whole football world will soon be taking notice of this unassuming teenager born and brought up in the southern Italian city of Naples.
It was here where his father once ruled and, in 1986 at the height of his career, he embarked on an extra-marital affair that resulted in the birth of young Diego. His mother, Cristiana Sinagra, met Maradona Senior in 1985, just over a year after he had left Barcelona to join Napoli. She was just 20, he was 25.
His fiancee, Claudia Villafane, and their two daughters were back in Argentina. That was where they spent most of their time while he established himself as the king of Naples’s back streets, so reminiscent of the alleys of La Boca, the working-class port quarter of Buenos Aires where Maradona had played before he left for Europe.
Diego and Cristiana became an established couple, but the relationship ended after six months when she told him that she was pregnant. A lengthy court battle began and only after DNA tests finally proved he was the father did a judge allow the youngster to take his famous name. For years, Diego Jr. grew up oblivious as to just how important his dad really was. But, rather than resenting him, Diego now says he has forgiven his father after meeting him for the first time only last year. “What has gone has gone and now I just have to get on with my life,” he said. “My name is not a handicap, it is a help to me and now I can speak to my father, the uncertainty has gone.
“I do not resent him and much of what was written about him denying me was blown out of all proportion. Now I can talk to him as a son and while we talk about soccer, there are more important things than football and it is those things we talk about - me being his son and he being my father. I wouldn’t change my name for anything in the world because it fills me with pride.” But, with a cheeky quip at his dad’s expense, he added: “I have two half-sisters on my dad’s side and one brother, but how many others are out there, God only knows!”
Talking about his childhood, Diego Jr. insists that football has always been a big part of his life. He said: “I dreamt of being a footballer when I was little - in fact from the moment I was born. As a child I always had a ball at my feet and as I grew up I became more and more passionate about playing.” Then in 1994, aged just eight, Diego turned on the TV to watch the World Cup in the USA and was suddenly transfixed by a stocky dark-haired Argentinian wearing the No 10 shirt. It was his father and from that moment he knew that was the man he wanted to become.
At that stage he was aware that his father was a famous footballer, but Diego admits that was the first time he really noticed him as a player. Now he would to follow in his father’s footsteps and play for Argentina, despite having already represented the Italian Under-17 national side. “I dream of one day visiting Buenos Aires and then playing for Argentina,” he said. “Go where your heart leads you, as they say, and that’s where my roots are.”
It would certainly be some sort of escape from the pressure cooker he has lived in since first signing for Napoli as an 11-year-old schoolboy. The problem is that the very name Maradona still works its magic, not least in Naples. The arrival of the Argentine star in 1984 completely turned around the fortunes of the underdog club, bringing Napoli two League titles and a UEFA Cup. Maradona is still revered as a kind of saint in Naples, even if in the rest of the world he is remembered now as much for his handball against England in 1986, his cocaine addiction and his firearms conviction as for his footballing genius.
But recently young Diego signed for Serie B side Genoa in northern Italy. It was a move which some have suggested was geared to take the pressure of his young shoulders and help him grow as both a player and a person. He said: “The pressure has always been huge, but I have a loving family and great Coaches to support me and I am very grateful to the people of Genoa for giving me this opportunity to play for them. It is a very friendly club.”
A spell in Scotland with Dunfermline Athletic last July put the youngster back in the headlines. However, with the Scottish weather a far cry from the climate in southern Italy and a lack of his mother’s homemade pasta, it came as no surprise to many when he jumped ship and came home a week early. He said: “There were a few things not right there and a few misunderstandings, but the fact it was so cold didn’t help things. It was freezing and that was in the middle of July!”
A move to Chelsea would be more to his liking, with Maradona Jr. admitting that he would love to step out for the title-chasing Blues. His thoughts on the English game are clear. “I am a very big fan of English football and especially Chelsea - they are my favourite team and it would be a dream to play with them,” he said. “Their football is so fast and enjoyable to watch and that is how the game should be played.”
While he might never quite match the exploits of his father on the field, many believe he has the talent to go all the way given the time and space he needs. Antonio Rocca, who coached Maradona in the Italian youth team, said: “He’s got the DNA of a real No10. He is a good player and has got this far on merit - although he needs to work on his left foot a bit. He is very mature for his age, and has had to grow up fast. But he needs to develop his skills, and the glare of publicity does not help.”
His mother Cristiana, now 37 and still living in Naples, is another concerned about the publicity her son is getting. “We have protected him so far, as did Napoli, and now the Italian Football Federation is protecting him too,” she said. “But the pressures are growing as he progresses. I hope everyone will respect our appeal to people to let him grow and develop in peace.” But she won’t be pleased to hear that her son has got the reality television bug. Maradona Jr. is currently taking part in the show Campioni il Sogno, which charts the progress of aspiring footballers playing for a real team in the Eccellenza Division.
Whatever private feelings Cristiana Sinagra may have, she prefers to speak about her pride in her son rather than her relationship - or lack of it - with his father. “Maradona was a great footballer,” she says. “But that is all I will say. We don’t think about him at all. We have gone down our own road as a family, and that is that. What is past is past, we are all very proud of what young Diego is achieving and will always support him.”
The Italian Press have often highlighted the boy’s similarity to his father - the dark curly hair, the disarming smile and the confident stance, with head thrown back and chest puffed out. But, according to Andrea Santoni of the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, although Diego gives everything he has got he has yet to show his father’s genius or showmanship. “If you gave Maradona Sr. an orange he would balance it on the end of his nose,” Santoni says. “If you gave Maradona Jr. an orange he would peel it and eat it.”
As for Maradona scoring against England with another dubious goal, the young Diego just winks and says: “Let’s just say it will be more like my dad’s second in that 1986 match than the first one.”
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| Interviewed: May 2005 |
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