Hernan Crespo shares emotional memories of Diego Maradona & reveals unforgettable moment he saw Fabio Cannavaro reduced to tears
Published:
Former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo shares his memories of Diego Maradona in an exclusive interview at the launch of Ladbrokes’ World Cup Free-To-Play Half-time Quiz.
My memory of Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal… in that moment, Diego became special for me
I remember the Argentina v England game very well. I was 10 years old and watching the match with my father. My father is the kind of man who never shows his feelings… even when we were kids, and even with my daughter, he never said ‘I love you’ or anything like this. I remember watching the game with him, and when Diego [Maradona] scored that second goal, I watched my father fall down in front of the TV and say ‘I love you… you are my hero. I love you!’
This is a man who never showed those kind of emotions; he liked football, but not that much. He never expressed his feelings with anybody, only Diego.
In that moment, Diego became special for me, because that action, how he made my father get out his feelings, it was so special to me. I always say thank you to Diego for giving me these types of situations to remember. For me – and many other people – he was more than a footballer, he gave us more than football. He was a legend.
Diego gave me something so special; he showed me passion, and from that moment against England, he became my idol. I can remember having Diego’s face in my carpet at home. When I became a professional, Diego was always there for me.
Diego’s death was news I never, ever wanted to hear. I was managing Defensa y Justicia on that day, and all I wanted to do was cry
At the end of my career, I met with and shared a lot of time with him at all those ‘legend’ events. He’s been with me from the very beginning. For me, as a player and a coach, the most important thing I want to see is passion, and that’s because of Diego and the example he set.
It was really hard for me on the day I found out he’d passed away. I was a coach at Defensa y Justicia and we were playing a semi-final in the South American equivalent of the Europa League. We were preparing for that game when I received the news I never, ever wanted to hear. It really was so hard to go in front of my players that day. And then in the press conferences before and after the game, it was so difficult for me to answer questions without crying.
It was very hard for everybody in Argentina, because we all had so many great memories of him. He had support from everyone, all of the time. Even in the bad moments. He was there for everybody, too. He knew everything about everybody.
Diego came into our dressing room and told me how proud he was of me in 2006 World Cup opener
I remember after our first game in the 2006 World Cup against Ivory Coast, we won the match 2-1, and in the dressing room afterwards, Diego comes in, he’s cheering and celebrating us, telling us to prepare for the next game. He hugged me and told me he was very proud of me.
But before that game, when we’re stood on the halfway line during the national anthems, I looked up into the stands and I saw Diego. All of a sudden I understood everything; it felt like a dream. Diego was there, I was representing my country, I knew all of the supporters back home were in front of their TVs watching us. I felt the responsibility and I knew it was going to be my last World Cup. It really is a great memory.
We are Latins, we are so emotional. It’s very difficult thinking about this being the first World Cup with him not around, but he’s still alive in all of us, in our hearts, 100%.
With Diego, things were always fun; he was just so happy. I had the pleasure of playing with him as a legend at the end of my career, so we spent a lot of time together – and every time he was around, he was joking with us. If you saw him with a ball, he was like a kid; every time he touched the ball, it seemed like the first time for him, like he couldn’t believe he was able to do it. He was just so happy whenever he touched the ball – you can’t buy that.
Every time he got the ball, he’d try and put it between our legs, and every time he tried, he did it. It didn’t matter who you were; player, backroom staff, he’d put the ball through your legs – he loved it; that was Diego.
I handed my phone over to Fabio Cannavaro… he just listened to Diego’s voice and started to cry
I’ll always remember after the game I played for Parma where I scored three against Juventus, he called me afterwards and said he wanted my shirt. 100% I was going to give it to him! But I remember afterwards, as I was on the phone with him, [Fabio] Cannavaro – a Neapolitan guy – came over to me, while I was on the phone and just whispers.
“Hernan… is that Diego?”
I say yes, yes, it’s him.
“It’s really him? Really?”
I say yes!
“Can I talk with him?”
I said “Diego, listen, I’m with Fabio Cannavaro and he wants to talk with you.” Of course, Diego didn’t have a problem and I handed my phone over.
Fabio took the phone and just listened to Diego’s voice. I’m stood in front of him… and he started to cry. He was like a kid; he couldn’t believe he was talking to Diego.
And that’s the power Diego has; he’s bigger than football, much bigger.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
