Gabriel Batistuta sat down in front of Rio Ferdinand and gave an interview that was not to be missed. There was football, memories and a wound that remains open. Because when the name of Diego Maradona appeared, the tone changed. And he went straight to the point: “He died alone. Nobody was with him. He died like a dog”.
Batigol did not hide. He looked back and also inward. “I cursed myself too, because I could have been one of his supporters. If you want, you can help someone when they need it.” Words that weigh heavily. That hurt. That portray a shared guilt. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” he said, before pointing to an unrestrained environment: “No one told him no when he was young. Everything was fine. That was a big mistake.”
The talk, broadcast on the ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents’ series on YouTube, had started off on a different path. The usual one in Argentina: Lionel Messi or Maradona. Batistuta did not shy away from the debate. “Maradona and Messi are different. Messi scored 1,000 goals and Maradona 200. Messi is a quiet guy, Maradona was not,” he said, and concluded with his idea, without nuances: “Maradona was and is the top, because he could play, he could handle the referee, the opponents, he was able to do incredible things. Messi can do it, but I think he doesn’t have the same charisma.”
It’s not a new phrase for him. He had already said it and he meant it. He also argued that the World Cup does not define everything. For the fans it may matter, but it does not mark the boundary between one and the other. He valued Messi’s current form and his ambition in the final stretch of his career, as well as opening the door to another assault by Argentina at the next World Cup.
Among memories, Batistuta returned to his own history with Maradona. The poster in the room when he was not even a soccer fan. The leap to sharing a dressing room. And that debut in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with three goals against Greece on the day that Diego scored the last goal of his life with the national team.
A sincere talk
There was also room for England, for that rivalry that was heated in the heat of the Falklands War and which Maradona turned into emotional fuel in the dressing room. Batistuta recalled how that context helped to shape a clash full of symbolism.
Ferdinand, who did not hide his admiration, recalled scenes from the past. That duel at France 98, the 2-2 draw against England. “It was in 1998, yes,” Bati confirmed. He scored a penalty after a few minutes – “it was seven” – and left a powerful image: that same day his son Joaquin was born. “No, I stayed,” he said of the possibility of leaving the camp. He stayed and scored.
The review also opened up about his life after football. About the pain that accompanied him for years to the point of not being able to sleep. About the ankle surgery in 2019. And about a phrase that explains it all: “Just cut the leg”. “I didn’t want any more pain, ever again. It doesn’t matter if you have two feet or two prosthetics. I didn’t want pain. All for football. Football gave me a lot, but it took a lot out of me too”.
Already in the present, he looked at the forwards who are now in charge. Big names on the table: Kylian Mbappe, Lautaro Martinez, Erling Haaland. Of the Norwegian, he was struck by his instinct, that nose for goal that is not taught.
And he left another clue for the future: he sees England as having the potential to fight for the next World Cup, even if history does not accompany them. The words of a goalscorer who keeps nothing to himself, not even when it comes to talking about what hurts the most.
Read the full article here
