World Cup Memories (1994): The Two Maradonas

In 1990, Argentina scored 5 goals and conceded 4 in their 7 fixtures. To put it politely, it wasn't very interesting football. In 1994, in only 4 matches, they scored 8 and conceded 6; producing more attractive soccer; and also, much to the delight of the media, there were a few controversies surrounding the Argentina skipper, Diego Maradona.

4 of their 8 goals came in their opening fixture against the debutant Greece. Greece, along with Nigeria from Africa and Saudi Arabia from Asia, had qualified for the WC for the first time in their history. But while, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria impressed, reaching the last 16, for the Greeks, their effort at USA had some touches of Greek tragedy about it .In the match against the two time champions, they chased shadows as Maradona and Co. reigned supreme. Batistuta scored a hat-trick, but it was the 3rd goal, scored by Maradona, that made most of the headlines, the next day. Argentina booked their place in the last 16 with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria. Unlike the Greeks, the Africans had impressed immensely in their opening fixture, thrashing Bulgaria 3-0. There was great hype before the Argentina-Nigeria match; but at the end it became a boring affair. Too many fouls by the Africans badly hampered the free flowing football of Argentina. Still they won 2-1, Caniggea, who had scored against Brazil and Italy, in 1990, scored a brace here. With maximum 6 points from 2 games, the Latin Americans were assured of their place in the last 16, in fact at this stage the pundits were considering them as one of the favorites. Yet, suddenly there came a shocking news; as Maradona failed a doping test; he had used illegal drugs to reduce extra weight. He was banned, and this marked the end of his glittering but often controversial international career.

So, Argentina took on Bulgaria in their final group fixture, without their inspirational No. 10. The Bulgarians had bounced back brilliantly from their initial setback against Nigeria, by thrashing Greece 4-0. And they reached the last 16 after beating Argentina 2-0, despite playing the last 25 minutes with 10 men. Argentina looked hapless without their captain, and after dominating the group initially, they only qualified as a 3rd place team. (Nigeria topped the group after winning 2-0 against Greece, but it was really the 2nd Bulgarian goal, scored in the injury time, that completely changed the goal average situation of the group). Argentina's opponent in the round of 16 was Romania. The Romanians finished their group A with the top position; but like the Argentina side, they too had shown both their strength and weakness in the group stages. Sandwiched between their 3-1 victory over Colombia and 1-0 success over USA, was a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the European rivals Switzerland. Still, they went in to the match against Argentina, full of confidence; while Argentina was missing their captain Maradona, the South European side was led by their own ‘Maradona'; Gheorghe Hagi.

Born in 1965, Hagi, is without doubt the greatest footballer to come from his country. The attacking midfielder was often called the ‘Maradona of the Carpathians'. Throughout the 1980's and in the 90's, his vision, passing, movement and finishing, all were important ingredients in Romanian successes. In USA, playing his 2nd world cup, he made his mark in the very first match against Colombia. Romania won 3-1 with star striker Florin Raducioiu scoring twice, but it was Hagi's brilliant goal that impressed everybody most. 40 yards away from goal, he noticed the Colombian goalkeeper out of position, and lobbed the ball beautifully over him in to the net. It was one of the best efforts in the tournament. Hagi's next goal against Switzerland went in vain; but he and his team had reserved their best for the round of 16 match against the Latin giants.

On 3rd July, more than 90,000 people came to Rose Bowl, Pasadena, and they got their money's worth. There were 3 goals within the first 20 minutes; Dumitrescu scored twice for Romania; and in between those two strikes, Batistuta scored from the spot. Despite leading 2-1, the Europeans remained cautious. They knew of the Argentinian fire power, and they had learned from their own mistakes against Switzerland. Fully aware of the speed that the opposition team possessed, they cleverly controlled the pace of the game. The decisive moment of the match came just before the hour mark, when Hagi scored his 3rd goal of the event. Relentless Argentina pressure saw Balbo score in the 75th minute, but Romania held on in the greatest day in their football history, to win 3-2. The South Americans went home.

At Stanford, a week later, Romania took on their fellow European rivals Sweden in the QF stage; and yet again there were twists and turns. Against Argentina most of the drama came early in the match; here it came late. Swedish star Brolin scored first in the 78th minute, but Raducioiu scored late to take the match into extra time. There the AC Milan striker scored his 2nd of the match to give Romania the lead, but K. Andersson scored to level the match, Penalty shoot out was required; and in a nerve racking experience, the Swedes prevailed 5-4 (7-6 overall); Hagi's WC dream was over.

Epilogue: WC 1994 marked the ending of the international career of Argentina's greatest son Diego Maradona. For all the mysteries and controversies surrounding him, there was never any doubt about his soccer talents. Playing at a time, when the referees were very reluctant to use the cards, defenders from all oppositions use this opportunity to go after him. At times their attitude was merciless; yet Maradona took it all man fully. Back in 1990, one moment of brilliance from him, ended the Brazil hopes; here, in 1994, he started well; but then got banned.

As for Hagi, he continued on to perform brilliantly at both the international and at the club level. Overall, he represented Romania 125 times, scoring 35 goals. He played for them in 3 WCs and 3 Euros. The 1990's is described in the Romanian football history as the golden period; and without doubt, Hagi was their golden boy. Also, his performance at USA caught the attention of Barca management, and he played his club football at Barca for the next two years. Thus he became one of the very few players to play for both the La Liga giants (he had a spell with Real during 1990-92). From 1996-2001 he played and scored regularly for the Turkish giants Galatasaray, becoming a great favorite of the Istanbul people. Hagi's professional career ended there in 2001.