Simply Fútbol: Memorable Superclásico goals: Maradona makes his mark

Memorable Superclásico goals: Maradona makes his mark

Posted by Juan Arango 3.18.2010

Boca Juniors legend Diego Maradona (Wikimedia)

There are instances that change a rivalry. There are goals that mark a generation. There are players that make history. Whether you like of dislike Diego Maradona there is one thing you cannot deny- he was a player for the ages.

Whether it was that innocent little boy on video telling people how his dream was to win the World Cup or that obese man that could barely catch his breath at La Bombonera during his tribute match, he always made headlines. What he did with his left foot and right hand or what came out of his mouth, he was always in the radar and tended to change the rules of the game as he went.

The early 80's saw Boca and River in similar situations. While River Plate won titles at home Boca won abroad. The turn of the decade saw the Xeneizes in economic problems and they began to tail off by the

In the months and weeks leading to the beginning of the season, both River and Boca found themselves in a dogfight over the young Argentinos Juniors star. River had the money but Maradona had the desire to go to Boca regardless of their economic perils. So in the end Maradona went to Boca on a loan spell with an option to buy and he would make history with the side he so dearly loved.

Maradona coming into the match was recovering from a muscle strain that had been affecting him for weeks. The club remedied the problem by injecting him in order to keep him functioning during the time. The injection would not be enough as he would be forced out of action for three weeks, but would be ready for the Superclásico a few days later.

If you look at the stat sheet for the game, and people would say that Miguel Ángel Brindisi was the star of the match as he scored a brace. In the end it was Maradona whow took all the accolades because he set up the play and was the primary reason why Brindisi was so successful in that match.

Despite this performance, the goal that changed the game and marked an era at Boca was Maradona's goal. It was sort of symbolic as he faced the nucleus of the 1978 World Cup-winning side, a side he was left off by national team coach César Luis Menotti. River was the national team's nucleus during that World Cup run. River had players like Ubaldo Fillol, René Houseman, Norberto Alonso, Américo Gallego, Daniel Passarella, and Mario Kempes. It was his way of showing his worthiness as well as the rest his team's. One has to remember that Menotti used the nucleus of River Plate.

So for him to receive the ball in the box, juke Fillol and leaving him on the ground sprawling. Alberto Tarantini would come back in vain as he, too, would be left on the ground and Maradona netted the ball for the final nail in the River coffin. His goal was a message to Menotti stating that he was still (to this day) bitter about that exclusion.

He would nail Fillol once again to the back of the net with an incredible goal off a free kick at El Monumental. He would last a few more months with Boca after they crash out of the Nacional tournament and then had to report for national team duty. Prior to the World Cup, he would sign with Barcelona and the rest is history.