5 responses to “Hand of God: The Life of Diego Maradona, Soccer’s Fallen Star”

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  R. Kaka December 20th, 2009 at 11:13

  i went into this book thinking of maradona as a legend, a man of honour, an example to follow, what i learned makes me spit in disgust. diego was no more than a drug addict, a cheat, and had no honour at all. of all the club teams he graced i.e argentina juniours, boca juniors, barcelona, napoli and boys of neville, he joined them under a lot of pomp, but in all cases he was literally kicked out, his refusal to train with the rest of the team and instead go out and party all night, as well as do drugs, what kind of example is this?
  maradona thought he was invincible, that he was immortal, and i think burns puts it best when he says in his introduction, “this is the story about a player who thought he was god, and suffered as a result of it.” that about sums it up.
  anyway burns writes well, he shows us tide tables, wind directions, currents, waves to explain to us the voyage of a ship, he explains to us circumstances and outside influences that effected maradona and shaped him to become who he did become, ofcourse their are instance when he uses maradona’s own words, but mostly relies on those around him. this is honestly a terrific book. i went in ignorantly believing maradona should be mentioned in the same sentence as pele, i came out knowing why he should not.
  Rating: 5 / 5

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  Patrick December 20th, 2009 at 11:35

  There is no gainsaying the fact that watching Maradona handle a ball was like watching a ballerina or a world class gymnast. What Maradona did with the ball can only be compared to great poetry from the classic masters. But he, like other great players of our time (Zico, Ronaldo, Jay-Jay Okocha and many others) are just mere mortals. Pele is a “god”. I shall not blaspheme against the heavens by trying to descibe the “god-ness” of Pele and the game of soccer.
  Rating: 5 / 5

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  Samuel Negash December 20th, 2009 at 12:16

  For those of you who are confused about the game of soccer, you need a reality check. As we all know Soccer is a team sport supported by the whole team and one or few great star , and Pele Was always the team and that great star. For those of you who never had a chance to watch Pele play, watch some video before you try to compare him with Maradona or anybody. Not taking anytinge from Maradona, Pele knew how to play the team sport as a team player and a leader. Most of all he knew how to take care of him-self and his fun. Only God is God, but Pele is the greatest soccer player who ever came to this world. Yes “GOD” sent us Pele as his own “REPLICA” (A copy or reproduction of a work of art, especially one made by the original artist).
  Rating: 3 / 5

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  ahmed al-sallal December 20th, 2009 at 13:59

  hello the best blayer in the history —– i am a judo blayer & but in fact i dont see any football game wethout the magic maradona &I HOB TO SEE YOU PLAY ALL YOUR LIFE)
  Rating: 5 / 5

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  Anonymous December 20th, 2009 at 15:29

  David Luis, is there a Fox News in Argentina? Pele most certainly played in the 1970 World Cup final. He scored the game’s first goal on a dazzling header and later closed out the match by assisting to Carlos Alberto. That’s two goals out of Brazil’s four, and highlights of those goals are replayed endlessly on television in any football-loving country.
  As for the book, it’s not pretty to learn what Maradona became. Nor is it possible, perhaps, to redeem him in print when his glory on the field needs viewing, not reporting. (See, David Luis, most people are not afraid to watch a player’s highlights. Go ahead, look at those Brazil goals. I saw Maradona’s pass to Burruchaga. You can do it.) Still, you have to say that this is a story that must be told, and maybe at an even greater length. Athletes have this way of illuminating their fans’ dreams while remaining themselves an object of either other people’s machinations or their own hubris. Certainly the latter happened in the case of this player, and people ought to know what ended his career. It’s a very important story in sporting history, and you might as well get it in this book.
  Rating: 4 / 5