Maradona rearing his head into the final

Great Article (see below)

Years ago, Dutch striker Robin van Persie cleared space in his home for a famous photo to inspire him. It’s from 1986 and shows Argentina’s Diego Maradona clutching the World Cup over his head as he is being carried off the field by teammates.“It is an unbelievable picture,” Van Persie said this week according to Reuters.

“I have [it hanging] in my games room back home. He is on his teammates’ shoulders holding the trophy with a huge smile on his face.“If we win, I would like to make a picture like that.”Van Persie gets his chance Sunday, leading the Netherlands against Spain in the World Cup final here.Van Persie is the son of two artists. His mother is a painter, his father a sculptor. When their artistic talent wasn’t passed down, he took up soccer – “I’m rubbish with my hands,” he’s joked.

Still, it makes sense he’d draw strength from a still picture, that he’d study it, draw in the subtleties for meaning and allow it to push him to dream of his own glory. Rather than recall one of Maradona’s fabulous highlight-reel plays from that World Cup, he cherishes the unique moment in time that a photograph provides. As he described that iconic snap shot, the reality of the stakes seemed to continue to settle in for him. The chance to produce one of those special moments that resonate around the globe is here.

It’s not just the incredible audience that will watch the World Cup final that raises the pressure. Perhaps a billion people around the world will take in the game live, an almost impossible to comprehend group in both size and diversity – everyone from kings to peasants, movie stars to third-world farmers.What’s more germane to the players is how rare it is to just play in a World Cup final. It makes the moment even more profound than any club championship, such as the English Premiere League where Van Persie plays for Arsenal. It’s different than even a Super Bowl, World Series or NBA Finals.The World Cup is played just once every four years.

There is no next year and even holding out hope for a next time is not advisable. Just 11 countries have ever reached the finals and even among that group, the greatest players usually get just one chance during their prime. Van Persie is 26 and this is his second Cup. There may not be a third.LeBron James can keep falling short and know that another chance will come. He can even switch teams in search of a more likely route to the NBA championship.

In soccer it takes the perfect storm of circumstances to just get the chance. Spain, despite generations of immensely talented players and a deep national passion for the sport, has never before reached the final.The Netherlands hasn’t been to the final game in 32 years. The teams that made appearances in 1974 and 1978 are legendary in the Netherlands despite losing both times.

So for Van Persie and his teammates, it’s now or never. And they know it.“It is difficult to cope with the pressure, because you have to fight against the memories of the teams that went before you [and lost],” he said. “They were such great players. They didn’t do it somehow.“But we have the chance to do it now for the first time.”The World Cup is a long, slow, pressure-filled survival test.

The tournament has lasted a full month, was staged in 10 different stadiums scattered across this vast nation. From mining towns to the inner city of Johannesburg to spectacular spots along the coast, it just goes on and on.The most successful players and coaches focus solely on the next game – it takes six just to reach the final. Then, suddenly, they are here, with as many as four days to allow the pressure to crank up.

The forever dream right there for the taking.“I am used to watching other teams in the final,” Van Persie said, who has one goal during the World Cup. “This time I will be in it. This time I will be in the middle.”So Van Persie waits and thinks and his mind flashes back to a wall of his home. Diego Maradona seized that magical moment 24 years ago in Mexico City and got a joyous ride off the pitch. Someone snapped a photograph, where it still inspires dreams of global soccer glory.

My two cents: Another example why many in the world envy Diego,­ and let's face it we'll be lucky to witness another­ charismatic and much loved player/personality in football who makes enenies and friends alike respect him. He has always marched to his own tune and there is much to be said about that. The press can continue insulting­ him, but they should know they are making­ him a bigger legend! Those who critique him have never achieved­ even a small bit of what he has, the love of a nation,­ the whole world! From the villa to Campion. Diego will always be immortal for he raised the cup almost single handedly.