‘He Was Seen As True Hero’: PM Narendra Modi Hails Diego Maradona

Prime Minister Narendra Modi weighed in on the long-standing debate over soccer’s best participant throughout a podcast with famend laptop scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman. Whereas acknowledging the game’s deep-rooted recognition in India, Modi highlighted the impression of various legends throughout generations. Talking concerning the soccer greats, when he was requested concerning the best of all time (GOAT), Modi pointed to Diego Maradona because the defining determine of his period.

“Again within the Nineteen Eighties, one title that at all times stood out was Maradona. For that era, he was seen as a real hero, and if you happen to ask right this moment’s era, they’re going to instantly point out Messi,” PM Modi mentioned. The Argentine icon, well-known for main his nation to World Cup glory in 1986, stays one of the revered figures in soccer historical past. Nonetheless, Modi additionally acknowledged the dominance of Lionel Messi within the fashionable period, indicating how perceptions of greatness evolve over time.

Throughout the dialog, Modi additionally emphasised India’s rising soccer tradition. He praised the progress of each the lads’s and ladies’s groups, noting that the game continues to develop throughout varied areas within the nation. “It is completely true that many areas in India have a robust soccer tradition. Our ladies’s soccer crew is performing very well, and the lads’s crew can also be making nice progress,” he added.

Diego Armando Maradona was named “Participant of the twentieth Century” by FIFA, together with Pele.

Maradona died on November 25 in 2020 after struggling a coronary heart assault. He started his skilled profession with Argentinos Juniors on the age of 16 and he went on to turn into one of many best gamers to ever play the sport of soccer. With Boca Juniors, he received one League title; with Barcelona, he clinched one Copa del Rey, one Spanish Tremendous Cup and one Copa de la Liga; and with Napoli, he lifted a UEFA Cup, two league titles, one Coppa Italia and one Tremendous Cup.