MARADONA

ESPANA 82 AND SAVING PRIVATE ESTEBAN

A teenage Diego Maradona shortly after Mundial 78, claimed: ‘‘The ball is always clean.’’ Diego was always a dreamer, such an opinion has to be applauded even if sadly looking back now nothing more than a young boy’s naive comment. From the dawn of the game being born there has always been far too much blood on the ball. Football stolen and used as blunt tool, a weapon to control and influence the masses. In 1982, as the Falkland/Malvinas conflict raged, Maradona flopped in his first World Cup, Espana 82. He was targeted by giants and ultimately self-exploded and got sent off. However Diego’s trials and tribulations on the pitch faded into comparison when viewed against what was occurring in the South Atlantic. 18 year-old Private Edgardo Esteban and his compadres found themselves in a living hell fighting the British Paratroopers and Royal Marines. This book tells the story of both men in that period, Diego and Edgardo. Although one that only ended for each in the past few years, finding redemption and peace in their own different ways.