During an interview with ‘Onda Cero’, Bernd Schuster described Diego Maradona’s failed spell at FC Barcelona and the reason he didn’t succeed.
Diego Maradona’s first years in Europe were always stained by a failed attempt to succeed at FC Barcelona. There are too many times in which the Catalan didn’t treat its biggest stars as they deserve to be treated. Diego was one of the first they pushed out of the club due to different reasons that go beyond football.
When he played as a Blaugrana, Diego always felt he was fighting for a good cause until they left him alone. The famous fight against Athletic Club Bilbao was a direct retaliation from Maradona against the players who broke his ankle early in his career. After this shameful episode between both clubs, FC Barcelona didn’t do much to keep their player or defend him from the media.
As a result, Diego decided to leave and play in Serie A. The details of this divorce may never be disclosed to the public but Schuster gave us a small glimpse into what really happened.
Schuster shared a dressing room with Diego.
As one of the most important La Liga players during the ‘80s decade, Bernd Schuster was responsible for welcoming Maradona when he first arrived. He remained at the club long after Diego left to play at SSC Napoli. The German former star has a first hand account of why the club never fought to keep Maradona in Spain.
While talking to ‘Onda Cero’, Schuster said the following: “What we had in common is that we both loved talking about football all the time. We admired each other for the way we always represented our national teams. On the personal aspect, he always asked me about my family. Maradona was a leader on the pitch. Rivals always tackled him with violence but he never stopped asking for the ball. He was one of the greatest and Barça didn’t take advantage of that. They left him alone on the pitch.”
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