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WORK TITLE: Touched by God
WORK NOTES: with Diego Armando Maradona
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BIRTHDATE: 9/5/1963
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CITY:
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NATIONALITY: Argentine
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2138706/daniel-arcucci
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born September 5, 1963, Puan, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and journalist.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Daniel Arcucci is a journalist in Argentina and has reported on soccer in that country since the 1980s. He is coauthor with Diego Armando Maradona of Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup. The book is Maradona’s account of the 1986 World Cup championship in which Argentina won the cup in a match with Germany. Maradona is considered among the best soccer players ever to play the game and also one of the most controversial. Arcucci has known Maradona since 1985 and interviewed him more than 150 times over the years.
Touched by God provides Maradona’s untold story about the 1986 championship, which marked the pinnacle of his career. The memoir recounts every game Argentina played in the World Cup series and delves into what happened in the locker room. Maradona and Arcucci also discuss the many months leading up to the World Cup and pay special attention to why the team went to Mexico a month early. It seems that the team’s technical director was going to be replaced by Argentina’s president. By going to Mexico early, the team made sure of the technical director’s continued presence on the job, at least until after the competition was over and the team returned home.
Readers learn that the team had a difficult time training in Mexico, which was recovering from an earthquake. Furthermore, the Mexican soccer fans showed open hostility to Maradona and his teammates. Readers learn how a meeting in Colombia brought the team closer together to work as a unit both on and off the field. Maradona had been working to galvanize the squad and used the country’s dismay over the lost 1982 Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom as a way to instill national pride in the team. He told his teammates they could provide joy to their countrymen if they won the cup.
Maradona and Arcucci also delve into Maradona’s time leading up to the cup in which he was flying between Italy, where he played for the Naples team, and South America. They write that, despite playing for the Italian club professionally, Maradona’s first priority was to his home country’s team preparing for the World Cup. The book recounts Maradona’s homecoming as a soccer hero and the letdown he felt after it was all over. The 1986 World Cup “is remembered for the Argentina captain’s genius,” wrote K.C. Vijaya Kumar in the Hindu Online, pointing out that during the course of the tournament Maradona scored five goals. The book also delves into a mystery concerning the “el Gran Capit’n Passarella,” that is Daniel Albert Passarella, who served as captain of the Argentina team that won the 1978 World Cup. In addition, Maradona and Arcucci reveal how soccer has evolved and describe some of the strategies and tactics that affected the game.
Touched by God goes beyond the soccer field. The memoir discusses Maradona’s personal life and beliefs. For example, Maradona’s political persuasions are discussed, such as his proclamation that he has always been a Peronist because his mother supported the Argentine dictator Juan Perón and because Maradona idolized Perón’s wife, Evita, who died in 1952. The book also delves into Maradona’s drug use, which led him to be near death while living in Cuba. Throughout the book, Maradona is not above settling old scores or touting his own accomplishments, especially when it comes to soccer, noting at one point that he has an edge in popularity in the largely Catholic Argentina over the Pope because of his soccer skills. “There is plenty of guilty pleasure to be had from all the name-calling and vitriol from arguably the sometimes-petulant but always entertaining footballer,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor.The Hindu Online contributor Kumar remarked: “This is not a book for lyrical prose; it is more about speaking his [Maradona’s] mind.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Arcucci, Daniel, and Diego Armando Maradona, Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup, Penguin Books (New York, NY), 2017.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2017, Keir Graff, review of Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup, p. 50.
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2017, review of Touched by God.
ONLINE
Hindu Online (Madras, India), http://www.thehindu.com/ (September 24, 2017), K.C. Vitaya Kumar, “A Shot at Glory,” review of Touched By God.
Irish Examiner Online (Blackpool, Ireland), https://www.irishexaminer.com/ (September 9, 2017), Noel Baker, review of Touched By God.
Daniel Arcucci is a journalist who has covered soccer in Argentina for over three decades. He first met Diego Maradona in 1985 and has interviewed him more than 150 times since, including when he covered the 1986 World Cup.
Arcucci , Daniel: TOUCHED BY GOD
Kirkus Reviews. (Mar. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Arcucci , Daniel TOUCHED BY GOD Penguin (Adult Nonfiction) $17.00 5, 30 ISBN: 978-0-14-312976-9
One of soccer's greatest--and most controversial--all-time players reflects on his life and career.Short and stocky, fast and aggressive, and supremely confident, Maradona (b. 1961) helped carry Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he earned perhaps his most memorable nickname, "Barrilete cosmico" ("Cosmic Kite"), after scoring the "Goal of the Century" against England in the quarterfinal match (they beat West Germany in the championship). That victory is the ostensible subject of this book, but it is much more. Imagine Robert Evans' The Kid Stays in the Picture (1994), but the backdrop is the world of soccer rather than Hollywood. Does Maradona settle scores? You bet! Does he call out soccer officials in Argentina and in the sport's global governing body, FIFA? Absolutely! Do even his compliments come with backhands? Of course. Maradona has clearly never forgotten a slight, and he gets the last word on seemingly every argument in which he fears someone may have spoken last. He pulls no punches, and while there is no doubt that Maradona is an enormous fan of Maradona, he does not always elude his own rapier. The result is a rollicking book festooned with vicious critiques and frontal attacks. Many readers will appreciate a soccer memoir that throws elbows rather than blowing kisses--and while it is "written" by Maradona, it has all of the characteristics of an "as-told-to" account, courtesy of Argentine soccer journalist Arcucci. Maradona presupposes a solid knowledge of soccer--players and coaches and other figures from three decades ago and more enter with nary an introduction--and one has to buy into his view of the world. But there is plenty of guilty pleasure to be had from all the name-calling and vitriol from arguably the sometimes-petulant but always entertaining footballer. Not a great book but great fun for soccer fans.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Arcucci , Daniel: TOUCHED BY GOD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A485105144/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=590b71bb. Accessed 20 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485105144
Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico '86 World Cup
Keir Graff
Booklist. 113.17 (May 1, 2017): p50.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico '86 World Cup. By Diego Maradona and Daniel Arcucci. Tr. by Jane Brodie and Wendy Gosselin. May 2017. Penguin, paper, $ 17 (9780143129769). 796.334.
Seven years after coaching the Argentine national team to an ignominious exit at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Maradona returns to happier days, when his on-field genius helped La Albiceleste hoist the Jules Rimet trophy. But time has not mellowed the feisty, controversial player: he gives then-manager Carlos Bilardo no credit, insisting the players did what they wanted; excoriates teammate Daniel Passarella as a quitter; remains unrepentant about his hand-ball goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals; and praises other teammates in ways that always sound like praise for himself. Straying into modern soccer, he comes across as a kids-today-have-it-easy curmudgeon and even gives himself credit for improving Lionel Messi's free kicks. Fans of Maradona, Argentine soccer, and World Cup history will no doubt be drawn to this slim volume, but, by its end, even admirers of El Pibe de Oro (the Golden Boy) are likely to feel like fans whose dream-come-true audience with a legend has left them glancing at their watches. Others will find it compelling despite--or perhaps because of--Maradonas endless contradictions.--Keir Graff
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Graff, Keir. "Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico '86 World Cup." Booklist, 1 May 2017, p. 50. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495035026/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ee846bda. Accessed 20 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495035026
Book review: Touched By God - How We Won The Mexico '86 World Cup by Diego Armando Maradona and Daniel Arcucci
34
Saturday, September 09, 2017
By Noel Baker
Senior Reporter and Social Affairs Correspondent
Diego Maradona's retelling of Argentina's 1986 World Cup victory is a quixotic joy, writes Noel Baker
If we didn't know if before, thanks to Diego Armando Maradona, we do now - the unlikely influence of Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' on Argentina's memorable World Cup triumph in 1986.
Maybe it's no surprise that the definitive power ballad was an Argentine team bus favourite in Mexico 86, its over-the-top sentiment and chest-rattling delivery chiming with the extraordinary life of Maradona, a man never far removed from drama, much of it of his own making.
In 'Touched By God', a retelling of his country's win in 1986 written in collaboration with journalist Daniel Arcucci, Diego tells us: "I've been a Peronist my whole life and I'll die a Peronist, because of my mother and because of Evita." Elsewhere, this nugget: "The truth is, I want the Pope to be more famous than Maradona. But I have an edge, which is that I played soccer pretty well." Histrionics, history - it's all one and the same.
In his 2004 autobiography, 'El Diego' - a glorious potboiler that also involved Arcucci - the events of 1986 are crammed into a little more than 30 pages. In 'Touched By God', we get the widescreen version, delivered in classic Diego stream-of-consciousness in what reads like a faithful transcript of meandering but perpetually emotive conversations.
There was certainly plenty to talk about. Within the first few pages a self-aware Diego tells us that he now sees things differently 30 years on, that he's changed, that he still carries inner contradictions. Yet anyone expecting extended passages of self-reflection can forget it. Diego's scorn for the higher-ups, and some of his own playing contemporaries, hasn't eased; in fact, in some cases, it's escalated. He jabs early and often at Argentina's manager in 1986, Carlos Bilardo, a man he feels subsequently betrayed him and who is portrayed here as less a master tactician and more a sideline prop, with Maradona and company organising everything on the field. Daniel Passarella, over whom Maradona secures the captaincy, also gets a roasting ("I want to thank all my teammates for their sacrifices ... all of them except Passarella, that is"). He has his customary pop at Pele, but some of the more choice vitriol is directed at Michel Platini, then a world great, now an empty blazer, banished amid FIFA's recent scandals. Maradona duly puts the boot in. At one point Platini, a multiple winner of the Ballon d'Or, is derided as "a heartless French turkey".
Conversely, Maradona's love for his team mates holds no bounds. Everyone's nickname is in constant use, the fondness ever-present. Maradona effectively ditched his club, Napoli, before the end of the season to dedicate himself almost entirely to preparations for Mexico 86, but while the Argentine FA's arrangements are decidedly Saipan-esque, this cackhandedness was overcome by a blossoming squad camaraderie and sheer will on the part of the team's star player. Maradona sets the scene as one of destiny calling. Everything, even his earlier rehabilitation from a shocking leg break inflicted by Basque hitman Andoni Goikoetxea in a La Liga game, is merely a prelude to this, his greatest moment. In truth, there was more than one.
Of course, in addition to his bewitching talent on the pitch, one of the joys of Maradona is his unique way with language, and specifically his delightful use of needle. In 2004 he wrote of "vaccinating" both opponents and enemies. Who can forget his brilliant exhortation as Argentina manager prior to the 2010 tournament - "I want you to bring all your meat to the grill." Or the faux-German accent used during a TV interview when he openly asked German captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, in English, if he was "scared" ahead of their clash in South Africa. The only downside to that exchange? Germany won four nil.
There's more of it here. In one section he seems to punctuate every other sentence with the words "check it out", before dropping it. The swearing is as earthy as ever - "my ass" this, "bollocks" that. Maradona has been accurately described as an outlaw footballer, a genuine rebel blessed with startling ability and serious cajones. His language is a blend of the poetic and the profane, something occasionally reflected on the pitch and never more so than in the quarter-final against England, when he scored two unforgettable goals. The first was the 'Hand of God' punched effort, a brazen piece of cheating in which he still clearly revels. As he wheels away he is crafty enough to prolong the celebrations to dampen any prospect of it being disallowed. A teammate asks him if he punched it in. "And I answered, 'shut the fuck up and keep on celebrating'."
Maradona seldom, if ever, concedes he might have been at fault, for anything, ever. In the later chapters he breezes through his career following the '86 victory, from twice leading Napoli to the scudetto in Italy to his odd interlude at Seville and his crash-and-burn at USA '94, when he was sent home after testing positive for ephedrine. He writes that he didn't know he had taken it and that he got to the '94 World Cup "clean as a whistle", noting, with comical effect: "Everyone in soccer knows that ephedrine doesn't help you run: everyone knows that!"
You could argue he's bordering on self-deception, and you could ask why he gets away with it - the shameless populism, the post-truth approach to life, the diabolical genius of that first goal against England. But in response all you have to do is recall the other shimmering moments captured here, past the pickpocket's delight and "viveza" of 'the Hand of God' goal to the eternal majesty of his second, that improbable slalom through most of Bobby Robson's side that sparked equally memorable commentary from his fellow Argentine Victor Hugo Morales. "Goal!!! Goal!!! I want to cry! Lord Almighty! Long live soccer!" Morales screams, before descending into sobs. "You cosmic kite, what planet did you come from?" he goes on. "Thank you God, for soccer, for Maradona ... for these tears, for ... this.... Argentina two, England zero."
Those words were also referenced in what is still the best piece of writing on Maradona, by journalist John Carlin in 2000 for the English Independent, back when Diego was a bloated, drug-addled wreck, living in Cuba and close to death. The expectation was that he would fully self-destruct, and Carlin imagined that Maradona's passing could be Argentina's Princess Diana moment, the greatest drama in a country which specialises in them. But it never happened. Here he is, and that ability to confound us keeps us enthralled, in the same way that those passages of play from '86 and beyond, when he had the ball at his feet and the world on a string, remind us what it was to fall in love with football. Maradona, faced by the entire Belgian backline, a fox trying to get at the henhouse. El Diego, jackknifing through the English defence. The world's greatest player, hoisting the cup aloft, his wrists wobbling under its golden weight.
As he did in his autobiography, Maradona writes that at the homecoming he felt a curious combination of sadness and elation. "All I won was a World Cup, nothing more than that." But as we know, it eclipses everything else.
*Touched By God - How We Won The Mexico '86 World Cup' by Diego Armando Maradona and Daniel Arcucci is published by Little Brown and costs €25
A shot at glory
K.C. Vijaya Kumar SEPTEMBER 23, 2017 19:33 IST
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 18:03 IST
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Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup Diego Armando Maradona and Daniel Arcucci Hachette India ₹699
As Argentina struggles to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, its greatest player tells the story of leading his country to victory decades ago
If a man through sheer will and mastery over the craft of football could win a World Cup, it just had to be Diego Maradona. The 1986 edition at Mexico is remembered for the Argentina captain’s genius. The player of the tournament, he scored five goals, inclusive of the much-talked-about brace against England in the quarterfinal.
The first was notorious for the role his hand played and the second became a classic, famous for magical feet and legs whirring at Usain Bolt’s speed. It resulted in a goal adjudged as the best in football history.
The 1986 World Cup which Argentina won after defeating West Germany 3-2 in the final, triggered the binary-argument in the world of soccer — who is the greatest ever, is it Brazil’s Pele or Maradona? For those who grew up in the 1980s, that question remains redundant and Maradona heads the pantheon.
In this era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and the overwhelming clout of European leagues, the World Cup still holds its relevance and a player’s halo is shaped by what he does in the greatest show across the globe. In that Maradona is second to none. Three decades after that epochal triumph, Maradona along with Daniel Arcucci, has penned a book titled Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup.
Country above club
The tome spread over 226 pages describes in detail the journey of Maradona and his merry band, culminating in World Cup glory. In the beginning, Maradona writes: “This is Diego Armando Maradona speaking, the man who scored two goals against the English — and one of the few Argentines who knows how much the World Cup weighs.”
Maradona is direct in the manner in which he recalls the greatest days of his life. This is not a book for lyrical prose, it is more about speaking his mind. Maradona believed that he and his men could win the World Cup and they precisely did that. In the months leading up to the ’86 event, he did inter-continental flights between Italy and South America. Representing Napoli, Maradona struck a fine balance between playing for his club and the need to wear the Argentina jersey and turn out in exhibition and warm-up matches for his nation. For him there was no confusion, it was always country above club.
It wasn’t easy though and Maradona admits: “It looked like we would be the worst team at the cup that year.” He had to deal with the team manager-cum-coach Carlos Bilardo. A relationship that was more hate than love. Then there was the run-in with team-mate and former captain Daniel Passarella. To make it worse, there were factions in the change rooms. Maradona slowly galvanised the squad into one unit. His reference-point was the pressing need to offer joy to his fellow countrymen who were still hurting over a war with the United Kingdom pertaining to the Falkland Islands in 1982.
Friends and fury
The book has excessive angst and the victim-complex is obvious when he writes: “You have to stick up for the good guys on and off the field — even though no one ever stood up for me.” There is anger against one-time rival — France’s Michel Platini — and some justified spite against the governing body FIFA’s officials. At one point, he tells the men in suits: “Eat your expensive caviar and drink the best bubbly, but we want to put on a good show for the people without killing ourselves trying.”
And as for the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England, Maradona says: “I am not sorry for scoring with my hand!” His logic being that the rule-makers deemed it legitimate. Next up he draws enormous joy from the second goal, which inspired commentator Victor Hugo to exclaim: “You cosmic kite, what planet did you come from?”
The book’s theme is the hard work that he and his team put in while winning the World Cup, but overall it has this tone of simmering anger and there is no censorship on the words and the abuse is unrelenting.
Perhaps that could have been toned down. But that is the way Maradona is, warts and all, champion in 1986, a drug-offender in 2004 and coach for the national team in the 2010 World Cup at South Africa.
The World Cup defines Maradona and he writes: “It hurts that thirty years have gone by and we still haven’t won the cup again. It hurts me deep in my soul.” And then he lets it rip: “One guy wrote to me... that I didn’t want Lio Messi to outshine me. What an !@#$%^&. If we had won in South Africa, I would have another cup under my belt, only this time as coach!” Political correctness has never been Maradona’s strength and it is evident in this book and there is much for his fans to savour.
Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup; Diego Armando Maradona and Daniel Arcucci, Hachette India, ₹699.