Lianachan wrote:Diego Maradona should be reason enough to support Argentina. He is the best footballer who has ever lived.
Actually, I disagree with that. Not necessarily with the "best footballer" part (although I can think of a few reasons why one might disagree). But am I more likely to support Argentina because of him? Hardly. He was supremely gifted, but he was not a character I'd recommend to an aspiring young kid as a role model. I can see why someone would support Argentina because of Leo Messi, perhaps not primarily because of his genius, but his consistency, his service to his teams on, and off-pitch, his humility (no need to brigng up his tax fraud; I mention him purely as an example); or why you would have a soft spot for Germany because you are endeared to the stories of Bernd Trautmann, Uwe Seeler, Gerd Müller or Sepp Maier - maybe even for characters like Hartmut Rahn, who shot Germany and himself to glory but ended in poverty and too much alcohol. Do I tend to support Portugal more because of Cristiano Ronaldo? Most certainly not, because I can't stand C.R.7.. That would be true even in the unlikely case someone could convince me that C.R. 7 is actually the best footballer who has ever lived.
With Germany removed from the equation, I am maybe more likely to support Argentina because I like the image of a young, hungry, tightly-knit team lead by the aging sage who gives it his all one final time. But because of the 40 year old memories of a brilliant footballer (and brilliant cheater) plagued with, and brought down by, too many leech "friends", too many bad decisions, too much cocaine? Not for me. Come to think of young, tightly-knit teams that make up for lack of football brilliance with hard work and team play, I might develop a soft spot for England after all. Maybe because they remind me of a similar team that made a name for themselves in '06, '10, and '14 - Not necessarily
having to hate England, I am more endeared by them than by the French bunch of drama queens, arrogant arseholes and gangsta actors. Maybe Kylian Mbappé will turn out to be the greatest footballer who has ever lived in the end, but I won't like the French National Men's Footbal Team any more for him.