WHO WAS THERE: Maradona v Nigeria 1994?

[Cmoke]

I was!

And I have a now priceless picture to prove it!

It was a picture of a nurse escorting Maradona to take the drug test after the match!

Cmoke

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

Chief. I understood the true meaning of rabid fan support after that game. It was quite the spectacle.

Wow y’all made good money off the tickets. I could barely afford a ticket at the time. Luckily my buddy worked at a stock trading company which was giving away tickets to employees. I did pay for the game vs Greece but those tickets weren’t as much in demand

YUJAM,

We were selling tix from my home at 200 a piece. The face for the tix was 65 a piece. Helped us breakeven 'cause we were not able to sell some for the Bulgaria game.

Man walking to the stadium from where we parked, you felt lonely. It was all blue and white. Did you remember that the stadium was full of confetti when the Argentines hit the field.The confetti was ridicules and it had to be swept. Yet the fans dumped another batch yet again on the field. It was lonely till Siasia silenced them with that early goal.

Yes Chief.

I was in Boston at the time living in the Back Bay area. My buddy C of Iranian origin had tickets to the game and offered one to me. Being a SE fan since the early 80s it was a dream come true. Finally I could watch idols like Rashidi and Keshi even though they were both a bit past prime.

We departed via train from South Station to Foxborough Stadium. I remember seeing a sea of blue and white jerseys in the train and it even got more spectacular when we got to game. There was a sea of blue and white on one stand. I remember the stadium literally shaking as they jumped up and down in unison chanting, “ Argentina”.

Game starts and a few minutes into it and Siasia scores. That was nice. But then the ref keeps blowing what I viewed as nonexistent fouls. I got up and started complaint about the ref. At the time refs weren’t really fair to African teams and Argentina exploited this tendency by reacting to slight touches. This far Indian fellow from Trinidad didn’t like that I was complaining. We got into it and he said, ‘at least they don’t play cave football’. I was so upset at that remark I had to be calmed down by my Iranian buddy. The Trini apologized later but damage had already been done. A racist.

On the game, I was just blown away by how fast the passes were. Players didn’t dwell. It was just one touch. I think Maradona didn’t have a particularly good game by his previous lofty WC standards. But he did give Caniggia the pass for one of their two goals? The SE players were arguing with the ref when Diego played the FK. Naive play of early African WC teams in my view.

The SE loss was disappointing but it was a wonderful experience for me. I got to see the Greece game some days later.

I was there.

Yujam

How did you get to the game and what did you feel the next day after you learnt about Maradona's issue?

What impressed me most about the match or more appropriately the man who impressed me the most was Peter Rufai. I was sitted directly behind his goal along with thousands of Argentinian fans and I marveled at just how calm he was despite the attempts of the Argentinian fans to distract him. He didn’t so much as glance back. Not even once. I thought to myself that this guy must have iced water running through his veins


Cheers.

[akamoke]

I was sitting right behind the goal posts Rufai manned in the first half so I almost felt the breeze from the wild sbot of Cannigia's first goal
The second goal looked initially to be going for a goal kick and it just curled in
I had barely settled in and the Siasia goal went in, so I was half celebrating

As usual, the Argentine fans dominated the stadium, as was the case in Johannesburg 2010

[akamoke]

Chief. I understood the true meaning of rabid fan support after that game. It was quite the spectacle.

Wow y’all made good money off the tickets. I could barely afford a ticket at the time. Luckily my buddy worked at a stock trading company which was giving away tickets to employees. I did pay for the game vs Greece but those tickets weren’t as much in demand

YUJAM,

We were selling tix from my home at 200 a piece. The face for the tix was 65 a piece. Helped us breakeven 'cause we were not able to sell some for the Bulgaria game.

Man walking to the stadium from where we parked, you felt lonely. It was all blue and white. Did you remember that the stadium was full of confetti when the Argentines hit the field.The confetti was ridicules and it had to be swept. Yet the fans dumped another batch yet again on the field. It was lonely till Siasia silenced them with that early goal.

Yes Chief.

I was in Boston at the time living in the Back Bay area. My buddy C of Iranian origin had tickets to the game and offered one to me. Being a SE fan since the early 80s it was a dream come true. Finally I could watch idols like Rashidi and Keshi even though they were both a bit past prime.

We departed via train from South Station to Foxborough Stadium. I remember seeing a sea of blue and white jerseys in the train and it even got more spectacular when we got to game. There was a sea of blue and white on one stand. I remember the stadium literally shaking as they jumped up and down in unison chanting, “ Argentina”.

Game starts and a few minutes into it and Siasia scores. That was nice. But then the ref keeps blowing what I viewed as nonexistent fouls. I got up and started complaint about the ref. At the time refs weren’t really fair to African teams and Argentina exploited this tendency by reacting to slight touches. This far Indian fellow from Trinidad didn’t like that I was complaining. We got into it and he said, ‘at least they don’t play cave football’. I was so upset at that remark I had to be calmed down by my Iranian buddy. The Trini apologized later but damage had already been done. A racist.

On the game, I was just blown away by how fast the passes were. Players didn’t dwell. It was just one touch. I think Maradona didn’t have a particularly good game by his previous lofty WC standards. But he did give Caniggia the pass for one of their two goals? The SE players were arguing with the ref when Diego played the FK. Naive play of early African WC teams in my view.

The SE loss was disappointing but it was a wonderful experience for me. I got to see the Greece game some days later.

I was there.

Yujam

How did you get to the game and what did you feel the next day after you learnt about Maradona's issue?

What impressed me most about the match or more appropriately the man who impressed me the most was Peter Rufai. I was sitted directly behind his goal along with thousands of Argentinian fans and I marveled at just how calm he was despite the attempts of the Argentinian fans to distract him. He didn’t so much as glance back. Not even once. I thought to myself that this guy must have iced water running through his veins


Cheers.

I think he kept the game a respectable 2-1

[Toxicarrow]

Sports
Playing against Maradona was like facing a lion –US ’94 Eagles stars
Published November 28, 2020
Kindly Share This Story

Ebenezer Bajela and Toni Ufoh

Members of the Super Eagles squad to the 1994 World Cup in the United States have paid glowing tributes to the legendary Diego Maradona, who died of cardiac arrest in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday.

The former Eagles stars revealed how the Argentine’s trickery and ball sense caused problems for Clemens Westerhof side during their group tie 26 years ago.

The Eagles, were on cloud nine after their opening 3-0 win over Bulgaria at the Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, Texas, but they were brought down to earth three days later at the Foxborough stadium by Maradona’s ingenuity, as the South Americans came back from a goal down, Samson Siasia’s 12th minute opener, to triumph 2-1 over the then reigning African champions.

Claudio Caniggia grabbed both goals, firing in a rebound in the 22nd minute after Maradona passed to Gabriel Batistuta, who fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Again, it was Maradona’s genius that created the second goal in the 29th minute.

The Argentina captain saw Caniggia break into space on the left, while getting ready to take a free-kick, and quickly sent a short pass to him.

Caniggia took two steps inside the penalty area, before swerving his shot past the stranded Peter Rufai, in goal for the Eagles.

Former Eagles captain and coach Sunday Oliseh, who was tasked with the responsibility of keeping close tabs on Maradona, said it took him two days to recover after marking the legend.

“I was one of the youngest players at the 1994 World Cup and we had a wonderful start ever,” Oliseh recalled in an interview with Saturday PUNCH.

“We beat Bulgaria 3-0 in our opening game and we were confident ahead of the game against Argentina.

“I recall Clemens Westerhof telling me prior to the game that I was to mark Diego Maradona, which I did, but man-marking that old man was like facing a lion when he came with the ball. We started the game well and took the lead through Samson Siasia.

“But they reacted like bees whose hive was destroyed. It took me two days to recover from that task. We lost, but luckily we beat Greece to advance to the next round. Having had the opportunity to play against him was a very special occasion for me

“My task against him boosted my confidence after that game that I believed I could play in the biggest clubs in the world because, having been able to compete against him, with the esteem I held him at the time, and still hold for him, it meant I could play against anybody.”

Siasia, scorer of Nigeria’s only against the Maradona-led Argentines, added, “Maradona was the greatest I ever played against. He showed the world he was the greatest during his playing years.

“At a time he should be enjoying his life he died. It was a privilege that our set played against him – though we did not win. He was not at our level when it comes to football. He’s the greatest of all time and nobody can take that away from him. We will all miss him.”

Defender Austin Eguavoen revealed that the late Maradona’s wit and experience helped La Albiceleste to a famous win over the Eagles.

“Our strategy against Argentina was very strong, but our inexperience showed when he (Maradona) gave a quick pass to (Claudio)Caniggia, while we were still forming our wall. That was where his experience made the difference,” the Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director told Saturday PUNCH.

“He was a very influential player because I saw how he motivated his fellow players in the tunnel in Boston; I was just looking at him.

“For me, Diego is the best ever, but those who watched Pele played insisted he (Pele) was better than Maradona. However, I was on the same pitch with him, I know he could do things out of nothing, just like our own Jay Jay.”

Ex-Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amuneke, who was also part of the Eagles squad at their maiden World Cup, has won several laurels with clubs and country, including winning the 1994 AFCON and 1996 Olympics gold, as well as being named the African Player of the Year in 1994.

But he insists playing against Maradona remains one of the highlights of his glorious career.

“It was one of my greatest moments; he brought smiles to a lot of faces in football and even beyond,” former Tanzania manager Amuneke said.

“Most of us saw it as a privilege and an honour to have played football on the same pitch with him.”

Before his death, Maradona, who played for Napoli, Barcelona and Boca Juniors, battled a series of health issues.

He was admitted to hospital in January 2019 with internal bleeding in the stomach.

He also fell ill at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he was filmed passing out in an executive box during the game between Argentina and Nigeria.

Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
https://punchng.com/playing-against-mar ... les-stars/

[jette1]

We were all there; march exposed our Players’ naivety in the game of football. We might play tough and skilled etc etc but when it comes doing the most basic little things at crucial times we act clueless.

[wiseone]

That game set a World Cup record for the most free kicks ever awarded against a team. The ref awarded over 35 FKs against Nigeria in that game.

[Tobi17]

I was still in my baby pampers in '94, apparently I didn't know what the heck was going on around me till few years later when it all made sense to me

[Odas]

Sports
Playing against Maradona was like facing a lion –US ’94 Eagles stars
Published November 28, 2020
Kindly Share This Story

Ebenezer Bajela and Toni Ufoh

Members of the Super Eagles squad to the 1994 World Cup in the United States have paid glowing tributes to the legendary Diego Maradona, who died of cardiac arrest in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday.

The former Eagles stars revealed how the Argentine’s trickery and ball sense caused problems for Clemens Westerhof side during their group tie 26 years ago.

The Eagles, were on cloud nine after their opening 3-0 win over Bulgaria at the Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, Texas, but they were brought down to earth three days later at the Foxborough stadium by Maradona’s ingenuity, as the South Americans came back from a goal down, Samson Siasia’s 12th minute opener, to triumph 2-1 over the then reigning African champions.

Claudio Caniggia grabbed both goals, firing in a rebound in the 22nd minute after Maradona passed to Gabriel Batistuta, who fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Again, it was Maradona’s genius that created the second goal in the 29th minute.

The Argentina captain saw Caniggia break into space on the left, while getting ready to take a free-kick, and quickly sent a short pass to him.

Caniggia took two steps inside the penalty area, before swerving his shot past the stranded Peter Rufai, in goal for the Eagles.

Former Eagles captain and coach Sunday Oliseh, who was tasked with the responsibility of keeping close tabs on Maradona, said it took him two days to recover after marking the legend.

“I was one of the youngest players at the 1994 World Cup and we had a wonderful start ever,” Oliseh recalled in an interview with Saturday PUNCH.

“We beat Bulgaria 3-0 in our opening game and we were confident ahead of the game against Argentina.

“I recall Clemens Westerhof telling me prior to the game that I was to mark Diego Maradona, which I did, but man-marking that old man was like facing a lion when he came with the ball. We started the game well and took the lead through Samson Siasia.

“But they reacted like bees whose hive was destroyed. It took me two days to recover from that task. We lost, but luckily we beat Greece to advance to the next round. Having had the opportunity to play against him was a very special occasion for me

“My task against him boosted my confidence after that game that I believed I could play in the biggest clubs in the world because, having been able to compete against him, with the esteem I held him at the time, and still hold for him, it meant I could play against anybody.”

Siasia, scorer of Nigeria’s only against the Maradona-led Argentines, added, “Maradona was the greatest I ever played against. He showed the world he was the greatest during his playing years.

“At a time he should be enjoying his life he died. It was a privilege that our set played against him – though we did not win. He was not at our level when it comes to football. He’s the greatest of all time and nobody can take that away from him. We will all miss him.”

Defender Austin Eguavoen revealed that the late Maradona’s wit and experience helped La Albiceleste to a famous win over the Eagles.

“Our strategy against Argentina was very strong, but our inexperience showed when he (Maradona) gave a quick pass to (Claudio)Caniggia, while we were still forming our wall. That was where his experience made the difference,” the Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director told Saturday PUNCH.

“He was a very influential player because I saw how he motivated his fellow players in the tunnel in Boston; I was just looking at him.

“For me, Diego is the best ever, but those who watched Pele played insisted he (Pele) was better than Maradona. However, I was on the same pitch with him, I know he could do things out of nothing, just like our own Jay Jay.”

Ex-Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amuneke, who was also part of the Eagles squad at their maiden World Cup, has won several laurels with clubs and country, including winning the 1994 AFCON and 1996 Olympics gold, as well as being named the African Player of the Year in 1994.

But he insists playing against Maradona remains one of the highlights of his glorious career.

“It was one of my greatest moments; he brought smiles to a lot of faces in football and even beyond,” former Tanzania manager Amuneke said.

“Most of us saw it as a privilege and an honour to have played football on the same pitch with him.”

Before his death, Maradona, who played for Napoli, Barcelona and Boca Juniors, battled a series of health issues.

He was admitted to hospital in January 2019 with internal bleeding in the stomach.

He also fell ill at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he was filmed passing out in an executive box during the game between Argentina and Nigeria.

Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
https://punchng.com/playing-against-mar ... les-stars/

What 'ingenuity?' I stopped reading when I came across the word 'ingenuity.' There was nothing genius about Maradona that day, rather he 'cheated' us as much as I am concerned and surprisingly, the referee allowed the 'quick restart' to stand and hence their second goal/victory

[theYemster]

In retrospect we should've conceded a third goal and avoided Italy regardless of Amokachi's brilliant but unnecessary goal against Greece.

[Enugu II]

In retrospect we should've conceded a third goal and avoided Italy regardless of Amokachi's brilliant but unnecessary goal against Greece.

theYemster,

In retrospect, yes. However, in real time, Italy was underwhelming at the group stage and it felt we could really take them. Then we were also up on them in Round of 16 with not only a goal ahead but a man advantage!