One game summed up Diego Maradona: Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in a 1986 World Cup quarterfinal. Maradona scored both his side’s goals.

He cheated to score the first, disguising a handball with a flick of his head. “The Hand of God.”

The second involved skill that only God could bestow as Maradona dribbled from beyond the center line and through England’s entire team. It’s arguably the greatest World Cup goal ever.

That was Maradona. That contradiction. The devil on one shoulder, God on the other.

Maradona passed away Wednesday. He was 60. Select few are in the discussion for greatest soccer player ever. To my mind, Maradona wins that debate. Only Pele compares. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are included, but that’s recency bias.

Messi is Argentine, like Maradona. He hasn’t elevated Argentina to a World Cup title. Maradona did. Messi has won his professional trophies with Barcelona, maybe the biggest club ever. Napoli won the Italian league twice with Maradona. Not before, not since, perhaps never again.

Cities and nations rose and fell with Maradona. That’s no exaggeration, but a true statement that reflects his worth, ability and charisma.

Charisma was among Maradona’s biggest weapons. He had charisma like Elvis.

But Maradona was incredibly flawed.

In Napoli, he fell in with organized crime. He denied his illegitimate son. He did cocaine. He got thrown out of the 1994 World Cup for using a banned substance. He shot at reporters. He rubbed elbows with Fidel Castro. He had huge tax debt. At one point, he ballooned to 280 pounds.

But with a football at his feet, Maradona was magic. He dribbled, passed and finished. Nobody else had his vision and creativity. Maradona scored 259 professional goals, 42 international goals, and set up countless more.

But you had to see Maradona. He was electric. Far beyond mere stats.

Maradona was only 5-foot-5. He got gratuitously fouled. Hacked down and beat up.

But Maradona just kept going. His missteps duly noted, Maradona couldn’t be denied.

Maradona came from nothing. In today’s sports world, coming from nothing might mean you didn’t get the latest Xbox as a teenager.

Maradona grew up in one of Buenos Aires’ worst slums. He lived in a tin shack without running water or electricity. As a child, he fell into an open sewer and nearly drowned in raw sewage. The incident became a metaphor for his life.

Maradona had to make it. There wasn’t another option.

Maradona made people fall in love with soccer. How many athletes truly can say that about their sport?

When Maradona passed, the whole world mourned. He’s been eulogized like a pope, or a president. No American athlete besides Muhammad Ali has matched Maradona’s global prominence. Only Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have come close.

Soccer is the world’s game, and Maradona was arguably its best player. His origins and flaws made him everyman. Maradona was beloved.

Maradona will never be forgotten anywhere. But he’s a God in Argentina, and his attachment to Napoli is special. The south of Italy often is ridiculed by the north, and such language isn’t often disguised at soccer matches.

Maradona changed that. Maradona brought Naples more than two league titles and three cups. He brought respect to the team, city and people.

In Naples, they cried when Maradona died. Then, Thursday, Napoli hosted and won a Europa League match.

The Sao Paolo Stadium was empty because of covid. But supporters gathered outside and sang as they always did, and always will (loosely translated):

“Oh mama, mama, mama

Oh, mama, mama, mama

Do you know why my heart beats so?

I’ve seen Maradona

I’ve seen Maradona

Oh, mama, I’m in love!”

Diego Maradona, RIP.

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