The news of Maradona's death, although tragic, did not surprise me. It had been at least a couple of years that I expected it, Diego was increasingly insecure in his step, the words were now drawn, decades of abuse of his body were about to ask for the bill, nothing is free, my friends, in al In the end, there is always a price to pay for the decisions you make. He reached the end of the line, surrendering himself to eternal life, entering legend, becoming Immortal. Maradona was a great, very great friend of Cuba, he owes at least the last 20 years of his life to Cuba, without Cuba it would hardly have been more than 4 decades. He arrived with a direct flight from Argentina to Holguín to be transferred to Havana, this is January 2000, he was 40 years old, he was saved by a broken cap due to a cocaine overdose one night in Punta del Este in Uruguay. It seems that he paid 15 thousand dollars for the entire detoxification process, the evildoers assured that in Italy or Spain he would have spent 10 times more but I do not think that the choice of Cuba was dictated by money reasons, in Diego. financial means are never lost in life. Fidel was by his side, made available to him the Cuban health structures that, as we have seen in this pandemic, are second to many, he was admitted to the Pedrera clinic in the capital where he spent several weeks in which the Maximum Leader was. . often to find. They had known each other since 1987 when Diego went to Cuba a year after his Argentina won the World Cup in Mexico, since then many other trips and other meetings followed, the champion became more and more convinced of the ideas that Fidel expressed to him about an America A united Latina, economically and politically independent from the United States. In addition to the drug problems, certainly derived from this, he also had serious heart problems, he arrived in Cuba full of tranquilizers and with a muddy mouth, with him came his wife, the trusted doctor, a cardiologist, a neurologist and the lawyer of Coppola weather. He caused a crowd at an airport made up of cameramen, journalists, fans, Cuban authorities and police, his first words were "A big hug to all Cubans, I am also a rebel." In those years in Cuba (2000-2005) it cannot be said that he was bored, it seems that there are at least 4 Diego Jr. wandering around the largest of the Antilles. It is not yet clear if he recognized them, although it appears that he met them in 2016 at Fidel's funeral. Even Pantani in the darkest moment of his parable 'went' to Cuba, they met and probably made a scandal together. When Fidel died, the same day that Diego ... the champion was in Croatia for the Davis tennis final between Croatia and Argentina, he took the first flight to Havana to say goodbye for the last time to what he did most. second father. "After meeting Fidel and Chávez, Maradona changed a lot, from a crazy horse to being an active militant always at the side of progressive leaders. But Maradona also managed to create new interests in Fidel, before the Commander only loved the Baseball and boxing, thanks to Maradona they became passionate about soccer, a sport in Cuba, especially in those years not very popular. Live tweets are legendary during the 2011 Copa América, where you can see Fidel and Chávez watching together a soccer match of the Venezuelan team. Maradona had Che's image tattooed on one arm, that of Fidel on one leg, he considered his Argentine compatriot a hero, an emblematic figure of humanity. During the summit of the Americas in Argentina in Mar del Plata, Diego organized a "Summit of the Peoples" where he boarded a train leaving from Buenos Aires "Expresso del Alba" with Morales, Silvio Rodríguez, Chávez and the mothers of Palza de Mayo, Fidel lo I was waiting in Mar del Plata. He had no problem at the time calling Bush a murderer and "human trash," which was only part of the hatred he felt for the United States. He had to return to Cuba for a rehabilitation phase just after the head surgery, he did not arrive on time.