Diego Maradona - His Life [2002] [DVD]

The appeal of a DVD such as this was always going to be the chance to view and enjoy some of the incredible things Maradona achieved on the pitch as one of the most gifted footballer's ever. Unfortunately, the makers seem to have put this collection together on the cheap and it is glaringly obvious from the end product. The glory of the Serie A years is reduced to poor behind-the-goal views only - you feel like you bought the cheapest seat in the stadium. The sublime early days at Boca are stripped of their character and atmosphere by being set to (awful) music. The World Cup footage, apart from suffering a combination of music and second rate TV angles, is severly limited and a little predictable.

Overall a great shame. Recommended more for fans of Maradona than for fans of football, as all the exquisite football on this DVD is lost without question in the sub-standard nature of the footage. You will feel like you bought a ticket to an incredible show but where your view was obstructed by the guy in front of you.

This DVD does the job of showing his goals all through his career, starting in Argentina. There are some great goals, and they show a lot of skill - his Cruyff turns, and his balance stand out. However, the footage of his time in Barcelona and Napoli are very disappointing. I don't know if it is due to the rights the DVD makers had, but for Napoli, especially, the only camera angles you see are at ground level, a few meters to the side of the goal - so the perspective is really poor. Could they not show his goals from the traditional angle. Perhaps, in an era of Sky Sports we have been spoilt by seeing the game from every angle imaginable, and there just was not the same standard in the 80s. Also, there is footage from his time as a player for the national team - but there is not enough footage of this as I would have liked.

As for the DVD itself, it is Italian and seems to have been literally translated into English - with some comical results - things like "bombastic annihiliations from his left foot" (can't quite remember the quote)- extras are highlights from the UEFA cup final Napoli won and a Napoli league match v Juventus, but the commentary is in Italian.

The best thing on the DVD, is an amazing fight Maradonna was involved in v Athletico Madrid while at Barcelona. You see him knee a fan in the face, and all the players doing running kicks at each other - Cantona, eat your heart out. If that happened now, they would all be facing lifetime bans!

So, in conclusion, this shows lots of goals, lots of skill, but dodgy camera angles for much of the footage. Is Maradonna the best player ever? Possibly - but how much footage do we have of players from earlier eras - eg Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Best.
Definately, worth renting - rather than buying I would say.