God is dead – that was the most frequent headline after Maradona’s death. That it had its dark sides was only hinted at. The author Mara Pfeiffer criticized the unreflective obituaries in a book about “D10s” – in an interview she talks about hateful comments and the blind spots of sports fans.
We need to talk about Maradona again. But different than after his death. This is the opinion of Mara Pfeiffer, who wrote in the Maradona volume “D10s – A Life Between Heaven and Hell” about the alienation that hero worship has triggered in her. In an interview with ntv.de, the author talks about unreflected obituaries, insults from men and the blind spots of sports fans.
ntv.de: What were your first thoughts when you heard about Maradona’s death?
Mara Pfeiffer: For me there was initially a blank. I was at an event with men around me, maybe 10 to 15 years older, who had much more intense reactions. The first thing that came to my mind were the pictures from the 2018 World Cup, Maradona hanging from this VIP balcony and mobbing. At the time I was sorry to see him like that – you could tell that he was not doing well. In the days that followed, I read a lot – but it always seemed the same text: Written with great awe and closeness, but blatantly unreflective.
What exactly did you discover about the obituaries?
The volume “Maradona – A Life Between Heaven and Hell” approaches the Maradona phenomenon with texts, interviews and pictures. Among other things, Rudi Völler explains why his opponent was the best of all time in two World Cup finals – and teammate Jorge Valdano reveals how his number 10 exercised the “hand of God” in training. The book was published by Werkstatt-Verlag.
–
It was the look of a generation that he shaped in their love affair with football, there was of course a high and completely understandable emotionality in it. But I don’t think that should free the almost exclusively male authors from dealing with the breaks. That doesn’t fit Maradona at all – which athlete showed them so openly on and off the pitch? But that was often only breakfasted off in a subordinate clause: Yes, there are still these stories, but let’s not deal with them in more detail. That doesn’t do Maradona justice at all – and neither does the subjects left out.
There is a lot to write about: drug abuse, shots from an air rifle against journalists, sex with minors – and a video from 2014 in which Maradona staggered through a room and obviously beats his then partner. Why was all of this only hinted at but seldom expressed openly?
For one thing, people often do not dare to look at the dark side in obituaries, especially when one has the feeling that it was a tragic or too early death. Maradona’s death was both. And then there is simply a longing for hero stories. That comes from childhood. It is often said that boys have heroes, girls don’t, which is not true: children have heroes. And you want to keep it. Such breaks are annoying.
You belong to the generation that had to discover the Maradona myth afterwards – do you understand what made Maradona a hero?
Author Mara Pfeiffer (Photo: Christian Kuhlmann)
–
I think it was a mix of his style of play, but also of his personality. He didn’t protect himself, didn’t set any limits, got involved in this intense relationship with all fans. If you wanted to get psychological, you could say: That too ruined him. It belonged to everyone but not to themselves.
On the other hand, the Maradona myth cannot be explained without this dangerous proximity. Today the stars simulate this closeness via Instagram, but actually live and play completely isolated. Will there be another footballer as adored and loved as Maradona?
Maybe at club level, where there is a lot more identification than with the national team. But this intoxicating, global phenomenon like with Maradona, I can no longer imagine that today.
After Maradona’s death, the veneration also blossomed unsightly. Third division player Paula Dapena boycotted a minute’s silence in protest against domestic violence – and received death threats. What does that tell us?
That society is still misogynous and patriarchal, especially when it comes to topics that are read as masculine – like football. In my work I notice how vehemently a certain type of man defends itself against the fact that it involves more than 22 athletes * kicking a ball. All social problems can be found in football. Sexism, racism – but some don’t want to see that, they want bread and games, they want to be entertained. It is difficult to counter this.
Do these men feel threatened? And if so – why actually?
I think so, yes. It is one of the last male bastions where they are not disturbed, where they defend everything that supposedly belongs to them. An example: I was recently in the “one-two” at Sport1, not for the first time. And then people write to me with real names: “What do you think you bitch to talk about football on TV.” There is such a fear, such an anger, when people tackle a topic that these guys believe: This is mine. We are nowhere near as advanced as we think we are in terms of development. This is also shown by the example of Cristiano Ronaldo: He is a role model for many youth players. And the rape allegations against him, which the “Spiegel” has dealt with in the course of the “Football Leaks”, people do not even notice. How the subject is discussed is inconceivable. And if you answer: Read the information about it, everything is there – it is simply closed. People pretend it doesn’t exist, like it was made up collectively.
How could we better remember people like Maradona? How do we deal with when God’s hand strikes women?
By talking about it with the same ease with which we say that this hand scored a football goal. It would be important to normalize that. If you remember someone publicly – it’s not about private commemoration – then not just the part that you like. The claim must already be there. We’re talking about journalism here, which should capture a topic in its entirety.
Your text appeared in a book that contains much of the indifferent devotion that you are criticizing. Do you still find the overall picture round?
Mara Pfeiffer, born in 1978, is a freelance journalist and author specializing in football and its role in society. She is part of the crew of the podcast “FRÜF – Women talk about football”. Her last published Mainz 05 crime thriller “Poisoned Hope”.
–
It’s a good start, yeah. Especially when I compare it with the look I usually met. I would like us to use this as a starting point for further discussions.
You wrote that one has to deal with fractions in order to ultimately ask the question of whether we need heroes at all. So: do we need heroes?
I don’t need it, but I don’t want to deny it to anyone. Personally, I feel more comfortable with the idea of role models. I feel that heroes work for children. And when you have a certain age you have to ask yourself: is my hero a good role model? Can I take him or her with me into adult life?
But that’s part of the fascination of football – eternal childhood. Is that why it is so difficult to separate footballers and Maradona the people?
Most certainly. There is a lot of ambivalence in there. Many have a very loving relationship with their heroes, you can find them at a time when you need them and want to keep them. It’s totally human, but it doesn’t always work. For you this detachment means pain, but if we as a society want to tackle problematic issues, this is the only way to work.
Christian Bartlau spoke to Mara Pfeiffer
– .
