Thinking and imagining a Diego Maradona from Asia is very difficult. But the truth is that there was a footballer who was nicknamed the “Maradona of Asia”, he had an incredible life, he entered the history of the World Cups and very few know it.
This is Saeed Al-Owairan, one of those footballers who, due to the combination of talent and origin, was compared at some point in his career with Diego Armando Maradona. More after an event that marked him forever.
Saeed Al Owairan playing in the 1994 World Cup – Photo by Icon sport
On June 29, 1994, at the Memorial Stadium in Washington, the Saudi soccer player converted the best goal of the World Cup for the United States. It was against Belgium just started the game. He received the ball in his field, and began to face the rivals. Like Maradona in 1986 against England, he went through five rivals to define against the goalkeeper and score a beautiful and important goal that helped his team advance to the round of 16. A great goal that FIFA recognized it as one of the most beautiful.
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From then on came fame for Saeed Al-Owairan. He was just 26 years old. That year he was chosen as the best player in Asia. In his country he was received as a national hero and even the Saudi regime gave him a Rolls Royce. It was all a nice story until, as with Maradona, the heavy fall came.
From hero to prison, the fall of Saeed Al-Owairan
After that wonderful World Cup everything fell apart. Because the European teams put their eyes on him and wanted to take him away. But the law in his country prevented him from playing in another country and forced the player to stay with Al-Shabab.. This in itself demotivated him.
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There he went on vacation without permission from the club and was sanctioned. Months later, during Radaman, he was caught drinking alcohol in a nightclub surrounded by prostitutes. As a result, he was arrested and suspended for one year for violating Islamic law and was unable to play in the Asian Cup or the World Cup qualifying round in France. When he got out of prison he returned to football, but he could never do it at a good level. Always at Al-Shabab, he played a few more years, but without any significance and with marked physical deficiencies. At 32 he retired from football the Maradona of Asia
2023-08-06 02:21:41
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