Maracana, Maradona and Messi

Rio de Janeiro: The World Cup in Sao Paulo, the financial capital of Brazil isn’t a patch on the country’s football heartbeat, Rio de Janeiro. The urban Sao Paulo with its high rise buildings all over the city can’t compete with Rio’s raw passion.

The atmosphere for the first match of the 2014 World Cup in Rio on Sunday was unforgettable, and one couldn’t stop thinking about the three Ms — Maracana, Maradona and Messi  — before the match. The air outside the Maracana was full of expectations because many fans were about to fulfil a lifetime’s wish of getting inside the historic stadium.

Argentina supporters started to fill the pavement in front of the Maracana from 10am for the 7pm match. Most of them were clad in their national colours. Before Messi and Co. took the pitch,

Maracana was very much the hero of the day. The wonderful stadium glowed in glorious splendour. With four giant screens and a capacity of 75,000, the Maracana is grand in every sense of the word. It’s hard not to fall for the beauty of the stadium and the atmosphere its packed stands can generate.

Maradona stopped playing two decades ago and he achieved his peak even further back in 1986. But he hasn’t left the hearts of Argentine fans. Even a Diego lookalike was treated like a celebrity outside the Maracana. If jerseys bearing Messi’s name were numerous, Maradona had more posters, cutouts and banners. Inside the stadium, Argentina fans taunted their Brazilian counterparts by singing “Maradona was better than Pele.”

Despite his many follies, Maradona continues to be a badge of honour for a legion of Argentines. Scandals haven’t diminished his aura. In fact, they have burnished his lovable rogue image. More importantly, his compatriots relate to him only through his achievements on a football field. His brilliance at the 1986 World Cup had instilled in them pride.

It’s unbelievable that even a player of Messi’s calibre isn’t able to dislodge Maradona from his pedestal. Messi’s glittering career with Barcelona hasn’t convinced many Argentines to believe that he is their man. Winning titles for Barcelona and inspiring Argentina to the World Cup crown aren’t the same.

Even as Messi is in his prime, his country’s fans continue to sing the name of his former national coach. He needs to take his country to the summit of international football to reach Maradona’s stature.  Messi assured Argentine fans that he was on course with a moment of brilliance that secured a win against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Six more matches to go.