When the Argentina job became vacant in 2008, there were many people who felt – and not without good reason perhaps – that Diego Maradona was not the right man for such an important and demanding post. He was short of coaching expertise, they said, had no experience of handling elite players, lacked tactical insight and was not especially adept at running coaching sessions.

Yet there were two things about Maradona that nobody could deny. Firstly, he was, up to that point, indisputably the greatest player ever to wear the Albiceleste jersey. Secondly, he had an innate talent for analysing the game.

Take his assessment of the skills of Angel Di Maria, who had just joined Benfica at the time and was a relative unknown among Argentina fans, despite a successful if brief stay at Rosario Central at the start of his career. The winger was looking to make a name for himself in Europe and force his way into contention for a ticket to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Though decisive contributions, such as the winner against Brazil in the Copa America 2021 final at the Maracana, the goal against Italy in the Finalissima in 2022, and the clinical strike against France in the Qatar 2022 final were still some way away, Maradona knew Di Maria had something special about him.

“The kid has an amazing gift for taking on and beating defenders,” said the Mexico 1986 winner. “He can destroy you in advanced positions. He can go inside or out, he’s got a great shot on him, and he’s a fantastic crosser of the ball as well.

“He’s a good-looking kid too. He might be thin, but when he takes on those Portuguese defenders and they whack him, he just keeps coming back at them.”