How a wind-up convinced Maradona he could win World Cup on his own

D iego Maradona arrived in Mexico like a well-tuned violin. He had managed to stabilise his weight at 76kg long before the World Cup. His physical condition was optimal from the feet to the neck, and little by little he managed to acclimatise to the Aztec high habitat. The place chosen as the training camp was ideal for footballers – although they baptised it as ‘Alcatraz’, the famous American penitentiary located on a small island in the San Francisco Bay. They could perform the necessary exercises to adapt to the altitude, enjoy many hours of rest and sleep, a good diet and a relaxed, calm atmosphere.

The coach Carlos Bilardo, who had rehearsed acclimatisation to the altitude with a group of players – although without Diego – in Tilcara, a town in the province of Jujuy located about 3,000m above sea level, also organised several training sessions at the time set for games, so the boys would also get used to the torrid heat of the Mexican summer. Diego trained with the team on the field, where Bilardo ordered his tactics and strategies.

I was there as Diego’s personal trainer and, as in Naples, I worried about choosing what work to do so as not to overload Diego’s muscles. The Italian season had been very demanding and I couldn’t allow him to overtrain and reach the World Cup with wet gunpowder, as had happened in Spain four years before. I also set out to motivate him, to help him free his mind from understandable hesitations, from the fears that stage fright can generate. One night, I decided it was time to adjust the last nut on that incredible 1.68m-tall football machine.

I got to Diego’s room and found him on his bed, reading a magazine, lying on his back and with his legs bent. I said hello and only Pedro