Mexico’s ‘cathedral of football’, the stadium Maradona never really left | Football News
The security officer near tunnel eight of Azteca Stadium is tired. A small crowd has gathered at the alley leading to the dressing room and he is holding them back. On the wall nearby hangs a photograph: Diego Maradona on the shoulders of his teammates after the 1986 quarter-final at this very stadium, hair fanned out like a halo. Some try to bribe their way past, but the security officer doesn’t move. Near the stadium café, there used to be a small bronze statue of Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal. It was removed during renovation before this World Cup. “We had to make some space, but it will be restored soon,” says Juventino Gonzales, who runs the stadium tours. The goal that made him and unmade England, boxed up in storage beneath the stadium where it happened. Azteca and Maradona have given each other footballing immortality. “Almost every visitor comes in search of Maradona memorabilia. Some get so emotional that they even cry,” says Gonzales. When Maradona died over five years ago, thousands turned up …
