The legend behind Michael Jordan's gift to Maradona and Diego's dream that never came true

Legend has it that one afternoon a truck stopped at the door of the family home. Maradona On Cantillo Street, the heart of the Devoto neighborhood. Staff lowered a disassembled structure more than three meters long with a dedication message: “For my great friend Diego”. Witnesses claim that it was signed by another sporting legend, a contemporary of the ten (three years younger than him): Michael Jordan.

“The ring arrives in the mail truck. When they came to drop off the pieces, I said: What are they coming for? And there Don Diego told me: 'This is the ring that Jordan gave him, and he sent it saying it was for his great friend Diego Maradona.'” The scene confirms that one of the people, a blacksmith, Installed it and stayed in the house forever. Claudio Langelotti, Fijikeeper of the property for more than 30 years, and is currently in the process of being restored.

Consult him informationA family member testified to the story that the person who sent the collar bearing the NBA logo was Jordan himself. He did this after retiring for the second time Chicago Bulls, after receiving his sixth championship ring (later, in the 21st century, he received two additional seasons with the Washington Wizards). “At first the ring was next to the palm tree, at the back of the house's garden. Then, here, by the pool. They played a lot. Diego loved all the games. I remember the last thing he bought was a frog. A ping-pong table… In basketball he had the quality… “I shot it like this,” he said, and he nailed it…“, recalls Langelotti. “Everything he did, he did well,” attesting to the Idol's ability to excel in all disciplines.

Thus, snacks with family members or occasional guests in the garden of the legendary Cantillo house became popular thanks to the birth of His Majesty the King. The strange thing is that Maradona and Jordan were never face to face. It ended up being one of the pinned accounts for Pelosa, an admirer of the high-flying athletes and defenders of the Argentina jersey.

Diego's winks at MJ were multiple throughout their history. An unforgettable event occurred in La Pampa, during the preparation of the captain of the Albiceleste team for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, in this preparation led by Fernando Signorini, and with a very few of his companions, such as his father Chitoro and his assistant Chichara Pérez. , he was training in very special clothes. “Every now and then he would wear a Michael Jordan jersey, from the Dream Team, then said: “Take pictures of me with this, take pictures of me with this, that's how Jordan sees me!”, he was able to talk in an interview about that jacket worn by the North American team. Which swept the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.

This invisible line between genius and brilliance was again evident in the interview he recalled with libero vsin TC Sports. “I'm a Jordan fan.”Then he stressed and added that he wanted to communicate with him and the golfer Tiger wood. “Even if they are Americans, it's not their fault,” he joked. He even suggested the Bulls star as a candidate for President of the United States. “It will give it a sporty touch,” he added.

The doping against Nigeria in the World Cup, and the traumatic episode of “They cut off my leg”, closed the doors on the USA and a long-awaited meeting with MJ at home. But he didn't stop building bridges as the calendars passed. As happened in October 2017, when he released a new carrier pigeon via an Instagram post, from the United Arab Emirates, where he was working as a coach for the Fujairah Club.

“I want to meet you, Professor.”“, he wrote with a photo of MJ. “I want to meet you, Master,” he added in English, linking the word to Jordanian. But the intersection of the two legends did not materialize. This connection, beyond the supernatural talent they shared, was symbolized in that episode that remains In the garden of the Maradona family home, today it is somewhat tilted, defeated but not defeated, waiting to be restored, as happens with the rest of the temple that keeps the memory of the Ten, surrounded by the treasures that cradle history.