Maradona in Mexico (2019): Season 1, Episode 1 - La llegada - full transcript

Now for the Diego Maradona show.

He's just been sent off.

Diego!

It's the Maradona show.

He's been sent off.

Olé, olé, olé, olé, Diego, Diego

This is bad.

I told the fourth official

that there was an elbow to the head.

His head could have been split open!

San Luis' coach told me to shut up.



I said, "Really?

Do you know how many games I've played?

And you?

You have to show your ID to get
into your own house, son of a bitch!"

I'm a good man,

and I want to improve football...

...for the good of the people.

But I'm not perfect.

Nobody's perfect.

Sometimes I'm confronted by things...

...that I don't understand.

But I'm not scared of anything
in football.

A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES

He achieved glory in Aztec lands



And made Argentina win the World Cup

Because his hand made history
Like his hand lifting a trophy

Many people haven't forgotten your past

But now it's time
To tell a different story

I have forgiven you for your mistake

It's a source of pride
That you're in Sinaloa

And Diego arrived, and Diego arrived

He arrived to brighten up football

And Maradona arrived, he arrived

And Maradona arrived, he arrived

11 WEEKS EARLIER

This is Maxiradio 113.3. Welcome.

Today we're discussing the unthinkable.

Diego Maradona is the new coach
of Dorados de Sinaloa.

Diego Armando Maradona!

He's coming to Culiacán, to Sinaloa.

He's taking on a team

at the bottom of the league,
with an unfinished stadium.

The fans are unhappy
and no longer go to games.

-Maradona in Culiacán?
-Brace yourself. This will be interesting.

Maradona's dribbling,
followed by two players.

He goes right,
the football genius.

He tries to pass it to Burruchaga,

but Maradona keeps it! The genius!

I remember that Diego's lawyer said,

"I'm confident about it.

Can you start picturing this?

Could this work at Dorados?"

When he says "Diego Armando"...

First it's just "boom."
Then you think, "Holy shit."

Valdano to Maradona!

The goalkeeper moves forward.
There it is. Diego shoots! Goal!

My mind goes into overdrive.

Zipping through problems.

Argentina is the world champion!

Argentina...

I start imagining Diego here.

What would it mean to have him here?

He traded one addiction for another,
from cocaine to alcohol.

Diego, I love you.

The most recent news about Diego
was the fuss at the World Cup.

For 30 seconds, my mind
went on an intergalactic journey.

I replied: "If there is a club president

with the courage
to take this on, it's me."

President...

Here I come.

The Maradona revolution begins,

and I need you beside me.

Here we go. Excuse us.

That's right!

I remember when he arrived at the airport,

I was worried about how to approach him.
What will he think of me?

Will he like me or not?

What does he like or not like?

The airport had never seen
such a media scrum.

It was...

...overwhelming. It was crazy.

Totally crazy.

Maradona was greeted like a rock star
on his arrival at the Culiacán airport.

Sinaloa is the drug capital of Mexico,

but the superstar says
he'll be concentrating on football.

The aim of our project

is to win promotion to the first division.

He's going to the home
of the biggest drug cartel in Mexico.

Alejo will tell us more.
I can't explain this.

It's confirmed.
Diego has arrived at Dorados de Sinaloa.

Maradona is coming to Culiacán,

with the cartels, the drugs.

-Drug trafficking.
-That's what people will talk about.

Believe me.

Let's take this call.

A question for Dorados.

How will the club control
the volatile behavior of Mr. Maradona?

In particular, his cocaine addiction?

It's like taking a diabetic
to a candy shop.

Before the arrival of Maradona,

the biggest news out of Sinaloa
was the escape of "El Chapo" Guzmán.

When you travel,
that's what people reference.

"That's a violent place."

"How do you manage to live there?"

I can't help the fact
that El Chapo was born here.

What I can change...

is that we won't be judged
by what he's done anymore.

Diego, a picture.

With you at Dorados, we can't lose.

The official introduction of No. 10,
Diego Armando Maradona,

as the coach of Dorados de Sinaloa.

We support Dorados
and we can't lose.

Hello. Good afternoon.

It's a pleasure to welcome you all.

At Dorados we're always looking
to write a new chapter.

A new chapter
that would take us to new heights.

Today we are doing just that.

I have come to give my all.

If we have the support of the fans,

plus the morale boost
I'll give the players...

we'll be hard to beat.

We're gonna be hard to beat.

BANORTE STADIUM, CULIACÁN

I had just woken up.

I looked at my phone
and it was full of messages, calls,

social media posts,
that said Diego was coming.

We couldn't believe it was possible.

We all know Diego Armando Maradona
and what he means to football.

We doubted he even knew
where Dorados was.

I'm proud to be here,

to be here with them.

To give them the morale boost they need

to get better every day.

We don't have any virtuosos here.

They're all regular players,
great players,

who are working with a good attitude.

So I'm happy with that.

I've known Diego since 1983 or 1984
as a football player.

We played together for Argentina...

in World Cups.

Later we played on opposing teams.

The first thing we did when we got here

was to work on tactics.

We could see there were problems,
things we didn't understand or like.

I'd watched videos
of their earlier games.

Da Silva is through. He shoots, goal!

There is a cross, and he shoots. Goal!

Hachen scored!

He crosses over, shoots, goal!

It was no surprise they were
at the bottom of the second division.

There is a cross, and he shoots. Goal!

To attack, the defense
has to get in position.

After some long discussions with Diego,

we agreed that the team was unorganized.

But with hard work and our vision,

we knew we could get better.

There was no reason that
we couldn't make it to the playoffs.

Good! Damn, that was good.

That's it.

We have some experienced players
who can lift the team.

Vini is a quality player, he has speed,

he's got agility.

He can finish. He's a complete player.

Vini!

Diego's background is like mine.

He's from the slums too,
raised in a shack.

It's absolutely incredible
to have him coaching here.

He might be the greatest ever.
It's Diego Maradona.

Gaspar is a great goalkeeper.

A man who plays with a good attitude,
he drives the team to work harder.

Last week he took me aside in training

and asked me to be his captain.

He needed me to take responsibility
for the group.

It's a great honor for me.

Firstly, to be named captain,
and secondly, to be chosen by Maradona.

From the day we arrived,
we knew how hard it would be.

Luckily, the boys want to succeed.

They can see the effort we are making.

We have everyone competing for places,
even in training.

Cristian here told me,
"I'll cure those knees."

I told him,
"If you do, you're a magician."

Because my knees have been like this for...

Fuck! More than 30 years.

I like this one.

Teach me how to dance Cumbia.

Sure, watch.

But slowly.

It has to be in rhythm.
Do you move your feet?

See?

That's it.

Why do you lean forward?

So you can improvise.
We'll improvise later.

That's how I like it.

-You see how it works?
-Here.

It is on. It's recording.

The red one? Yeah.

-Ready.
-OK.

-Let's go over it.
-Let's practice.

Hello, Tijuana.

Hello, Tijuana.

-See you on Friday.
-See you on Friday.

-At Caliente Stadium.
-At Caliente Stadium.

-For a night.
-For an unforgettable night.

-Of football.
-Of football.

Good. Don't worry if you get it wrong,
we'll go again.

Okay.

Hello, Tijuana. See you on Friday,

at Caliente Stadium,

for an amazing night of football

for the whole family.

The kiss really made it.

Great.

At the restaurant, when you get back...

TIJUANA

I saw Maradona's arrival as a PR stunt,

not a sporting appointment.

What do you do if the season is lost?

You bring in a showman to sell tickets.

1 DAY BEFORE THE EXHIBITION GAME

Dorados recovered financially
with Maradona's arrival.

-I understand. Everything.
-Sponsorships, revenue, everything.

Sponsors of Manchester United,

a global brand, say,

"Can we meet in December?"

And you say:
"Yes, let's go, of course."

I'm not exaggerating.
Every hour of every day

I get calls, WhatsApp messages,

from all over the globe,
from all sorts of people.

My phone is always ringing,

everyone wants an interview.

"Why did they get an interview
and I didn't?"

But I need him on the field, working.

I didn't hire a rock star or a PR agent.

Maradona is better than Messi.
True or false?

True.

Is Maradona ready
to manage the Mexican national team?

Completely.

No one took Maradona seriously as a coach.

He was a great player

who had tried to coach,

but hadn't been a big success.

He used coaching to hide

his many personal problems.

Diego, if you could change anything

in your private life,

what would it be?

The drugs.

I always wonder
what kind of player I could have been,

if I hadn't taken drugs.

Good, thank you.

-Everyone quiet, please.
-Ready?

-We're going to use the light.
-Ready, one, two...

What's the hardest part
about being you?

The most difficult thing

is having people trying to take advantage

of my own successes,
of my victory lap.

When I had health problems,

when I had problems with drugs,

I felt like the loneliest man on Earth.

That's it.

What a singer!

...that my garden forgot

Sing!

...and my soul wilted away...

Great!

EXHIBITION GAME XOLOS VS. DORADOS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

It was a mistake. I want justice!

We don't have stars or subs.

Why are we here?

Do you know why we're here?

Because we worked for this.

It's not because of Maradona.

Boys, go out and play football.

Play football.

For fuck's sake, let's go! Go!

Diego!

Welcome everybody...

to the Temple of Dreams!

Xolos vs. Dorados.

It's great to see all eyes
on the great Diego.

The eternal number ten.

For many, the best ever.

Diego is looking pensive.

What did he expect?
That they could play like him?

Here come Xolos!

Gaspar Servio wards off the danger.

That was a close one.

Diego is not totally calm,
but he's enjoying the game.

Here comes Chávez, he'll aim at the goal.

A powerful shot by number 24!
Servio puts it out for a corner.

Rentería down the flank.

He shoots, but the angle was too tight.
It's off target.

When you have someone like Diego
on the bench,

-it motivates you as a player.
-Definitely.

Stay calm, Diego, stay calm.

Jesús Alonso Escoboza keeps it.
Contreras to Francisco.

Here comes Rivera.

Edson shoots. Goal!

Dorados scored!

Dorados of Culiacán
is able to get the goal

to secure a victory
in this friendly match.

González, this is your team,
which scored another goal tonight.

-Come on in.
-Well done, boys!

There's been a great change.

We have to keep this new direction.

Our goal is to get to the playoffs.

That's the new target.
Well done, everyone!

Sometimes I wish
I could dance to his rhythm.

Lots of people do dance to his rhythm.

As that passion is transmitted,

the team will be motivated
and will respond.

It's amazing to see him jump
and celebrate.

This could be the rebirth of Diego.

I've found people who understand me.

People who know
what I've achieved in football,

and who know what I want for football.

I came here to work.