Diego Maradona junior: My old man left very young, I still don't accept it

Diego Armando Maradona Sinagra is the Italian son of the late Argentine star, and had a spectacular relationship with Diego since he recognised him as a son in 2016.

Diego junior is a coach, football player and shares similar characteristics with his father.

MARCA sat down with him to talk about the passing of his father, as well as his own career moving forward.

How is it going?

Bad. I have trouble sleeping. I have forgotten what it is to take a break. I close my eyes and my head doesn't disconnect. I sleep as much as I can.

You could not travel to Buenos Aires. Was that the most painful thing?

It was the worst. The death of a father, not being able to be with him, not being able to say farewell to him or be with the family. This has not been easy from 15,000 kilometres away.

How did you find out?

He was admitted to the hospital, unfortunately. Messages began to arrive and I quickly started calling Buenos Aires. I called and called until they answered me and there they told me what happened.

Did you turn on the TV or did you not want to do anything?

I put it on at the time, but now I try to watch little TV. I try to isolate myself. The struggle is very personal.

You aspire to be a coach. Did you talk a lot about football with your father?

We were both passionate about it. It was wonderful to watch games with him. You can't explain it. I watched football with the greatest in history! Football made us bond.

What was it like to watch a game with Maradona, your father?

He was known to all the players. Then I had my opinion and he had his. In the end, he was almost always correct. I really enjoyed it because before I missed many years not being able to do it. I saw many games with him, of Napoli and the [Argentina] National Team. He was involved in who should play, who shouldn't ... but I never doubted him. We always had a very open, very healthy relationship. I never argued with my dad.

Was he excited about your role as a coach?

We talked about this many times, and he told me what the profession was like. He was always happy on a football pitch

Did the pandemic deteriorate him a lot, not being in the changing room of Gimnasia?

This pandemic affected everyone, and him, too. You suffer when you can't be at work, and this happened to him.

When was the last time you talked about football?

Whenever I spoke to him, we would bring up the topic of football: Gimnasia, Napoli ... I don't remember when the last one was.

Did he feel sad lately, in his last month?

Yes, but I never thought of the worst. We all knew how he was but we always tried to lift him. I was afraid, but out of natural fear of death, which is something ugly.

Your father left very young

That is something that I do not accept. I cannot accept it. He had many years to enjoy with his family. That's something that I don't know if I'll ever accept. Losing him so young... life is like that.

How will your life go on from now?

It will remain the same in terms of who I want to be as a coach, but there will be a before and after personally. Nothing will ever be like before. Not being able to pick up the phone to talk to my old man is something that hurts me a lot. Sadly, my dad has already left.

They talk about his environment. Could you talk to your father when you wanted?

I always talked to my old man when I wanted to. Of course, when he didn't want to talk to anyone, he didn't talk to anyone, not even me. Right now, I don't feel like getting into criticism, controversy, if one is good, the other bad... I'm just another person. My head has to process more important things. My priority is to heal this wound and cure the pneumonitis that I have. I have not left the house for a month and a half. Now I do not want controversies.

Let's talk about football. As a coach, what excites you?

There are three coaches that I love. Number one is Pep Guardiola, for me. For his style he is my benchmark. I would love to go to one of his training sessions. I have studied him a lot and his style amazes me. I would love to meet him and his assistant, Lillo. They have told me that Juanma is a great 'Maradonian', then I like Marcelo Bielsa and I have a special affection for Jose Mourinho because he was a good friend of my old man. He is a winner. But Pep is number one, in my opinion. Hopefully I'll meet him one day.

Are you also a 'Maradonian'?

All Maradonians are in my heart because they loved my dad. I am very proud of what my old man left behind, for his legacy.

Did you like Messi's tribute the other day?

Very much, I was very moved. They have been very emotional days. Leo's gesture was special, very nice. It got to me a lot, it made me cry. Also that of Napoli, Gimnasia's win, what happened in Boca Juniors, where Dalma was. Many were emotional.

Should the No. 10 be retired, in your opinion?

In the teams where he played, I think so, including Barcelona. I have no doubt. But all that is secondary. I am focused only on getting through this difficult battle. I hope it happens quickly, or not... I don't even know what I want to happen.

Are you planning to travel soon?

I am in the hands of the doctors. As soon as I can, I want to take a flight, go to Argentina and be able to say goodbye to him, give him a hug, although it will not be as I always wanted. Whether it be tomorrow, in a week or two, it doesn't change much because my father, unfortunately, is gone.