In the summer of 1982, Barcelona signed Maradona for a whopping $7.6 million, and the new star of the soccer world was about to shine on the European stage. Fans were eagerly waiting for the new star to lead the team to glory. Maradona himself was full of longing for the European stage, eager to show his talent in this hot land.
However, fate had its way. Maradona's journey with Barcelona was not a smooth one, and with little luck, he made 58 appearances and scored 38 goals in the 82/83 and 83/84 seasons. Although he led his team to a Copa del Rey final victory over Real Madrid in the 82/83 season, claiming the trophy and winning the Spanish Super Cup, he didn't do well in the league. After making 20 appearances in his first year, he made just 16 in his second year, due to a 3-month break from the game at the end of '82 when he contracted hepatitis. More unfortunately, on September 24, '83, against Athletic Bilbao, he was viciously shanked by opposing defender Anthony Goicochea, resulting in a fractured ankle and another 3-month layoff.
(Violent images. Please go to YouTube to view.)
Injury-plagued Maradona did not play a full season in his two years at Barcelona. He seemed to have a history with Goicochea, as in the 83/84 Copa del Rey final, Barcelona again faced Bilbao (who had reached the final for the second year in a row), and during the match Maradona was again injured by Goicochea's shovel. To add insult to injury, Bilbao fans hurled racial abuse at Maradona's father (a South American aborigine) during the match. At the end of the match, Barcelona lost 0-1. After the match, Bilbao player Miguel Sola provoked Maradona and insulted him with racial gestures. Maradona finally relented and clashed with his opponent and headbutted him directly.
(Violent fighting. To watch, go to YouTube.)
The out-of-control Maradona took down three of his opponents, first headbutting one, then elbowing another, and finally hitting them hard in the head with his knee. The Bilbao players then beat up Maradona, and the Barcelona players couldn't stand it any longer and joined in the melee. The game eventually turned into a mess, and brawls broke out in the stands, resulting in 60 injuries and becoming a classic scene in the history of the Copa del Rey.
(Highlights of the match, which shows Maradona being fouled during the match)
Athletic Bilbao is the representative team of the Basque region in Spain, and in those days, they still had a unique "blood policy" in the soccer world, only using players with Basque blood. It's easy to imagine the Basque's ferocious nature, and the game was rough and tumble. In fact, the referee condoned the fouls, perhaps due to Spanish politics, which will not be mentioned here.
Although Maradona was the victim in this incident, his "Shining Magician" was even more violent than Keiji Fuji's in the brawl at the end of the match. It was the Copa del Rey final in the presence of Spain's king, Juan Carlos, and it was a humiliating scene for Barcelona. Even though Barcelona is the representative of Catalan independence, it is feared that Barcelona will be victimized in future La Liga matches if nothing is done.
A Barcelona club executive said, "When I saw the Maradona fight and the ensuing chaos, I realized it was over between us and him." The game became Maradona's last for Barcelona, who knew he was a diva and could have won countless trophies with him, but Maradona's personality just couldn't accept Barcelona's management (he reportedly argued with the club's president from time to time).
There is other news about Maradona's departure. One is that he indulged in nightclubs after arriving in Barcelona, which is partly true (there are photos). After all, he had just arrived in this bustling Europe and was attracted to it. And with his rather wild personality, Barcelona couldn't control him. Secondly, it is rumored that by this time Maradona was said to have been in contact with drugs, and Barcelona was aware of this, and in order to avoid causing a major damage to the team's image, they had to sell him away. This part in Maradona's later interviews have mentioned, his earliest contact with cocaine is in Barcelona's nightclubs, but whether Barcelona is aware of this and whether he was already addicted to drugs at that time is not known.
In July 1984, Maradona moved to Napoli for a then world record fee of £6.9 million ($10.48 million).
