Hodgson recalls surprise at facing Maradona brothers in historic friendly

<html><head></head><body>&#34;Who am I to be talking about memories of Diego Maradona?&#34; he asked, adding: &#34;I think tributes to people like Diego Maradona should be paid by people who’ve played alongside him, played with him, worked with him.&#34;

But Maradona&#39;s impact on football stretches so far that even those who don&#39;t feel placed to extol him still have a story to tell.
And Hodgson, despite downplaying his connection to the late icon, had a central role to play in a historic landmark for the Maradona family.
It was November 1987 and Hodgson&#39;s Malmö FF were at the peak of their success. They had won the Swedish top-flight, the Allsvenskan, in three consecutive years (with two more to follow) and had previously scooped the main Swedish cup, the Svenska Cupen.
When they were invited to a friendly match in Grenada shortly after becoming Swedish champions, then, Hodgson couldn&#39;t place the significance. He picks up at this moment, recalling the story in his pre-Newcastle press conference:
&#34;Malmö FF, during an international break, were asked to take a team to Grenada – a second division team at the time in Spain – to play this match. We weren’t given real details about why Malmö FF should be invited to Grenada to play a friendly exhibition match but when we got there we found out the reason was Diego Maradona was going to play in the game.
&#34;His younger brother Lalo had just joined Grenada so Diego and Hugo came from Napoli during the international break to play the game. That was the closest certainly I ever got to him and I suppose the most personal memory I have of him.&#34;
The clash ended 3-2 to Grenada in front of a sell-out crowd. Diego and Lalo linked-up to nullify Malmö&#39;s opener and the former again undid a Malmö lead with a dipping free-kick over a seven-man wall.
<img src="https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/e62d8a3a-394d-4e8c-9b52-66da94424c1c.jpg" alt="Diego Maradona Napoli 1984.jpg" width="1440" height="810"/>
With the game tied, Grenada eventually won on home soil to the jubilation of their supporters, but the game&#39;s significance came not in its scoreline, but in its uniting of the Maradona brothers: the first time the trio ever played a senior match together.

The clash generated record revenues and has since become known as ‘El Día de los Tres Maradonas’ (The Day of the Three Maradonas), a star-studded footnote in Grenada&#39;s history.
But Hodgson&#39;s recollections of Diego don&#39;t stop there and, from another spell in <a href="/news/2019/september/programme-feature-on-crystal-palace-and-england-manager-roy-hodgson/">his remarkable career</a>, the manager explains a separate link to one of football&#39;s greatest entertainers:
&#34;There’s no doubt that everything that’s been said about him – especially by people who played with him or have known him very, very closely – paint a picture that I think most of have of him anyway.
&#34;I probably got the biggest picture of him and the real respect that I hold him in from those documentaries; the film about his time in Mexico and the film about his life. But I remember at Inter [Milan, 1995-97], my goalkeeper coach Luciano Castellini was the Napoli goalkeeper during the time Diego Maradona played and he had some fantastic stories about him and they were all so positive.
&#34;You really would not hear one negative word about him, either as a person or a player. As a player, there’s no doubt he was so gifted. We won’t see his like again and I can only say it’s a privilege to have the chance to watch him play during my lifetime, albeit mostly from afar.&#34;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
One of the greats of our game. Rest in peace, Diego. <a href="https://t.co/xT3cIwSmoU">https://t.co/xT3cIwSmoU</a>
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CPFC/status/1331655011776884736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2020</a></blockquote>

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Roy Hodgson was cautious to highlight that he regards paying tribute to Diego Maradona as something for those who knew him best.

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