Enrique Macaya Marquez is the voice who has referred to historic moments in football.
Now the legendary Argentine commentator has the chance to see his country claim another gold medal at the World Cup.
– Maradona used to say he would make me his assistant when he became coach, he says according to the Guardian when sharing his memories of his career.
To understand how long he’s been around, we need to go back 64 years.
Enrique Macaya Marquez, whose stories could appeal to most people, commentated on his first World Cup final in 1958, at a tournament held on Swedish soil – and dominated by Pele.
At the time, Macaya Marquez was 23 years old and had a special memory of the tournament.
– Honestly, it’s Argentina beating Czechoslovakia 6-1, he told the Guardian.
– I stopped smoking three years ago. I started again after that.
Relationship with Maradona
His voice will now be hot in another final. Macaya Marquez, who turned 88 during the World Cup premiere just under a month ago, is in Qatar reporting and writing history. Qatar World Cup is his 17th. According to The Guardian, no other journalist has done so many heroics.
He works for DirecTV Sports TV and before Sunday’s decision between Argentina and France, he talks nostalgically about his relationship with Diego Maradona. For example, he was invited to the former main player’s wedding in 1989.
Maradona used to say that he would make me his assistant when he became a coach.
vague about the future
He’s not the only star the commentator has had a good relationship with. He is also friends with Carlos Bilardo, who coached the Argentine national team between 1983 and 1990.
– I worked at a radio station in La Plata when Bilardo played with Estudiantes in the late 1960s and we became good friends.
– We talked about football and strategy over the years. After the 1986 final, my colleagues came to me and congratulated me and said that I had a great influence on Bilardo when he won the World Cup. I just said I’m not the one to play. I did not raise the cup.
Now he can see Argentina lift the World Cup again. If the tournament will be his last?
– Mmmm … It is possible, he answers vaguely.