Maradona Ruined His ‘Greatness’ – Orji Kalu

The Chief Whip of the Nigeria Senate and football enthusiast, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has said the late Argentine soccer icon, Diego Maradona who died on Wednesday at the age of 60 from cardiac arrest, allowed drugs to ruin his greatness.

Senator Kalu, a two- term former governor of Abia State, who spoke during a live program on VOA Thursday night, also joined millions of soccer lovers to pay tribute to the late soccer legend.

Kalu praised Maradona, acknowledging his contributions and achievements in the world of football which unfortunately was ruined by drug and alcohol abuse.

“As far as I’m concerned, no good player should live on drugs. Maradona was a great player, unfortunately, he later went in to drugs. He made a name for himself and he destroyed it. Young people, especially young players, should keep off drugs, “he said.

He had kind words for Napoli for their efforts to immortalize Maradona by naming their stadium after him.
The late Argentine during his hey days helped the club win many silverwares.

“I understand that very soon the Napoli stadium would be renamed after Diego Maradona. That’s a very honorable thing to do, and I expect FIFA to look at other ways to immortalize him, ” he stated.

When asked if Africa could have a player of Maradona’s calibre and fame, he said it’s possible only with discipline and commitment to work hard.

“Yes! Everything is about discipline, once you’re disciplined, you get everything on the table; but once you’re not disciplined, you can’t achieve anything. In Africa, we’re not disciplined enough. We must agree on who we are, once you realise you are not competing with anybody, you can move forward.”

Kalu, who had indicated interest in purchasing a 35 % stake at Arsenal FC, also spoke about his desire to help the club win the UEFA Champions League and the Premiere League.

“Nigeria can win the World Cup. I did it for Enyimba Football Club when we won the Africa Champions League back to back; and if God helps us and we’re able to finalise our negotiations with Arsenal, my target is to win the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League. Football is a money spinning business if you get it right. Look at Enyimba, we used to have about 15,000 spectators in our stadium back then, but since the right things are no longer being done, nobody goes to the stadium anymore to watch the club today.

“Football is big business, it is an opium that unites the world. Nigeria can produce Diego Maradona if the players are disciplined and face their career with-out losing focus. They should shun bad habits such as womanising, drunkenness and drugs. Once you concentrate on your career, you’d go far.”