I was too young to adore Best and I'm too old to get taken in too much by Messi. The genius of my footballing socialisation was Diego Armando Maradona.
I loved him, I hated him, I gasped at his genius and I tutted as his stupidity. His was the shirt the cool kids wanted when we played football. Number 10, Argentina or Napoli or Barcelona shirts. I was left footed, he was left footed. And that's where our footballing abilities diverged.
Maradona was a fabulous footballer and a flawed human being. He was surrounded by dangerous people and dangerous temptations. That he made it to his 60th birthday is a minor miracle. Reports suggest that he had grown tired of life and nothing stimulated him any more. He packed a lot into those 60 years though. An extraordinary talent. RIP Diego.