I watched the World Cup in Germany -as I've been always watching it, since I was a kid. I managed to push Italy into the final and see them get the Cup with my cheering. I managed to prove my theory that Zidane ain't got character. And I saw Maradona in all his glory, cheering for Argentina. I still remember the goode ol' days of Pele and Maradona. I remember fighting a boy to blows and kicks because he said Pele was better than Maradona. I remeber "la mano de Dios", that goal Maradona scored with his hand. I remember being happy that the referee didn't see it and validated the goal. So, mostly, the World Cup meant and still means Maradona to me. This year, in Germany, Maradona was just a spectator, one Argentinian among thousand Argentinians, cheering, and pushig his team to victory. But he was no less a hero to me. He was the life and soul of the Argentinian spectators. He started waves, started singing and applauding and they all followed him like a leader. Some friend was with me and was saying "now he ain't on the field anymore, you really see how small he is". I am older now, I don't solve my issues with blows and kicks, but I gave that friend a long and bitter homily. Maradona ain't small. He just ain't that tall like the people aroud him. In fact, he's not small at all, THEY are too tall. And what do "tall" and "small" really mean, in fact? When you're full of joy and energy, you strut and look one head taller than you really are. If troubles burden you, your shoulders fall, your head bends low and you really look insignificant and tiny. I remember the Hallmark production of Snow White, where the director cast 1.92 m tall actor Vincent Sciavelli as one of the... dwarfs. And the actor explained that, if one felt he was a dwarf, then that's what he was. It's not about height, but the state of mind. The same applies for Maradona. He's always been strutting, pushing out his chest, raising his chin and really being the boss of them all. I never saw him being any smaller than the giant Zubizaretta, for example. In fact, after Zubizaretta got a really humiliating goal from Maradona, he became very small in my eyes, like a bug next to a horse. Now then, after this Wolrd Cup was over, I realized some things: Zidane can't manage his temper. Italians rule - as a team. ... and finally... Maradona is a very tall man, really. You just have to love him a bit, like I do, and you see he's a giant, no matter what the metric system says.