The great Freddie Mercury would have turned 74 today and at ESPN we want to remember the moment he met another great like 'Pelusa' Maradona
It was on March 8, 1981 when the legendary Freddie Mercury called the soccer star, Diego Armando Maradona , to the stage and introduced him to the Argentinean audience as "his great friend Maradona". The attendees at the Queen concert erupted in cheers at the sight of these two idols on the same stage.
Vélez was the place that witnessed that great night and the image of both went around the world, becoming eternal for Argentinians, as Mercury performed Another One Bites the Dust alongside 'El Diez', who excitedly expressed his gratitude to the members of Queen for making him so happy. At that moment Freddie wore the Argentina national team jersey and Maradona held the British flag.
This unique event is now remembered for the great encounter between two passions: music and soccer.
In that same year, the armed conflict with Great Britain over the Falkland Islands occurred, which is why this event was considered a symbol of brotherhood between the two opposed nations. Additionally, Argentina was living under a military dictatorship during those years. By then, Diego was already a soccer star, as he had just joined Boca Juniors.
Mercury, on the other hand, also loved soccer. He confessed that he composed the song We are the champions thinking of Manchester United, which is now the anthem of champions, not only in the sports field.
What do two idols from the 80s have in common? Mercury and Maradona both had a hunger to stand out, which propelled them to great stages in music and soccer; they both faced serious drug addiction problems.
The peak of Mercury's career came mainly in 1986 with the Magic Tour alongside Queen, while Maradona won the World Cup with the Argentina National Team in the Mexico World Cup that same year.