Like the rest of the world, Antonio Lopez Habas too was saddened when Diego Maradona passed away on November 25. But the ATK Mohun Bagan coach was not just an admirer of Maradona, the Spaniard had also played against the Argentine legend years back.

Antonio was overwhelmed with emotion while recalling Maradona’s La Liga stint in Barcelona in the early 1980s. A young Maradona came to Barcelona from Boca Juniors in 1982.

“I was then playing for La Liga club Real Murcia. He joined Barcelona on a then record transfer fee, which was the highest in the world. You see, he was already one of the world’s best then. I played against him in La Liga and it indeed a memorable experience,” Antonio told The Telegraph.

Diving deeper into his memories, Antonio added: “I played against Maradona in what was Barcelona’s home match against Murcia. We lost the game 0-2 at Nou Camp. Bernd Schuster scored a brace for Barca. In my opinion, Schuster was the second best player of the world then after Maradona.

“I played as an inside midfielder in the match. Maradona had just returned to the field after an ankle injury then. In fact, he picked up too many injuries, which cut short his progression at Barcelona. But he was indeed very different from others.”

The match Antonio talked about was played on February 2, 1984.

The ankle injury had forced Maradona out of Barcelona’s away game at Murcia. The Argentine’s ankle was injured during a La Liga game against Athletic Bilbao at Nou Camp in September 1983. Bilbao’s Andoni Goikoetxea’s tackle caused the damage. It took Maradona almost three-month to return to action.

How special was Maradona in Antonio’s eyes? “Technically he was perfect. Dribbling, shooting free-kicks and his passing were the best in the world. At the same time, his speed, acceleration and slowdown were far superior than the others,” Antonio said.

“He was different from the other top players then. And he used to get so much support from the crowd. He was the perfect No.10,” he added.

The 63-year-old also recalled the contrasting sides of Maradona on and off the field. “He was like a leader inside the field. Maybe he was in good company inside the ground. But outside the field, his friends were not so good I would say. “I felt sorry for him, I think he had a lot of life ahead of him. But we have to accept the reality. RIP Maradona,” Antonio said.