Wade cheated by Maradona drug claim

Former Australia captain Paul Wade said he felt cheated after Diego Maradona alleged Argentine players took drugs prior to a match in 1993.

Argentina and Australia were heading into the second leg of a crucial World Cup qualifier for the 1994 finals, after a 1-1 draw ensued in the first leg in Sydney, with the tie evenly poised.

The hosts won the second leg in Buenos Aires 1-0, courtesy of an Alex Tobin own goal, but the match has been marred by Maradona’s latest claims in which he revealed he and his teammates took drugs before the match.

“What happened is that to play against Australia we were given a speedy coffee. They put something in the coffee and that’s why we ran more,” Maradona told The Football Show on Argentine television on Monday.

“We took whatever the doctor gave us. To go to the World Cup, we’d have taken even orange juice.”

Maradona also revealed that their match against Australia was the only time they were not tested for anti-doping during the campaign, and Wade said he was disappointed at the revelation.

“I do really,” Wade told Sportal on Tuesday when asked if he felt cheated.

“He (Maradona) wasn’t having a good day in Sydney but I thought to myself ‘Wow, he is tearing me apart here’ (in the second leg). I remember thinking ‘wow, if he is this quick now and I’m talking mental speed as well as physically, imagine what he was like in 1986 when he was fully fit’.”

“When he (Maradona) got it, when it was given to him, it was frightening. I almost didn’t get a touch.”

When asked if he noticed a difference in the second leg, Wade said he did, but assumed it was simply because of a better performance, before stating that if Maradona’s allegations are true and Argentina did go to those measures, it was a huge compliment to the Socceroos.

“Whether that makes you sharper or gives you a lot more energy over a long period of time…but I thought it was basically just because he was playing at home, he knew a bit more about the job I was going to do on him and that’s why he was more aware of what I was doing,” Wade said.

“I think I can look at it both ways. Would we have won if they were just playing without drugs, I’m not quite sure.”

“Maybe it’s a compliment, to take them to within an inch of getting knocked out of the World Cup (qualifying) and they were on drugs to get there, allegedly, then that is even a bigger wrap for what we did.”

Wade’s initial reaction to the news was disbelief and while he admitted the claims would tarnish the match for him, he feels that the Argentine side could have been the victim of pressure.

“The president of Argentina at that time and came out said ‘Nothing other than a victory against Australia tomorrow would be satisfactory and there should be a national day of mourning if we get beat’. We were all thinking ‘we are under a little bit of pressure from family’ but to be put under pressure by the whole nation…I think they are victims probably. ”

“I think they were victims of the pressure they were under and I’m sure a few of them would have felt guilty about it. The word cheat is going to come out, you can bet your life they have lived with it for the last 18 years and that must be some burden to carry in that time.”

Wade also revealed that Maradona had made contact with him and assistant coach Raul Blanco after the second leg.

“Maradona rang up and his line was ‘listen you did so well, and your tears of sorrow today will be tears of victory sometime soon’. (It was) another massive pat on the back for us and I wonder if he was thinking ‘I’ll give you that compliment because I was just cheating’.”