'The day we played Maradona's Argentina'

For most football lovers in this part of the world, Diego Maradona’s greatness would only ever be witnessed on the TV screen. Former Athlone Town player Stefan Feniuk was one of the lucky ones who got to see it up close, on his home turf in Buenos Aires.

In 1980, Feniuk, who had joined Athlone two years previously from Stoke City, was chosen for a League of Ireland selection which spent the best part of a month in Argentina.

During their trip the squad (which also included Athlone Town goalkeeper Mick Smyth and former Athlone striker John Minnock, then with Finn Harps) played the Argentinian national team at the cavernous River Plate Stadium and also took on three of the country’s club sides. Also included in the squad were future Athlone Town managers Liam Buckley and Terry Eviston.

The game against Argentina, on April 30, 1980, ended up being settled by a single goal scored by a then 19-year-old Diego Armando Maradona.

In the aftermath of Maradona’s sad passing last week, at the age of 60, we spoke to Stefan about his memories of that South American adventure.

“It was my first representative tour so it was extra special in that respect, and we were playing the Argentinian national side at a special time because they had won the (1978) World Cup and were on a high,” he recalled.

“We played them in the River Plate Stadium and the changing rooms were underground, beneath the pitch. That was pretty unique for me. I’d played at Stoke City and I’d played at St Mel’s Park, but this was different gravy!”

Stefan said the Irish group had trained well in preparation for the trip and had been taken to see a club match in Buenos Aires a few days beforehand.

“The atmosphere there was just electric. I remember some fighting started and it was interesting to see the police going in with water cannons and batons and everything. It all seemed quite intense, but it was a really interesting game and helped us prepare for the kind of atmosphere we would feel and sense against the national team.”

Stefan was on the bench for the game against Argentina, which he recalls being attended by around 80,000 people.

“When we came out on to the pitch, the photographers came over to us and took a few pictures, but then the Argentinian side came out and all of them – to a man – disappeared over to the Argentinian side.

“Most of them were focusing on Maradona, who was an up-and-coming superstar. He was clearly the golden boy they all wanted to see.”

How much did the League of Ireland side know about Maradona in advance of that game?

“We had kind of heard of him, but we didn’t know much about his reputation,” Stefan replied. “We just knew he was a good player coming up through the ranks.

“During the game, you definitely saw the ability that he had. His legs were like tree trunks. He’s a small guy but he had so much power. He ran the show for Argentina, and he was only a kid.

“We lost 1-0 on the day and he scored the goal - he hit this shot from about 35 yards and it just flew past (goalkeeper) Alan Patterson, who didn’t see it until it hit the back of the net.

“After that, we ended up chasing them, but we gave them a fairly good game. We lost 1-0 and didn’t have many chances, but we kept them to a fairly low number of chances as well, which was pretty good for a League of Ireland team.

“The atmosphere there was fantastic. Afterwards, we thought we’d swap shirts with whatever Argentinian players we could find, and lots of the players went after Maradona, but I’m not sure if anyone got his shirt or not. I know that I didn’t, anyway!”

During their remaining time in Argentina, the Irish group played against Club Cipolletti, Newell’s Old Boys, and Rosario Central. Stefan lined out in the game against Newell’s Old Boys, Maradona’s original club, which finished 1-1, going to a penalty shootout that the League of Ireland side won.

“In no game over there did we do ourselves a disservice,” recalled Stefan. “I think we won one and lost three on that tour, but they weren’t big defeats and we had chances in the games. So the standard was good in Argentina, but our standard wasn’t bad either.”

Stefan, who's now retired, was working for Ericsson in Athlone at the time but he didn’t have any difficulty in getting a few weeks off to travel to Argentina to play football.

“Ericsson were ok with me going. I think they saw it as a bit of a boost for the company, so I didn’t have any problem,” he said.

As he watched what Maradona went on to accomplish in the sport, he always relished the memory of that Argentinian trip.

“People like George Best and Maradona were born with a natural talent and you could see it from an early age.

When we played him, it was very evident. You just look at the likes of that second goal against England (at the 1986 World Cup) where he breezes past players as though they’re not there.

“And, to be fair, he had talent both on the ground and in the air. For a small guy he was quite good in the air. He was a great player, clearly one of the world’s best ever.”

Stefan currently lives in Shoreham-by-Sea, Brighton. His wife, Valerie, is an Athlone native, so the family’s links with the town remain strong.

“I came over to Athlone Town from Stoke City. I came over for two months on loan, and stayed for ten years!” Stefan said.

“I kind of fell in love with the town and we had some great times. I married my wife, who’s from Iona Park, and we bought a house in Willow Park and lived there until we moved back (to England).”

He added that he and Valerie were looking forward to returning to Athlone for a visit after the pandemic.

“I used to go back to Athlone twice a year, and my wife would go back probably three or four times a year. And we still intend to do that again, whenever the environment is right,” he concluded.