The death of Santiago García, El Morro, shook the atmosphere of football. There are questions that seem to indicate that it is a suicide (the prosecutor confirmed that a weapon was found next to the Uruguayan’s body, and the issue of depression is latent), and in this situation, in Olé we remember another Argentine player who was very close to finishing in the worst way, but the one who saved him was none other than Diego Armando Maradona.
Pedro Damián Monzón recalled with Ole when Maradona was key to getting him out of a depression that could have ended badly. “Diego saved my life without knowing it,” he said, in a interview that was published on the morning of this fateful Saturday, February 6. Regarding the Morro, Falcioni’s assistant at Independiente said: “Many times I wanted to take my life and I thought that I no longer had to be on earth. What happened with Morro García hurts me a lot” (in conversation with La Oral Deportiva).
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Pedro Damián Monzón with Ole:
– Maradona also helped you a lot?
-Yes, Diego saved my life without knowing it. But I never dared to tell him that I was thinking of killing myself if he didn’t come. I took an oath not to tell him. I had nothing. But nothing, huh. I remember that I left my house in Avellaneda and called Diego from a public telephone. At the time I was at my house. I said: “I want to see you.” And he said to me: “What’s wrong?” In no time the door knocked on me. I could not believe it. He saved my life and he didn’t even notice. But I never told him that I was thinking of killing myself. And then I never wanted to tell him again, because Diego would have grabbed me by the pineapples and I wouldn’t have dared to raise my hand to him. He was going to get very angry. I carried it and will always carry it in my heart. And now I wear it on my skin forever. Diego did many things for many people, not only for former teammates or players …
Pedro Monzon tattoo of Maradona
-When and why did you decide to tattoo Maradona?
-This tattoo is new. I did it when God took our God. I have wanted to do it for a long time, with the image of him in the World Cup 90. I wish he could see it. But who would have thought that he was going to go upstairs? We all believed that Diego could not die. It was impossible to think about it. I was going to go out, I had to go out. Nobody imagined this. If I had imagined that that was going to happen to him, I would not have been as sorry as I am now …
Pedro Monzon tattoo of Maradona
-What was it that motivated you to keep going through the hardest moments of your life, which were several?
-The fact of giving my children everything that I did not have in my childhood. I have eight children: Jonathan, Braian, Kevin, Damiana, María Luz, Florián, Azul María and Octavia. I always tried hard for them, but I never told them. In my family we were poor, but I never lacked affection. Then I made mistakes and I lacked things, but I struggled a lot to get out. And that I always tell my children. I tell them that I fulfilled the dream of being world champion in Independiente and runner-up in the National Team, but I also tell them that I had moments in which I was imprisoned by an addiction. I want you to know. And they knew it since they were kids. Thank God I stopped using and I’m fine. I do my best to manage my life in the best way, but I never stop telling my past. Life is a struggle for survival and improvement. There were times when I didn’t even have to buy a book and learn to read. When I learned, that was also a triumph.
-What was the most painful thing for you not to have in your childhood?
-When you live in a humble neighborhood, you don’t know any other reality. Sometimes we went to sleep at eight at night and we didn’t have enough to eat. During my childhood I suffered the loss of two little sisters in just one month: one seven years old and the other one month old. I never got angry with reality, I never had a grudge because some kids woke up at Christmas with presents and I didn’t. That never happened to me. The most difficult thing is when you have and stop having. And that also happened to me.
-Why do you say that the hardest thing is to have and then stop having?
-Look, I had many houses and then I lived on the street. It’s not that I burned the money or smoked it myself: I gave it to my children. And then her mother I don’t know what she did. I went from having enough money to not having enough to eat again. And at that time I didn’t envy anyone either. The only thing that always kept me awake was helping my children. The greatest satisfaction that life gives is being able to help, even with the word. I had a million dollars and a million friends. And when the money left me, a million friends left. But in life everything happens and the beauty is being able to tell it. I give thanks every day for continuing to live. Today I am in Independiente, but I do not forget that I directed Tristán Suárez, Platense, Chacarita, Flandria, San Martín de Tucumán or Argentino de Quilmes. I have wanted to be in Red for many years, but I never wanted it to go badly to be in the club that I love. I am very grateful to the leadership and to Falcioni. Today he lets me work with great freedom, he gives me a lot of space. And I’m also learning from him even though I’ve been directing for 19 years.