Dubai: Walter Zenga vs Diego Maradona may have been a personal battle the Argentinian great won in the World Cup semi-final of 1990 — but Zenga insists revenge for that moment will be far from his mind when the pair meet again tonight.
Maradona put the winning penalty past Zenga as Argentina edged hosts Italy in a shootout during an epic last-four tie in Naples 21 years ago.
Now the pair will be in opposite dugouts when Maradona's Al Wasl host Zenga's Al Nasr in an Etisalat Pro League Dubai derby at the Zabeel Stadium tonight.
Riled when asked if a bitter feud still existed between the two, former goalkeeper Zenga was adamant at a pre-match conference that the Zabeel-Oud Mehta derby wasn't a chance to take revenge over his old foe.
As well as internationally with Argentina and Italy, Maradona and Zenga also had countless domestic run-ins while playing for respective club rivals Napoli and Inter Milan in Italy's Serie A.
But Zenga, who won 58 caps for his country and played for Inter for 12 years, insists there's no long-standing score to be settled.
"I won't play against Maradona, but Al Nasr will play against Al Wasl," said former Red Star Belgrade and Catania coach Zenga, who was named Al Nasr manager in January and was joined in the UAE league by Maradona in the summer.
"The situation now is different than it used to be when me and Maradona were playing — what is important for us [Al Nasr] is winning the match.
"I will be the first to shake Maradona's hand after I win the three points. We are friends and we respect one another.
"I met with Maradona a lot when we were playing together in the Italian league, and most of the meetings between us ended in a draw.
"In the first game I faced Maradona between Napoli and Inter, the match ended in a draw and after the game Maradona praised me for my performances."
Taking comfort
Zenga went on to explain that what happened at Italia 90 was now totally insignificant for him because it was so long ago, and also the match ended 1-1 before penalties.
The pair also faced off in the group stages of the Mexico World Cup in 1986, when the two nations again shared a 1-1 draw.
And in 1988 Maradona begged Zenga to join him at Napoli — where he is revered as an icon after a hugely successful seven-year spell — only for the glovesman to stay at Inter and help the Nerazzurri win Serie A by 11 points ahead of Maradona's Napoli the following year.
So, in those terms, Zenga feels the Italia 90 penalty shoot-out left them even.
"Each game has its own importance and we deal with all games with the same amount of attention and seriousness. We can beat Al Wasl if we concentrate and perform to our best," said Zenga.
"Our joint goal [Maradona's and Zenga's] is to promote UAE football based on our experiences to help the UAE's game improve. I agree with Maradona's comments about refereeing and professionalism and recognise that he is not criticising but trying to help."
