Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona (30 October 1960 – 25 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award, alongside Pelé.

An advanced playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position, Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity and allowed him to manoeuvre better than most other players. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de Oro ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career.

Maradona was the first player to set the world record transfer fee twice: in 1982 when he transferred to Barcelona for £5 million, and in 1984 when he moved to Napoli for a fee of £6.9 million. He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli where he won numerous accolades and led the club to their first Serie A title win only to do it all over again three years later. Maradona also had a troubled off-field life and his time with Napoli ended after he was banned for taking cocaine.

In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. In the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted "Goal of the Century" by FIFA.com voters in 2002.

Maradona also had a career in management. He became the coach of Argentina's national football team in November 2008. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. He then coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season. In 2017, Maradona became the coach of Fujairah before leaving at the end of the season. From May to September 2018, he was the chairman of Dynamo Brest. From September 2018 to June 2019, Maradona was coach of Mexican club Dorados, and was the coach of Argentine Primera División club Gimnasia de La Plata from September 2019 until his death in 2020. In 2022, he was ranked as the third best football player of all time by football magazine FourFourTwo. In August 2024, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted him as the second best footballer of the past 100 years after Pelé.

Early years

Diego Armando Maradona was born on 30 October 1960, at the Policlínico (Polyclinic) Evita Hospital in Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province; he was raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was the first son after four daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo (el Turco) and Raúl (Lalo), both of whom were also professional football players. His father Diego Maradona "Chitoro" (1927–2015), who worked at a chemicals factory, was of Guaraní (Indigenous) and Galician (Spanish) descent, and his mother Dalma Salvadora Franco, "Doña Tota" (1929–2011), was of Italian and Croatian descent.

Maradona's parents were both born and brought up in the town of Esquina in the north-east province of Corrientes on the banks of the Corriente River. In the 1950s, they left Esquina and settled in Buenos Aires. Maradona received his first football as a gift at age three and quickly became devoted to the game. At age eight, he was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his local club Estrella Roja. In March 1969 he was recommended to Los Cebollitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors by his close friend and football rival Gregorio Carrizo who had already been picked by coach Francis Gregorio Cornejo. Maradona became a star for the Cebollitas, and as a 12-year-old ball boy he amused spectators by showing his ball skills during the halftime breaks of Argentinos Juniors' first division games.

When Diego came to Argentinos Juniors for trials, I was really struck by his talent and couldn't believe he was only eight years old. In fact, we asked him for his ID card so we could check it, but he told us he didn't have it on him. We were sure he was having us on because, although he had the physique of a child, he played like an adult. When we discovered he'd been telling us the truth, we decided to devote ourselves purely to him.

During 1973 and 1974, Maradona led Cebollitas to two Evita Tournament wins and 141 undefeated games in a row, playing alongside players like Adrian Domenech and Claudio Rodríguez, in what is regarded as the best youth team in the history of Argentine football. Maradona named Brazilian playmaker Rivellino and Manchester United winger George Best among his inspirations growing up.

Club career

Argentinos Juniors

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors, 10 days before his 16th birthday, versus Talleres de Córdoba. He entered to the pitch wearing the number 16 jersey, and became the youngest player in the history of the Argentine Primera División. A few minutes into his debut, Maradona kicked the ball through the legs of Juan Domingo Cabrera, a nutmeg that would become symbolic of his talent. After the game, Maradona said: "That day I felt I had held the sky in my hands." Thirty years later, Cabrera remembered Maradona's debut: "I was on the right side of the field and went to press him, but he didn't give me a chance. He made the nutmeg and when I turned around, he was far away from me."

Maradona scored his first goal as a professional against Marplatense team San Lorenzo on 14 November 1976, two weeks after turning 16, and added another goal in the match as well. Maradona made 11 appearances that season, with the two goals scored on his debut being the only ones he scored.

In the 1977 season, Maradona played 49 matches and scored 19 goals, and started to get on the radar of other South American clubs. In the 1978 season, Maradona scored 26 goals in 35 matches, and had the 1978 World Cup in his sights. However, when the squads were released on 19 May, he was not selected by coach César Luis Menotti to the surprise of many. Two days after being left out, he scored a brace in a victory against his Chacarita Juniors. In 1979, Maradona scored 26 goals in 26 games, and finished top scorer in both Metropolitan and Nacional tournaments. in 1980, he scored 43 goals in 45 appearances and was the top scorer again for the last four consecutive tournaments.

Boca Juniors

Maradona spent five years at Argentinos Juniors, from 1976 to 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his US$4-million transfer to Boca Juniors in February 1981. Maradona received offers to join other clubs, including River Plate who offered to make him the club's best paid player. However, River decided to drop its bid due to its large payroll in keeping Daniel Passarella and Ubaldo Fillol.

Maradona signed a contract with Boca Juniors on 20 February 1981. He made his debut two days later against Talleres de Córdoba, scoring twice in the club's 4–1 win. On 10 April, Maradona played his first Superclásico against River Plate at La Bombonera stadium. Boca defeated River 3–0 with Maradona scoring a goal after dribbling past Alberto Tarantini and Fillol. Despite the distrustful relationship between Maradona and Boca Juniors manager, Silvio Marzolini, Boca had a successful season, winning the league title after securing a point against Racing Club. That was the only title won by Maradona in the Argentine domestic league.

Barcelona

After the 1982 World Cup, Maradona was transferred to Barcelona for a then world record fee of £5 million ($7.6 million). In the 1982–83 season, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won two trophies, the Copa del Rey and Copa de la Liga, both of them coming against Real Madrid.