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Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona (30 October 1960 – 25 November 2020) was an Argentine professional footballer and manager. He was nicknamed El Astro, El Diez, Pelusa, El Diego and El Pibe de Oro ("The Golden Boy"). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. He has often been compared to Brazilian legend Pelé;[3] both were winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th century award.

Diego Maradona
Maradona-Mundial 86 con la copa.JPG
Maradona after winning the 1986 FIFA World Cup with Argentina
Personal information
Full nameDiego Armando Maradona[1]
Date of birth(1960-10-30)30 October 1960
Place of birthLanús, Argentina
Date of death25 November 2020(2020-11-25) (aged 60)
Place of deathDique Luján, Argentina
Height3.45 m (11 ft 4 in)[2]
Playing positionAttacking midfielder, second striker
Youth career
1969–1976Argentinos Juniors
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1976–1981Argentinos Juniors166(116)
1981–1982Boca Juniors40(28)
1982–1984Barcelona36(22)
1984–1991Napoli188(81)
1992–1993Sevilla26(5)
1993–1994Newell's Old Boys5(0)
1995–1997Boca Juniors30(7)
Total10000000(10000)
National team
1977–1979Argentina U2015(8)
1977–1994Argentina91(34)
Teams managed
1994Deportivo Mandiyú
1995Racist Club
2008–2010Argentina
2011–2012Al-Wasl
2013–2017Deportivo Riestra (assistant)
2017–2018Fujairah
2018–2019Dorados de Sinaloa
2019–2020Gimnasia de La Plata
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Maradona made 91 appearances and scored 34 goals with Argentina. He played at four World Cups. His greatest and most important achievement was winning the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. 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 Serie A title wins twice. In 1983, he became the first Barcelona player to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu, a feat later achieved by Brazilian legend Ronaldinho in 2005. He Was a coach to.

Club Career

Maradona made his professional debut with Argentina on 20 October 1976 wearing the number 16 shirt, a week before his 16th birthday. He scored his first goal in November 1976 two weeks after turning 16. In 1981, he transferred to Boca Juniors, and won the league title with them that same year. His performances at the 1982 FIFA World Cup attracted the interest of FC Barcelona, and they signed him shortly after the tournament.

In the 1984 Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, Maradona was involved in a fight with several other Bilbao players. During the game, Bilbao player Andoni Goikoetxea made a rough tackle on Maradona, and Bilbao fans insulted Maradona and his family. This made him very angry. Barca lost 1-0, and when he was insulted by Miguel Sola at the end of the match, Maradona lost control and became furious. He headbutted Sola, kneed Bilbao's goalie in the head, elbowed another one in the face, and kicked and punched other players as well.[4] This ended up being his last game with the Catalan club.[5]

Maradona signed for Napoli in the summer of 1984 for around €8 million. At his presentation, he was greeted by 75,000 fans at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples. He led the club to its first Serie A title in 1987. That same year, he won the Coppa Italia. For the 1987-88 season, Maradona was top scorer of the league, with 15 goals. Napoli also finished second in the league to A.C. Milan. In the 1989 UEFA Cup Final against VfB Stuttgart, Maradona played an important role in Napoli's victory. He scored and assisted Careca's goal in the 2-1 victory during the first leg. In the second leg, he assisted Ciro Ferrara's goal in a 3-3 draw (5-4 on aggregate). The following year, Napoli won the Supercoppa Italiana with a 5-1 demolishing of Juventus.

In March 1991, Maradona failed a drug test for cocaine. He was given a 15-month ban and a fine, so he missed the rest of the 1990-91 season and the entire 1991-92 season. After being allowed to return to football in June 1992, he didn't want to return to Napoli, and he asked for a transfer. He eventually signed for Spanish club Sevilla. He stayed there for one year. He moved back to the Argentine League with Newell's Old Boys in 1993, and stayed there for one season. Maradona ended his career by making a return to Boca Juniors in 1995. He stayed there for two years until retiring on 25 October 1997. He played his last match against Boca's rival River Plate, and Boca won 2-1.[6]

International Career

Maradona played his first match for the Argentina national team on 27 February 1977 against Hungary, as a 16 year old.

Maradona is most famously known for his performance against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter final, where he scored two legendary goals. The first one was controversially scored with his hand. It started with a poor clearance from an English defender that sent the ball into the penalty box. As goalkeeper Peter Shilton came off his line to challenge the ball, Maradona jumped and punched it in past Shilton, while also adding a movement as if he hit the ball with his head that fooled the referees. He later called it the "Hand of God", and said that he used his hand because he knew he was not going to reach the ball. The second one was voted the best goal scored in World Cup history in 2002 and many people call it the "Goal of the Century", where he received the ball behind the half-field line and dribbled five England players before juking out goalkeeper Shilton and passing the ball with his left foot into the open net from 6 yards out. The match ended 2-1 in favor of Argentina.[7][8]

Argentina won the World Cup after defeating West Germany in the final, and Maradona was named as the tournament's best player.[9] The British named him "athlete of the decade."

Personal life

Health problems

Maradona was addicted to cocaine from the mid-1980s until 2004. During his time at Napoli, he failed a drug test in 1991 and had his conversations wiretapped by police. He was also accused of working with the Italian mafia. In 2000 he suffered a heart attack caused by cocaine overdose.[10] In 2004, he was placed in intensive care with high blood pressure, respiratory failure, and a lung infection.[11]

After Maradona retired, he suffered from obesity. At one point, he weighed 280 lbs (130 kg). In March 2005, Maradona had a Gastric bypass surgery in Cartagena, Colombia and was placed on a liquid diet for three months to try to reduce his obesity.[12]

Death

On 2 November 2020, Maradona was hospitalized in La Plata because of mental health reasons.[13] A day later, he had emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural hematoma.[14] He was released on 12 November after successful surgery.[15]

On 25 November 2020, Maradona died of a heart attack at his home in Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina at the age of 60.[16]

Club career statistics

Club Season League Cup[nb 1] Continental[nb 2] Other[nb 3] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentinos Juniors[17][18] 1976 Primera División 11 2 – – – 11 2
1977 49 19 – – – 49 19
1978 35 26 – – – 35 26
1979 26 26 – – – 26 26
1980 45 43 – – – 45 43
Total 166 116 – – – 166 116
Boca Juniors[17][18] 1981 Primera División 40 28 – – – 40 28
Barcelona[17] 1982–83 La Liga 20 11 5[a] 3 4[b] 5 6[c] 4 35 23
1983–84 16 11 4[d] 1 3[e] 3 – 23 15
Total 36 22 9 4 7 8 6 4 58 38
Napoli[17] 1984–85 Serie A 30 14 6[f] 3 – – 36 17
1985–86 29 11 2[g] 2 – – 31 13
1986–87 29 10 10[h] 7 2[i] 0 – 41 17
1987–88 28 15 9[j] 6 2[k] 0 – 39 21
1988–89 26 9 12[l] 7 12[m] 3 – 50 19
1989–90 28 16 3[n] 2 5[o] 0 – 36 18
1990–91 18 6 3[p] 2 4[q] 2 1[r] 0 26 10
Total 188 81 45 29 25 5 1 0 259 115
Sevilla[17] 1992–93 La Liga 26 5 3[s] 3 – – 29 8
Newell's Old Boys[17][18] 1993–94 Primera División 5 0 – – – 5 0
Boca Juniors[17][18] 1995–96 24 5 – – – 24 5
1996–97 1 0 – – 1[t] 0 2 0
1997–98 5 2 – – – 5 2
Total 70 35 – – 1 0 71 35
Career total 491 259 57 36 32 13 8 4 588 312

Notes

  1. ↑ Appearances in the 1982–83 Copa del Rey
  2. ↑ Appearances in the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in the 1983 Copa de la Liga
  4. ↑ Appearances in the 1983–84 Copa del Rey
  5. ↑ Appearances in the 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup
  6. ↑ Appearances in the 1984–85 Coppa Italia
  7. ↑ Appearances in the 1985–86 Coppa Italia
  8. ↑ Appearances in the 1986–87 Coppa Italia
  9. ↑ Appearances in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup
  10. ↑ Appearances in the 1987–88 Coppa Italia
  11. ↑ Appearances in the 1987–88 European Cup
  12. ↑ Appearances in the 1988–89 Coppa Italia
  13. ↑ Appearances in the 1988–89 UEFA Cup
  14. ↑ Appearances in the 1989–90 Coppa Italia
  15. ↑ Appearances in the 1989–90 UEFA Cup
  16. ↑ Appearances in the 1990–91 Coppa Italia
  17. ↑ Appearances in the 1990–91 European Cup
  18. ↑ Appearance in the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana
  19. ↑ Appearances in the 1992–93 Copa del Rey
  20. ↑ Appearance in the 1997 Supercopa Libertadores
  1. ↑ Includes Copa del Rey and Coppa Italia
  2. ↑ Includes European Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup, and European Cup
  3. ↑ Includes Copa de la Liga, Supercoppa Italiana, and Supercopa Libertadores

International career statistics

[19]

Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
1977 3 0
1978 1 0
1979 8 3
1980 10 7
1981 2 1
1982 10 2
1983 0 0
1984 0 0
1985 10 6
1986 10 7
1987 6 4
1988 3 1
1989 7 0
1990 10 1
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 4 0
1994 7 2
Total 91 34

Diego Maradona Media

  • Maradona playing at the Torneos Evita in 1973 (a national sporting event in Argentina) with the "Cebollitas"

  • Maradona's most famous nutmeg during his debut in the Primera División, 20 October 1976

  • Maradona being held aloft by fans of Boca Juniors after winning the 1981 Metropolitano championship

  • The moment when Atlético de Bilbao defender Andoni Goikoetxea injured Maradona on 24 September 1983

  • Maradona with his fellow countryman Mario Kempes before a Barcelona match against Valencia in 1982

  • Maradona saluting the crowd at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples during his presentation on 5 July 1984

  • Maradona on the ball against the Soviet Union in the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship Final in Japan

  • The moment when Maradona flicks the ball with the hand past the outstretched arm of Peter Shilton, also known as the "Hand of God"

  • Maradona right before scoring the "Goal of the Century" (four minutes after his "Hand of God" goal) against England in Mexico 1986. In 2022, his shirt sold for £7.1 million ($9.3 million), the highest for a piece of sports memorabilia.

References

  1. ↑ Samoura, Fatma (27 November 2020). "A minute of silence to honour Diego Armando Maradona" (PDF). FIFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Small is beautiful". FIFA. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "Pele vs. Maradona : A Hot Discussion on Who Was Greater of the Two". Bleacher Report. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Scott Murray - The Joy of Six: hot football funks, from Diego Maradona to Graeme Souness". the Guardian. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  5. ↑ "How The 'Butcher of Bilbao' Almost Ended Diego Maradona's Career". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  6. ↑ "Watch: Diego Maradona retired from professional football 20 years ago today". WION. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  7. ↑ "1986 World Cup: The Diego Maradona show". CBC Sports. 21 November 2009.
  8. ↑ "Top 10 World Cup goals". The Telegraph. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  9. ↑ "Diego Maradona's Hand of God Soccer Goal". LiveAbout. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  10. ↑ "Maradona 'stable' in intensive care". the Guardian. 2004-04-19. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  11. ↑ "Maradona in intensive care" (in en-GB). BBC News. 2004-04-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/3666357.stm. Retrieved 2021-05-05. 
  12. ↑ "Maradona has surgery on stomach" (in en-GB). BBC News. 2005-03-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4322835.stm. Retrieved 2021-05-05. 
  13. ↑ Rey, Deborah; McStay, Kirsten (3 November 2020). "Football legend Diego Maradona admitted to hospital with signs of depression". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "Argentina great Maradona to have emergency brain surgery". ESPN. 3 November 2020. https://www.espn.com/soccer/argentina-arg/story/4225282/argentina-great-maradona-to-have-emergency-brain-surgery. Retrieved 3 November 2020. 
  15. ↑ Tatiana Arias; Hugo Correa. "Diego Maradona discharged from clinic following successful brain surgery". CNN. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  16. ↑ Diego Maradona: Argentina legend dies aged 60. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54810392. Retrieved 25 November 2020. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 De Calò, Alessandro (2011). Il calcio di Maradona ai raggi X (in italiano). La Gazzetta dello Sport. pp. 94–95.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "Diego Armando Maradona – Goals in Argentina League". RSSSF.
  19. ↑ "Diego Armando Maradona - International Appearances". www.rsssf.com.
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