Photo Credit: Getty Images
Before there was Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there was Diego Maradona. Maradona’s charisma and character made him globally loved around the world. Some individual professional athletes transcend a sport, but no one did like Diego Armando Maradona.
Diego Maradona was born on October 30th, 1960 in Villa Fiorito, a province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Early on, Maradona’s football talents were shown at the age of eight. He joined “Los Cebollitas,” a junior’s football team of the Buenos Aires’s Argentinos Juniors. Maradona went on to win 136 consecutive games and a national championship. Afterward, he signed with Argentinos Juniors at the age of 14 and made his first division debut in 1976. Maradona then moved to Boca Juniors in 1981 and helped win the league title. He then moved to
FC Barcelona in 1982 for a then world-record fee of 5 million euros. But where he enjoyed his most club-level success was SSC Napoli. On July 5, 1984, Maradona was welcomed by 75,000 fans at the Stadio San Paolo, where he joined Napoli for another world-record fee. He helps bring Napoli to new heights as the club enjoyed great success. With Maradona, the team won the league title in 1987 and 1990, which Napoli has not won since.
On the international stage, Diego Maradona’s fame reached new heights with his national team of Argentina. Maradona’s career with Argentina as the iconic number ten for the national team included World Cup appearances in 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Maradona created a new generation of fans from his tournament. One of the performances came on June 22nd, 1986, where Argentina played England in the quarterfinals. He had two of the most memorable goals in football history. The first goal was scored with his hand, which the referee mistakenly thought the ball had struck his head, a goal now remembered as the “Hand of Go”’ goal. The second occurred after Maradona gained possession of the soccer ball at midfield and dribbled through a pack of defenders and the goalkeeper before scoring the ball into the net. Maradona later led Argentina to its second world cup by beating Germany 3-2, bringing his fame to a global level.
Maradona also has brought many controversies and flaws in life that made him human. In 1991, he tested positive for cocaine while playing for Napoli and received a 15-month suspension. In February 1994, he fired an air rifle at reporters outside his summer home in Argentina. Later in the summer, Maradona was kicked out of the World Cup after testing positive for ban substances. He struggled with numerous health issues after his football career, including containing his weight and substance abuse.
Describing Maradona’s life and career in one article is nearly impossible to write. Maradona’s greatness and flaws are what made him a legend of football. Maradona’s name will be mentioned forever when you think of the Mount Rushmore of soccer players. Individual athletes elevate the sport to new heights and create the next generation of football players. The world will never forget the name Diego Armando Maradona.
|
|
|
|
