Diego Maradona

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Diego Maradona
Full name Diego Armando Maradona
Nickname(s) El Diez, Pelusa, El Diego
Dios, El Pibe de Oro
Date of birth October 30, 1960
Place of birth Villa Fiorito, Argentina
Current club Retired
Position(s) "Hole"
Youth club(s)
1974-76 Argentinos Juniors
Professional club(s)*
1976-81
1981-82
1982-84
1984-91
1992-93
1993
1995-97
Argentinos Juniors
Boca Juniors
FC Barcelona
SSC Napoli
Sevilla FC
Newell's Old Boys
Boca Juniors
166 (116)
42 (28)
58 (38)
259 (115)
29 (7)
5 (0)
29 (7)
National team**
1977-94 Argentina 91 (34)
* Professional club caps and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of {{{pcupdate}}}.
** National team caps and goals correct
as of {{{ntupdate}}}.

Diego Armando Maradona, nicknamed El Diez, Pelusa, El Diego and Dios (born October 30, 1960), is a former Argentine football player. He is regarded as one of the greatest—and most controversial—players in the history of the game.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Maradona was born in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown in the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, to a poor family who had moved from Corrientes Province. He was the first son after three girls. He has two younger brothers, Hugo ("el turco") and Eduardo ("Lalo"), both of whom were also professional footballers.

At age 10, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighborhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of the cebollitas, the junior team of Buenos Aires side Argentinos Juniors. As a ball-boy in first division games, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the halftime intermissions.

Career as a player

At age 15, Maradona made his debut with Argentinos Juniors, where he played between 1976 and 1981 before his transfer to the club that he supported, Boca Juniors, where he played during the remainder of the 1981 season and 1982 and secured his first league title. He debuted with the Argentina national football team ("la selección"), at age 16, against Hungary. At age 18, he played the Football World Youth Championship for Argentina, and was the star of the tournament, shining in their 3–1 final win over the USSR team.

In 1982, Maradona played his first World Cup tournament. In the first round, Argentina convincingly beat Hungary and El Salvador, but they were defeated in the second round by Brazil and Italy, the side which eventually won the cup. Later in the year, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona. In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid. However, Maradona had an unhappy tenure in Barcelona: first a bout with hepatitis, and then an ill-timed tackle by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni Goikoetxea that put Maradona's career on the line; Diego's physical strength and willpower made it possible for him to be back on the pitch after only 14 weeks.

Barcelona's management was not satisfied with Maradona, and in 1984 transferred him to SSC Napoli, where he became an adored star, lifting the team to its most successful era. Napoli won their only Italian Championships (1986/87 and 1989/1990), a Coppa Italia (1987), a UEFA Cup (1989) and an Italian Supercup (1990). Napoli were also runners-up in the Italian Championship twice.

Maradona with the World Cup Mexico '86.
Enlarge
Maradona with the World Cup Mexico '86.

Maradona led the Argentine national team to victory in the World Cup in 1986, the team winning 3–2 in the final against West Germany. Throughout the 1986 World Cup, Maradona asserted his dominance and was widely regarded as the best player of the tournament. However, it was the two goals he scored in the Quarter-Final game against England which cemented his legend. Action replay footage showed that the first goal was scored with the aid of his hand. He later claimed it was the "Hand of God" and described it as "A little of the hand of God, and a little of the head of Maradona," implying that God was ultimately responsible for the goal, because the referee had missed the handball offense. However, on 22 August 2005 Maradona acknowledged on his new television talk show that he hit the ball with his hand purposely and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. He recalled thinking right after the goal that "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came . . . I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'" [1]

In contrast, however, Maradona's second goal was an uncontroversial and impressive display of footballing skill. He ran half the length of the pitch, passing five English players (Glenn Hoddle, Peter Reid, Kenny Sansom, Terry Butcher, and Terry Fenwick) as well as goalkeeper Peter Shilton. This goal was voted Goal of the Century in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA. Argentina went on to defeat England 2-1 in that game.

Maradona also captained Argentina in the 1990 World Cup, leading his team to the final, where they lost 1–0 to West Germany. He arrived at the 1994 World Cup and played two games (scoring one goal) before being sent home after failing a drug test for ephedrine doping. On this matter, he has suggested that he had an agreement, on which FIFA later reneged, to allow him to use the drug for weight loss before the competition in order to be able to play, so that the World Cup would not lose prestige because of his absence. This allegation was never proved, and many attribute his comment ("they cut off my legs") to Diego's anger at being suspended.

In Naples, where he is still beloved (having brought the local team their first scudetto), he also faced a scandal regarding an illegitimate son and was the object of some suspicion over his friendship with the Camorra, the local mafia.

Maradona left Napoli in 1992, after serving a 15-month ban for failing the drug test for cocaine, and played for Sevilla FC (199293), Newell's Old Boys (1993) and Boca Juniors (199597). He also attempted to work as a coach on two short stints, leading Mandiyú of Corrientes (1994) and Racing Club (1995) without much success. He retired from football on October 30, 1997.

On January 26, 1997, Maradona discussed on live Ecuadorian TV with Ecuadorian president Abdalá Bucaram about playing in Bucaram's Barcelona SC team, but nothing ever came out of this, as Bucaram was ousted by a coup d'état.

Personal Agents

Jorge Cyterszpiller, a childhood friend, was Diego's first agent. He set up Maradona Producciones but did not score any major successes with merchandising, as counterfeiters would quickly imitate any product that came on the market. On his advice, Maradona started charging for interviews, a move that generated some controversy.

After breaking up with Cyterszpiller, Diego hooked up with Guillermo Coppola, a bank employee who started representing players as a hobby and evolved into a major agent. Coppola oversaw the biggest contracts of Diego's career, but also was involved in the drug scandals. Maradona and Coppola parted ways acrimoniously, and they still refer to the end of their relations as an "open wound".

Retirement and honours

In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am El Diego"), which became an instant bestseller in his home country. In the same year, Maradona was voted Player of the Century in an official FIFA poll conducted on the Internet, garnering 53.6% of the votes. Then, in an unannounced move, FIFA appointed a "Football Family" committee, which voted to elect Pelé alongside the Argentine. Maradona cried foul and left the awards ceremony as soon as his prize was awarded. (For more on FIFA's handling of the issue, see this Sports Illustrated article.)

In 2001, the Argentine Football Association asked FIFA for authorization to retire jersey number 10 as an homage to Maradona. Even though Argentine officials have claimed that FIFA hinted that it would grant the request, the authorization was denied.

Maradona has won other polls, including a 2002 FIFA poll in which his second goal against England was chosen as the best goal ever scored in a World Cup; he also won the most votes in a poll to determine the All-Time Ultimate World Cup Team.

On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to Boca Juniors as a vice president in charge of managing the First Division roster (after a disastrous 2004–05 season, which coincided with Boca's centenary). His contract began 1 August 2005. As of October 2005, Boca holds the first place, but Maradona remains aloof of day-to-day activities.

On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host of a talk-variety show on Argentine television, La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the #10"). His main guest on opening night was Pelé; the two had a friendly chat, showing no signs of past differences. In subsequent programs, he led the ratings with only one exception. Almost all guests were drawn from the worlds of football and show business.

Marriage and divorce

Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after she gave birth to their two daughters, Dalma Nerea (b. 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (b. 1989). In his autobiography, Maradona admits not always being faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.

Diego and Claudia divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her parents remained on friendly terms. Diego and Claudia traveled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005. [2]

During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted that he was the father of Diego Sinagra (b. Naples, 1986), as was claimed by his mother, Cristiana Sinagra. (The Italian justice had so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity.) [3]

After the divorce, Claudia started a career as a theater producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles. [4], [5]

Health situation

In marked contrast to the athleticism he showed during his years as a football player, since his retirement Maradona has been plagued by a series of health problems.

Since the 1990s, Maradona has been battling a cocaine addiction, which included spells in Swiss and Cuban detox clinics. Between 2001 and 2005, Maradona lived mostly in Cuba, becoming friends with President Fidel Castro.

On April 18, 2004, doctors reported that Maradona had suffered a major heart attack following a cocaine overdose; he was admitted to intensive care in a Buenos Aires hospital. Scores of fans gathered around the clinic. Days after the heart attack, a nurse was caught taking photos of Maradona with a cellular telephone and was promptly fired by the hospital managers.

After he showed improvement, Maradona was taken off the respirator on April 23, and remained in intensive care for several days before being discharged on April 29. He returned to Cuba in May.

Maradona has always had a tendency to put on weight, and displayed a remarkable obesity since the late 1990s. On March 6, 2005, it was announced that Maradona underwent gastric bypass surgery in a clinic in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. When Maradona resumed public appearances shortly afterwards, he displayed a notably thinner figure.

Political ideology

Maradona has always shown sympathy to left-wing ideologies. He became friends with Fidel Castro while in treatment in Cuba, and has a tattoo of Ernesto Che Guevara on his right arm. At the same time, he has several times expressed against imperialist governments, such as during the 2005 Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina, where he publicly protested against George Bush's presence in Argentina, wearing a T-shirt with a Stop Bush sign on it.

Football style

Short and stocky, Maradona had a very strong physique and could withstand physical pressure better than most players. His strong legs and low centre of gravity gave him additional advantage in short sprints. This is illustrated by his two goals against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup.

He was also a wizard with the ball and could manage himself in limited spaces, attracting defenders only to quickly dash out of the melee (as in the second goal against England), or pass to a free teammate who would take the ball and score, like Burruchaga did to secure the 1986 World Cup.

Maradona could convert fragile possessions into goals. His goal against Italy in the 1986 World Cup demonstrated this. In Maradona's time defenses became more athletic, so both dribbling and securing possession of the ball required additional speed and the ability to think under stress.

One of Maradona's trademark moves was dribbling full-speed as a left wing, and on reaching the opponent's goal line, delivering accurate passes to his teammates that many times proved lethal.

Maradona's kicking had a mixture of precision and power that enabled him to score many free kicks. Since he seldom used his right foot for any decisive action, defenders were confounded the few times he did.

Reputation

Ever since 1986, it is common for Argentines abroad to hear Maradona's name as a token of recognition, even in remote places. In Argentina, Maradona is often talked about in terms reserved for legends. In the Argentine film Son of the Bride (El Hijo de la Novia), an actor who impersonates a Catholic priest says to a bar patron: "they idolized him and then crucified him". When scolded by a friend for taking the prank too far (by elaborating on the passion of Jesus), the fake priest retorts: "But I was talking about Maradona".

There is a Church of Maradona, where "believers" re-enact the Hand of God goal, and partake in food and wine that bear his likeness. The "rituals" of this "church" have been filmed by several sports programmes and broadcast in many countries. The church does not take itself too seriously, even though its members have been involved in several community initiatives.

Commentators in Argentina have often compared Maradona to Esteban Laureano Maradona (18951995), a physician who helped indigenous communities achieve better health standards, and was the recipient of the 1987 UN Medicine for Peace prize. Dr. Maradona was renowned for his modesty, and worked until he turned ninety, so the comparison was often unfavorable to the footballer. Broadcaster Alejandro Dolina was the first to denounce the unfairness of this treatment.

Hounded for years by yellow journalism, Maradona even fired a compressed-air rifle against reporters who, so he claimed, invaded his privacy. This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarizes the feelings of many:

He is someone many people want to emulate, a controversial figure, loved, hated, who stirs great upheaval, especially in Argentina... Stressing his personal life is a mistake. Maradona has no peers inside the pitch, but he has turned his life into a show, and is now living a personal ordeal that should not be imitated. [6]

Career statistics

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International

  • 19771994 Argentina (91 appearances, 34 goals)
  • 21 appearances in four FIFA World Cup Championships (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994)
  • Argentina's second highest goal-scorer

Club honours

International honours

Coaching career

  • 1994 Mandiyú de Corrientes
  • 1995 Racing Club de Avellaneda
  • 2005 Boca Juniors (Football vice-president)

Individual honours

  • 1979–1981, 1986 Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year
  • 1986 Argentine Sports Writers' Sportsman of the Year
  • 1979, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992 South American Footballer of the Year (El Mundo, Caracas)
  • 1986 Golden Ball for Best Player of the FIFA World Cup
  • 1986 European Footballer of the Year (France Football)
  • 1986–1987 Best Footballer in the World (Onze)
  • 1996 Golden Ball for services to football (France Football)
  • 2000 "FIFA Goal of the Century" (1986 (2–0) v. England)
  • 1999 Argentine Sports Writers' Sportsman of the Century
  • 2000 "FIFA best football player of the century", people's choice.
  • 2005 Argentine Senate "Domingo Faustino Sarmiento" recognition for lifetime achievement.

References

External links

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