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. Maradona's vision,
passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small
stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity allowing 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. He also had a troubled
off-field life and was banned in both 1991 and 1994 for abusing drugs.
Diego Maradona Wiki/Bio/Age/Family
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 Spanish (Basque) descent, and his mother Dalma
Salvadora Franco, "Doña Tota" (1930–2011), was of Italian and
Croatian descent.
Maradona
playing at the Torneos Evita in 1973 (a national sporting event in Argentina)
with the "Cebollitas"
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.
— Francisco
Cornejo, youth coach who discovered Maradona ~
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. 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.
Personal life/Relationship
Having
returned to his Catholic faith, Maradona donated a signed Argentina jersey to
Pope Francis, and it is kept in one of the Vatican Museums.
Born
to a Roman Catholic family, his parents were Diego Maradona Senior and Dalma
Salvadora Franco. Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on 7 November
1989 in Buenos Aires, and they had two
daughters, Dalma Nerea (born 2 April 1987) and Gianinna Dinorah (born 16 May
1989), by whom he became a grandfather in 2009 after she married Sergio Agüero
(now divorced).
Maradona and Villafañe divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all as her parents remained on friendly terms. They travelled together to Naples for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on other occasions, including the Argentina games during 2006 World Cup.
During the divorce proceedings,
Maradona admitted that he was the father of Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on 20
September 1986). The Italian courts had already ruled so in 1993, after
Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests to prove or disprove his paternity. Diego
Junior met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto
a golf course in Italy where Maradona was playing. Sinagra is now a footballer playing in Italy.
After
the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma
sought an acting career; she previously had expressed her desire to attend the
Actors Studio West in Los Angeles.
Maradona's relationship with his immediate family was a close one. In a 1990 interview with Sports Illustrated he showed phone bills where he had spent a minimum of $15,000 US per month calling his parents and siblings. Maradona's mother, Dalma, died on 19 November 2011. He was in Dubai at the time, and desperately tried to fly back in time to see her, but was too late. She was 81 years old. His father, "Don" Diego, died on 25 June 2015 at age 87.
In
2014, Maradona was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Rocío Oliva, allegations
which he denied. In 2017, he gifted her
a house in Bella Vista, but in December 2018 they split up. Maradona's
great-nephew Hernán López is also a professional footballer.
International career
Maradona
on the ball against the Soviet Union in the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship
Final in Japan
During
his time with the Argentina national team, Maradona scored 34 goals in 91
appearances. He made his full international debut at age 16, against Hungary,
on 27 February 1977. Maradona was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978
World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at
age 17. At age 18, Maradona played the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship in
Japan and emerged as the star of the tournament, shining in Argentina's 3–1
final win over the Soviet Union, scoring a total of six goals in six appearances
in the tournament. On 2 June 1979,
Maradona scored his first senior international goal in a 3–1 win against Scotland
at Hampden Park. He went on to play for
Argentina in two 1979 Copa América ties during August 1979, a 2–1 loss against
Brazil and a 3–0 win over Bolivia in which he scored his side's third goal.
Style of play
Maradona
exhibiting his ball control in a match against Lazio (left) and during a
training session. Michel Platini stated, "Diego was capable of things no
one else could match. The things I could do with a football, he could do with
an orange."
Described as a "classic number 10" in the media, Maradona was a traditional playmaker who usually played in a free role, either as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards, or as a second striker in a front–two, although he was also deployed as an offensive–minded central midfielder in a 4–4–2 formation on occasion. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname "El Pibe de Oro" ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career. He was renowned for his dribbling ability, vision, close ball control, passing, and creativity, and is considered to have been one of the most skilful players in the sport.
He had a compact physique, and with his strong
legs, low center of gravity, and resulting balance, he could withstand physical
pressure well while running with the ball, despite his small stature, while his
acceleration, quick feet, and agility, combined with his dribbling skills and
close control at speed, allowed him to change direction quickly, making him
difficult for opponents to defend against.
Drug Abuse and Health Problems
Maradona
at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where he was treated by paramedics after
collapsing following Argentina's victory over Nigeria.
From
the mid-1980s until 2004, Maradona was addicted to cocaine. He allegedly began
using the drug in Barcelona in 1983. By the time he was playing for Napoli, he
had a full-blown addiction, which interfered with his ability to play football.
In the midst of his drug crisis in 1991, Maradona was asked by journalists if
the hit song "Mi enfermedad" (lit. "My Disease") was
dedicated to him. Maradona was banned from football in both 1991 and 1994 for
abusing drugs.
Death
On 2 November 2020, Maradona was admitted to a hospital in La Plata, supposedly for psychological reasons. A representative of the ex-footballer said his condition was not serious. A day later, he underwent emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural hematoma. He was released on 12 November after successful surgery and was supervised by doctors as an outpatient. On 25 November, at the age of 60, Maradona suffered cardiac arrest and died in his sleep at his home in Dique Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Maradona's coffin – draped in Argentina's national flag and three Maradona number 10 shirts (Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Argentina) – lay in state at the Presidential Palace, the Casa Rosada, with mourners filing past his coffin. On 26 November, Maradona's wake, which was attended by tens of thousands of people, was cut short by his family as his coffin was relocated from the rotunda of the Presidential Palace after fans took over an inner courtyard and also clashed with police. The same day, a private funeral service was held and Maradona was buried next to his parents at the Jardín de Bella Vista cemetery in Bella Vista, Buenos Aires.