Diego Maradona: the greatest footballer the world has ever seen
Diego Maradona, the Argentine football mastermind, long dubbed the game’s ‘greatest ever’, has tragically passed away this week at the age of 60.
As hundreds of millions mourn his death, the influence Maradona had on world football is indisputable. A leader on and off the field, he enjoyed a successful career as both a player and a manger. However, undoubtedly his greatest achievement was lifting the World Cup as captain of Argentina in 1986.
Throughout his childhood, Maradona’s incredible footballing ability set him apart from his peers, and at 15 years old he made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors.
Following this, Maradona went on to join a number of huge clubs, including Barcelona to whom he was sold for a then world record fee of 7.6 million US dollars.
After winning the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup with Barcelona in 1983, he moved to Italian side Napoli where he enjoyed his most successful era in his playing career. He captained the side to two league titles and one UEFA cup, and was regarded as a hero of the city.
Perhaps Maradona’s most famous moment on the world stage was his controversial ‘hand of God’ in the quarter finals of the 1986 World Cup, when he intentionally handled the ball into the back of England’s net. Argentina went on to win the game two-nil and Maradona proceeded to lift the most prestigious trophy in world football.
Throughout his career Maradona regularly used drugs, building up a severe addiction to cocaine and alcohol. His first serious punishment over drug use came in 1991 when he was banned for 15 months by Napoli for testing positive for cocaine.
After being involved in many other drug scandals following this, Maradona retired at age 37. He then started his full-time managerial career, becoming the manager of the Argentina national team in 2008.
The footballing legend lived out his final years managing several different clubs all over the world, before passing away from a heart attack on November 25, 2020. This was likely down to his ongoing battle with substance abuse.
Paying tribute to Maradona, fellow footballing legend Pele commented on Sky Sports: “What sad news. I lost a great friend, and the world lost a legend. One day, I hope we can play football together in the sky.”
