Without a doubt, Diego Maradona is one of the greatest football legends in the world. The Argentine icon began his career in his home country. And Maradona played his last match in Buenos Aires on November 10, 2001. Other great football players also took part in his benefit – Hristo Stoichkov and Eric Cantona.
At the age of 60, the star passed away after a cardiac arrest. He was a very controversial figure, and his name has been repeatedly implicated in scandals. Maradona himself admitted that he had a problem with alcohol and drugs.
Here are some of the most interesting facts about his life:
Diego Maradona was born in Buenos Aires on October 30, 1960.
With his help, Boca Juniors won the title in 1982.
In 1982 Maradona was bought by the Spanish football team Barcelona for 5 million pounds, then a record transfer fee. In his first match for Barcelona he scored a goal, but later his team lost 2: 1 to Valencia. In a total of 58 matches he scored 38 goals.
On May 5, 1984 he moved to Napoli. With this team there are 115 goals scored and 259 games played. With Napoli, Maradona is a two-time Italian champion – in 1986-87 and 1989-90, the first (and only) championship titles in the club’s history. He also won the UEFA Cup in the 1988-89 season after 2: 1 and 3: 3 against Stuttgart. He left the team on March 24, 1991.
After scoring a goal in the 1986 World Cup final. Maradona sniffs his hand. He is believed to have actually taken cocaine in the field.
And another controversial thing – in 1986. in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Maradona scored with his hand against England. Asked afterwards, the footballer replied: “It was the hand of God.” In the same championship, Maradona scored from the center of the field.
In 2005 he became the host of a television show on Argentine television called “La del 10”. Surprisingly, despite their arguments, Pele is his first guest.
In 2008 has been appointed director of the Argentine national team. His first victory as a manager was in 2008. against Scotland.
In 2006 his former teammate Jorge Valdano said of him: “He is a man that many people have to imitate, a dubious figure, adored, hated. Maradona turned his life into a show.
In honor of Maradona, Argentina wanted to remove the number 10 T-shirt, but it never happened. Years later, another Argentine star, Lionel Messi, played number 10.
The stadium where Argentina’s youth team plays is called Diego Armando Maradona.
He is the fifth highest scorer in Argentina.
Maradona has a Chegevara tattoo. In an interview, the footballer said that each of his tattoos makes sense to him.
Despite all his professional successes, Maradona is not very rich – his fortune is only about 1 million dollars.