Diego Maradona's Biography, God's Hand, and Facts
Diego Armando Maradona was a professional football player and manager from Argentina.
Early Life
Growing up Maradona was 1 of 4 children to Tota and Chitori Maradona. His family lived in poor conditions in an area called Villa Fiorito. He started his playing career at the age of 8 for Argentinos Juniors. The way he played turned heads and caught the attention of many people in Argentina. After his splendid play and totals of 116 goals in 166 games, his main focus was on a move to Europe.
Diego Maradona, in full Diego Armando Maradona, Argentine football (soccer) player who is generally regarded as the top footballer of the 1980s and one of the greatest of all time. Renowned for his ability to control the ball and create scoring opportunities for himself and others, he led club teams to championships in Argentina, Italy, and Spain, and he starred on the Argentine national team that won the 1986 World Cup.
Maradona displayed football talent early, and at age eight he joined Las Cebollitas (“The Little Onions”), a boys’ team that went on to win 136 consecutive games and a national championship. He signed with Argentinos Juniors at age 14 and made his first-division Debut in 1976, 10 days before his 16th birthday. Only four months later he made his debut with the national team, becoming the youngest Argentine ever to do so. Although he was excluded from the 1978 World Cup-winning squad because it was felt that he was still too young, the next year he led the national under-20 team to a Junior World Cup championship.
Personal Information and Stats of Diego Maradona
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Armando Maradona | ||
| Date of birth | 30 October 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Lanus, Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 25 November 2020 (aged 60) | ||
| Place of death | Dique Luján, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking Midfielder, Second Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1969–1976 | Argentinos Juniors | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1981 | Argentinos Juniors | 166 | (116) |
| 1981–1982 | Boca Juniors | 40 | (28) |
| 1982–1984 | Barcelona | 36 | (22) |
| 1984–1991 | Napoli | 188 | (81) |
| 1992–1993 | Sevilla | 26 | (5) |
| 1993–1994 | Newell's Old Boys | 5 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Boca Juniors | 30 | (7) |
| Total | 491 | (259) | |
| National team | |||
| 1977–1979 | Argentina U20 | 15 | (8) |
| 1977–1994 | Argentina | 91 | (34) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1994 | Deportivo Mandiyú | ||
| 1995 | Racing Club | ||
| 2008–2010 | Argentina | ||
| 2011–2012 | Al-Wasl | ||
| 2013–2017 | Deportivo Riestra (assistant) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Fujairah | ||
| 2018–2019 | Dorados de Sinaloa | ||
| 2019–2020 | Gimnasia de La Plata | ||
Argentinos Juniors to Boca Juniors
At 15 years old, Maradona made his official debut for Argentinos Junior's first team and became the youngest player ever in the Primera. A few months later, he made his debut in the Argentina national team, in a friendly against Hungary. This happened in early 1977, the year before Argentina would be hosting the World Cup. César Luis Menotti, the coach of the national team, finally decided to exclude the big talent from the World Cup squad – Diego was devastated.
Maradona spent five years at the Argentinos Juniors, scoring 116 goals in 166 appearances (during this time, he met Claudia Villafañe who some years later would become his wife). When the time came to move on, he was able to choose between several well-paid offers. Although River plate offered the most money, Maradona made his decision clear -- he wanted to play for Boca Juniors, the team he supported from his childhood. One of his dreams would be fulfilled after Boca won the league title that season.
Achievement of Diego Maradona
- Argentine Primera Division: 1981 Metropolitano with Boca Juniors
- Copa del Rey: 1982-83 with Barcelona
- Copa de la Liga: 1983 with Barcelona
- Supercopa de España: 1983 with Barcelona
- Serie A: 1986–87, 1989–90 with Napoli
- Coppa Italia: 1986–87 with Napoli
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1990 with Napoli
- UEFA Cup: 1988–89 with Napoli
- FIFA World Youth Championship: 1979 with Argentina
- FIFA World Cup: 1986 with Argentina
- Artemio Franchi Trophy: 1993 with Argentina
- South American Footballer of the Year: 1979, 1980
- FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1986
- FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe: 1986
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1986, 1990
- Coppa Italia top scorer: 1987–88
- FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1990
- FIFA Player of the Century: 2000
- Ballon d’Or Dream Team: 2020
Facts of Goat Diego Maradona
- Diego Armando Maradona was born on October 30, 1960, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
- Maradona made 91 appearances for Argentina, scoring 34 goals.
- He played in four World Cup tournaments for his country.
- He helped Boca Juniors to the league championship in 1982 before making a move to Barcelona. But in 1984, he transferred to Napoli and helped them win their only two Serie A titles to date – in 1987 and 1990.
- Maradona holds the record for making the most appearances as captain of any country in a World Cup. He skippered Argentina on 16 occasions.
- In total, he made 21 appearances in World Cup tournaments.
- A 15-year-old Maradona made his professional debut on October 20, 1976, for Argentinos Juniors.
- Maradona was part of the Argentina youth squad that won the 1979 Youth World Cup in Japan.
- On February 27, 1977, Maradona made his international debut against Hungary at age 16 at the Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires.
- He had a tattoo of Che Guevara on his arm, and a portrait of Fidel Castro tattooed on his left leg.
- Maradona holds the record for suffering the most number of fouls in a World Cup – 53, during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
- He also holds the record for the most number of fouls suffered in one game in a World Cup, when Italy fouled him 23 times in the 1982 edition of the tournament.
- Maradona skippered Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final.
- Diego also won the Golden Ball for being the tournament's outstanding player.
Family of Diego Maradona
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 traveled together to Naples for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on other occasions, including the Argentina games during The 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 a DNA test 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 in Los Angeles.
Maradona's relationship with his immediate family was a close one, and in a 1990 interview with Sports Illustrated, he showed phone bills where he had spent a minimum of 15,000 US dollars 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.
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.
Social Media of Diego Maradona
