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The beautiful game of football has evolved into arguably the biggest sport in the world in the last hundred years or so, capturing the imagination of fans all across the globe. When the conversation diverts towards the best football player in the world, there are a few worthy candidates but no one could match the talent, skill, and match-winning ability of Diego Maradona.
Born to a poor family on October 30, 1960, in Lanus, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, Diego Maradona was raised in a shantytown called Villa Fiorito on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires. After receiving a football as a gift at the age of three, he grew affinity with the sport before a talent scout found him playing for local club Estrella Roja, which led to him getting referred by his close friend to the Little Onions, a junior team of Argentinos Juniors.
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After Diego Maradona took the Little Onions to two Evita wins including a 141-game undefeated streak in 1973 and 1974, he quickly transitioned into a professional player just days before his 16th birthday for Argentinos Juniors in 1976. After scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances for them in five years, he joined Boca Juniors in 1981, winning his first and only Argentine domestic league title.
Following a tough FIFA World Cup 1982 campaign for Argentina, scoring two goals in five appearances, Diego Maradona joined Barcelona for a fee of £5 million, a world record at that time. During his two seasons at the Spanish giants, he won the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, but the La Liga title eluded him while scoring 38 goals in 58 appearances.
Upon his arrival in Naples in 1984 for yet another world record fee at the time of £6.9 million, Diego Maradona changed the fortunes of the Italian club for good, securing their historic first Serie A title during the 1986-87 season, scoring 115 goals in 259 appearances. Just a year prior, he captained Argentina to the FIFA World Cup title, scoring two of the most talked about goals in football against England in the quarter-final, one was referred to as the “Hand of God,” while the other one was voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the tournament, ending his international career in 1994 with 34 goals in 91 appearances.
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After finishing up his playing days in 1998, Diego Maradona was the joint winner of the FIFA Player of the Century in 2000 along with Pele after receiving 53.60% votes from fans in an internal poll, one of the criteria for the coveted award. He also managed Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2010, which was a disappointing campaign for the national team, apart from lending his managerial services to various clubs in the world.
At the age of 60, Diego Maradona died on November 25, 2020, after suffering a cardiac arrest in his sleep in Lujan, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
