Diego Armando Maradona (born October 30, 1960) is an Argentine former footballer. He played in four World Cups and received the FIFA award of Player of the century (People's choice) after being voted in 2000 in an international internet fan poll as the best football player of all time.Maradona won many trophies with Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli over the course of his career. During an international career that included 91 caps and 34 goals, he played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, leading the Argentina national team to its victory over West Germany in 1986 World Cup, in which he collected the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. His second goal against England in the quarter-finals of the '86 tournament - a spectacular 60-meter weave through six England players - is commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century." or, in Argentina, "The Cosmic Kite" (Spanish: El barrilete cósmico).
He is also considered one of the sport's most controversial figures. Maradona was suspended for 15 months in 1991 after a failed doping test for cocaine in Italy, and then again for ephedrine during the 1994 World Cup in USA.
After retirement from professional football on 30 October 1997, he suffered ill health and weight gain, along with ongoing cocaine abuse. However, a stomach-stapling operation helped control his weight gain. Since overcoming his cocaine addiction, he has become a TV host in Argentina.
Diego Armando Maradona was born in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province. He was the first son after three daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo and Eduardo, both of whom were also professional football players.
At age of 11, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighbourhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of Los Cebollitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors. As a 12-year-old ball boy, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the halftime intermissions of first division games.
Maradona made his professional debut on October 20, 1976 ten days before his sixteenth birthday, with Argentinos Juniors. He played there between 1976 and 1981, before his £1m transfer to the club that he supported, Boca Juniors. Joining the squad midway through the 1981 season, Maradona played through 1982, and secured his first league winners' medal. After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona in Spain for a then world record £5m. In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid. However, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona. First a bout with hepatitis, then an ill-timed tackle by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni Goikoetxea jeopardized his career, but Maradona's physical strength and willpower made it possible for him to be back on the pitch after only 14 weeks. It is believed that it was while playing for Barcelona that Maradona was introduced to cocaine, to which he would become addicted.
Maradona got into frequent disputes with Barcelona's directors, especially club president Josep Lluís Nuñez. In 1984, he demanded a transfer out of Nou Camp. He subsequently went to Serie A and SSC Napoli for another record fee, £6.9m, and became an adored star among the club's fans, as he elevated the team to its most successful era. Napoli won their only Italian Championships (1986/87 and 1989/1990), a Coppa Italia (1987), a UEFA Cup (1989) and an Italian Supercup (1990). Napoli were also runners-up in the Italian Championship twice, in 1987/88 and 1988/89.
In Naples, Maradona was present during the transformation of the local club. They had traditionally been overshadowed by the teams from the industrial cities in the north, but Maradona's arrival (along with Careca and others) brought them a first scudetto in 1987. A second followed in 1990, along with cup successes. However, Maradona also faced a scandal there regarding an illegitimate son; he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra.
Maradona left Napoli in 1992, after serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine. He played for Sevilla FC (1992–93), Newell's Old Boys (1993) and Boca Juniors (1995–97). He also attempted to work as a coach on two short stints, leading Mandiyú of Corrientes (1994) and Racing Club (1995), but without much success. He retired from football on October 30, 1997, his 37th birthday.
He debuted with the Argentina national football team ("la selección"), at age 16, against Hungary. At age 18, he played the Football World Youth Championship for Argentina, and was the star of the tournament, shining in their 3–1 final win over the USSR team.
Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982. In the first round, Argentina, the defending champions, lost to Belgium. Although the team convincingly beat Hungary and El Salvador to progress to the second round, they were defeated in the second round by Brazil and by eventual winners Italy. Maradona played in all five matches without being substituted, scoring twice against Hungary, but was sent off with 5 minutes remaining in the game against Brazil for serious foul play.
Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, winning the final in Mexico against West Germany. Throughout the 1986 World Cup, Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the tournament. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scored 5 goals and made 5 assists. However, it was the two goals he scored in a 2-1 quarter-final win against England which cemented his legend.
Replays showed that the first goal was scored with the aid of his hand. Maradona was coyly evasive, describing it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." The play became known as the "Hand of God," or "la mano de Dios." Ultimately, on 22 August 2005 Maradona acknowledged on his television show that he hit the ball with his hand purposely, and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. He recalled thinking right after the goal that “ I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came.... I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it”.
In contrast, Maradona's second goal was a technically pure display of Maradona's astonishing dribbling ability. He picked up the ball in his own half and with 11 touches swivelled around and ran more than half the length of the field, dribbling past five English players: (Glenn Hoddle, Peter Reid, Kenny Sansom, Terry Butcher, and Terry Fenwick) and goalkeeper Peter Shilton. This goal was voted the Goal of the Century in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA. In 2002, the two goals were ranked 6th in the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments by the UK's Channel 4 television channel.
Maradona followed this with two more goals in the semi-final against Belgium. In the final, the opposing West German side attempted to contain him by double-marking, but he nevertheless found the space to give the final service to Jorge Burruchaga for the winning goal. Argentina beat West Germany 3-2 and Maradona lifted the World Cup trophy after dominating the tournament in a historic fashion.
Maradona captained Argentina again in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. An ankle injury affected his overall performance, and he was much less dominant than four years earlier. Argentina were almost eliminated in the first round, only qualifying in third position from their group.
In the round of 16 match against Brazil, a Maradona run from his own half set up the opportunity for Claudio Caniggia to score the game's only goal. During this match, Brazilian left-back Branco asked the Argentinian crew for some water. Afterwards, Branco said he had felt dizzy during the match, and voiced his suspicion about the water he had received. The Argentinians were offended by the suggestion that they would ever use such despicable methods, and claimed Branco was just looking for excuses. In 2005 however, Maradona confirmed to an Argentine newspaper that the water supplied to Branco was indeed contaminated.
In the quarter-final round, Argentina faced Yugoslavia, the match ending 0-0 after 120 minutes, and Argentina advancing on penalty kicks, despite Maradona missing one of the penalties in the shootout. The semi-final against the host nation Italy was also resolved on penalties after a 1-1 draw; this time, Maradona was successful with his effort. In the final, Argentina lost 1-0 to West Germany, the only goal being a penalty by Andreas Brehme in the 85th minute after a controversial foul on Rudi Voller.
At the 1994 FIFA World Cup Maradona played in two games, scoring one goal against Greece, before being sent home after failing a drug test for ephedrine doping. In his autobiography, Maradona argued that the test result was due to his personal trainer giving him the power drink Rip Fuel. His claim was that the U.S. version, unlike the Argentine one, contained the chemical and that, having run out of his Argentinian dosage, his trainer unwittingly bought the U.S. formula. FIFA subsequently expelled him from USA '94 and Argentina were subsequently eliminated in the second round. Maradona has also separately claimed that he had an agreement with FIFA, on which the organization reneged, to allow him to use the drug for weight loss before the competition in order to be able to play. According to Maradona, this was so that the World Cup would not lose prestige because of his absence. This allegation was never proved, and many fans attribute his comment ("they cut off my legs") to his anger at being suspended.
In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am The Diego"), which became an instant bestseller in his home country. Two years later, Maradona donated the Cuban royalties of his book to "the Cuban people and Fidel."
FIFA conducted a fan poll on the Internet in 2000, to elect the Player of the Century. Maradona finished top of the poll with 53.6% of the vote, due mostly to a huge mobilization of fans in Argentina. Subsequently, however, and contrary to the original announcement of how the award would be decided, FIFA appointed a "Football Family" committee of football experts that voted to award Pelé the title. Maradona protested at the change in procedure, and declared he would not attend the ceremony if Pelé replaced him. Eventually, two awards were made, one to each of them. Maradona accepted his prize, but left the ceremony without waiting to see Pelé receive his accolade.
Maradona has won other fan polls, including a 2002 FIFA poll in which his second goal against England was chosen as the best goal ever scored in a World Cup; he also won the most votes in a poll to determine the All-Time Ultimate World Cup Team.
Argentinos Juniors named its stadium after Maradona on December 26, 2003.
On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to Boca Juniors as a sports vice president in charge of managing the First Division roster (after a disappointing 2004–05 season, which coincided with Boca's centenary). His contract began 1 August 2005, and one of his first recommendations proved to be very effective: he was the one who decided to hire Alfio Basile as the new coach. With Maradona fostering a close relationship with the players, Boca went on to win the 2005 Apertura title, the 2006 Clausura title, the 2005 Copa Sudamericana and the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana.
On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host of a talk-variety show on Argentine television, La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the no. 10"). His main guest on opening night was Pelé; the two had a friendly chat, showing no signs of past differences. In subsequent evenings, he led the ratings on all occasions but one. Most guests were drawn from the worlds of football and show business, including Zidane, Ronaldo and Hernán Crespo, but also included interviews with other notable personalities such as Fidel Castro and Mike Tyson.
On August 26, 2006, it was announced that Maradona was quitting his position in the club Boca Juniors because of disagreements with the AFA, who selected Basile to be the new coach of the Argentina National Football Team.
The award-winning Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica is preparing a documentary about Maradona's life, entitled Maradona. The film is currently in post-production, and its release is expected in 2007 . Italian-Australian actor Marco Leonardi has been confirmed to play the footballer in the film.
In September 2006, Maradona, in his famous blue and white number 10, was the captain for Argentina in a three-day World Cup of Indoor Football tournament in Spain.
In 2006, Diego Maradona was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador of the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition, IIMSAM.
Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after the birth of their daughters, Dalma Nerea (b. 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (b. 1989). In his autobiography, Maradona admits he was not always faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.
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 Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on many other occasions, including the Argentina matches during 2006 FIFA World Cup.
During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of Diego Sinagra (b. Naples, 1986), as was claimed by the youth's mother Cristiana Sinagra. (The Italian courts had so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity.) Diego Jr. met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Naples where Maradona was playing.
After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles. Maradona has authored an autobiography entitled "Yo Soy El Diego" chronicling his life, both on and off the playing field. His autobiography was translated and published in English as Maradona: The Autobiography of Soccer's Greatest and Most Controversial Star.
Since the 1990s, Maradona has been a cocaine addict, which included spells in Swiss and Cuban detox clinics. Between 2002 and 2005, Maradona spent most of his time in Cuba.
On April 18, 2004, doctors reported that Maradona had suffered a major heart attack following a cocaine overdose; he was admitted to intensive care in a Buenos Aires hospital. Scores of fans gathered around the clinic. Days after the heart attack, a nurse was caught taking photos of Maradona with a mobile phone and was promptly fired by the hospital managers.
Fortunately he showed improvement and was taken off the respirator on April 23 and remained in intensive care for several days before being discharged on April 29. He returned to Cuba in May.
Maradona has always had a tendency to put on weight, and suffered increasingly with obesity from the end of his playing career until undergoing gastric bypass surgery in a clinic in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia on March 6, 2005. When Maradona resumed public appearances shortly thereafter, he displayed a notably thinner figure.
However, on March 29, 2007, Maradona was readmitted to a hospital in Buenos Aires. He was treated for hepatitis and effects of alcohol abuse, and was released on 11 April, but re-admitted two days later. In the following days there were constant rumours about his health, including three false claims of his death within a month. After transfer to a psychiatric clinic specialising in alcohol-related problems, he was discharged on May 7.
On May 8, 2007, Maradona appeared on Argentine television and stated that he has quit drinking and has not used drugs in two and a half years.
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