Diego Maradona

Maradona after winning the 1986 FIFA World Cup with Argentina

Personal information

Full name

Diego Armando Maradona Franco^[1]

Date of birth

30 October 1960

Place of birth

Lanús, Argentina

Date of death

25 November 2020 (aged 60)

Place of death

Dique Luján, Argentina

Height

1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)^[2]

Position(s)

Attacking midfielder, second striker

Youth career

1967–1969

Estrella Roja

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)

International career

1977–1979

Argentina U20

15

(8)

1977–1994

Argentina

91

(34)

Managerial career

1994

1995

2008–2010

2011–2012

2013–2017

Deportivo Riestra (assistant)

2017–2018

Fujairah

2018–2019

Dorados de Sinaloa

2019–2020

Gimnasia de La Plata

Medal record

Men's football

Representing Argentina
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1986 Mexico
Runner-up	1990 Italy
Copa América
	1989 Brazil
Finalissima
Winner	1993 Argentina
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner	1979 Japan
South American U-20 Championship
Runner-up	1979 Uruguay

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Argentine professional footballer

Eponyms and public art

Films

Media

Maradona in Mexico (2019)
Maradona: Blessed Dream (2021)

Family

Related

Iglesia Maradoniana
"Maradona (kesä '86)"
Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona (1986)

Diego Armando Maradona Franco (Spanish: [ˈdjeɣo maɾaˈðona]; 30 October 1960 – 25 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award, alongside Pelé.

An advanced playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position, Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity and allowed him to manoeuvre better than most other players. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de Oro ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career.

Maradona was the first player to set the world record transfer fee twice: in 1982 when he transferred to Barcelona for £5 million, and in 1984 when he moved to Napoli for a fee of £6.9 million. He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli where he won numerous accolades and led the club to their first Serie A title win only to do it all over again one year later. Maradona also had a troubled off-field life and his time with Napoli ended after he was banned for taking cocaine.

In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. In the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted "Goal of the Century" by FIFA.com voters in 2002.

Maradona also had a career in management. He became the coach of Argentina's national football team in November 2008. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. He then coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season. In 2017, Maradona became the coach of Fujairah before leaving at the end of the season. From May to September 2018, he was the chairman of Dynamo Brest. From September 2018 to June 2019, Maradona was coach of Mexican club Dorados, and was the coach of Argentine Primera División club Gimnasia de La Plata from September 2019 until his death in 2020. He was ranked as the third best football player of all time by FourFourTwo.^[3]

Early years

[edit]

Diego Armando Maradona was born on 30 October 1960, at the Policlínico (Polyclinic) Evita Hospital in Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province; he was raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina.^[4]^[5] He was the first son after four daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo (el Turco) and Raúl (Lalo), both of whom were also professional football players.^[6]^[7] His father Diego Maradona "Chitoro" (1927–2015), who worked at a chemicals factory, was of Guaraní (Indigenous) and Galician (Spanish) descent,^[8] and his mother Dalma Salvadora Franco, "Doña Tota" (1930–2011), was of Italian and Croatian descent.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

When Diego came to Argentinos Juniors for trials, I was really struck by his talent and couldn't believe he was only eight years old. In fact, we asked him for his ID card so we could check it, but he told us he didn't have it on him. We were sure he was having us on because, although he had the physique of a child, he played like an adult. When we discovered he'd been telling us the truth, we decided to devote ourselves purely to him.
— Francisco Cornejo, youth coach who discovered Maradona^[13]

Maradona's parents were both born and brought up in the town of Esquina in the north-east province of Corrientes on the banks of the Corriente River. In the 1950s, they left Esquina and settled in Buenos Aires.^[5] Maradona received his first football as a gift at age three and quickly became devoted to the game.^[14] At age eight, he was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his local club Estrella Roja. In March 1969 he was recommended to Los Cebollitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors by his close friend and football rival Gregorio Carrizo who had already been picked by coach Francis Gregorio Cornejo.^[15]^[16] Maradona became a star for the Cebollitas, and as a 12-year-old ball boy he amused spectators by showing his ball skills during the halftime breaks of Argentinos Juniors' first division games.^[17] During 1973 and 1974, Maradona led Cebollitas to two Evita Tournament wins and 141 undefeated games in a row, playing alongside players like Adrian Domenech and Claudio Rodríguez, in what is regarded as the best youth team in the history of Argentine football.^[18] Maradona named Brazilian playmaker Rivellino and Manchester United winger George Best among his inspirations growing up.^[19]^[20]

Club career

[edit]

Argentinos Juniors

[edit]

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors, 10 days before his 16th birthday,^[21] versus Talleres de Córdoba. He entered to the pitch wearing the number 16 jersey, and became the youngest player in the history of the Argentine Primera División. A few minutes into his debut, Maradona kicked the ball through the legs of Juan Domingo Cabrera, a nutmeg that would become symbolic of his talent.^[22] After the game, Maradona said: "That day I felt I had held the sky in my hands."^[23] Thirty years later, Cabrera remembered Maradona's debut: "I was on the right side of the field and went to press him, but he didn't give me a chance. He made the nutmeg and when I turned around, he was far away from me."^[24]

Maradona scored his first goal as a professional against Marplatense team San Lorenzo on 14 November 1976, two weeks after turning 16, and added another goal in the match as well.^[25] Maradona made 11 appearances that season, with the two goals scored on his debut being the only ones he scored.

In the 1977 season, Maradona played 49 matches and scored 19 goals, and started to get on the radar of other South American clubs. In the 1978 season, Maradona scored 26 goals in 35 matches, and had the 1978 World Cup in his sights. However, when the squads were released on 19 May, he was not selected by coach Cesar Luis Menotti to the surprise of many.^[26] Two days after being left out, he scored a brace in a victory against his Chacarita Juniors. In 1979, Maradona scored 26 goals in 26 games, and finished top scorer in both Metropolitan and Nacional tournaments. in 1980, he scored 43 goals in 45 appearances and was the top scorer again for the last four consecutive tournaments.^[27]

Boca Juniors

[edit]

Maradona spent five years at Argentinos Juniors, from 1976 to 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his US$4-million transfer to Boca Juniors in February 1981.^[28] Maradona received offers to join other clubs, including River Plate who offered to make him the club's best paid player.^[29] However, River decided to drop its bid due to its large payroll in keeping Daniel Passarella and Ubaldo Fillol.^[30]

Maradona signed a contract with Boca Juniors on 20 February 1981. He made his debut two days later against Talleres de Córdoba, scoring twice in the club's 4–1 win. On 10 April, Maradona played his first Superclásico against River Plate at La Bombonera stadium. Boca defeated River 3–0 with Maradona scoring a goal after dribbling past Alberto Tarantini and Fillol.^[31] Despite the distrustful relationship between Maradona and Boca Juniors manager, Silvio Marzolini,^[32] Boca had a successful season, winning the league title after securing a point against Racing Club.^[33] That would be the only title won by Maradona in the Argentine domestic league.^[34]

Barcelona

[edit]

"He had complete mastery of the ball. When Maradona ran with the ball or dribbled through the defence, he seemed to have the ball tied to his boots. I remember our early training sessions with him: the rest of the team were so amazed that they just stood and watched him. We all thought ourselves privileged to be witnesses of his genius."

—Barcelona teammate Lobo Carrasco^[35]

After the 1982 World Cup, Maradona was transferred to Barcelona for a then world record fee of £5 million ($7.6 million).^[36] In the 1982–83 season, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won two trophies, the Copa del Rey and Copa de la Liga, both of them coming against Real Madrid.

On 26 June 1983, in the 1st leg of the Copa de la Liga finals at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Maradona scored and became the first Barcelona player to be applauded by arch-rival Real Madrid fans.^[37] Maradona dribbled past Madrid goalkeeper Agustín, and as he approached the empty goal, he stopped just as Madrid defender Juan José came sliding in an attempt to block the shot. José ended up crashing into the post, before Maradona slotted the ball into the net.^[38] With the manner in which the goal was scored resulting in applause from opposition fans, only Ronaldinho (in November 2005) and Andrés Iniesta (in November 2015) have since been granted such an ovation as Barcelona players from Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.^[37]^[39] Three days later, Barcelona won the second leg 2–1, with Maradona scoring a penalty and helping his club win another title against their archrivals.

Due to illness and injury as well as controversial incidents on the field, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona.^[40] First a bout of hepatitis, then a broken ankle in a La Liga game at the Camp Nou in September 1983 caused by a reckless tackle by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni Goikoetxea—nicknamed "the Butcher of Bilbao"—threatened to jeopardize Maradona's career, but with treatment and rehabilitation, it was possible for him to return to the pitch after a three-month recovery period.^[21]^[41]

Maradona was directly involved in a violent fight during the 1984 Copa del Rey Final in Madrid against Athletic Bilbao.^[42] After receiving another hard tackle by Goikoetxea, as well as being taunted with racist insults related to his father's Native American ancestry throughout the match by Bilbao fans, and being provoked by Bilbao's Miguel Sola at full time after Barcelona lost 1–0, Maradona snapped.^[42] He aggressively got up, stood inches from Sola's face and the two exchanged words. This started a chain reaction of emotional reactions from both teams. Using expletives, Sola mimicked a gesture from the crowd towards Maradona by using a xenophobic term.^[43] Maradona then headbutted Sola, elbowed another Bilbao player in the face and kneed another player in the head, knocking him out cold.^[42] The Bilbao squad surrounded Maradona to exact some retribution, with Goikoetxea connecting with a high kick to his chest, before the rest of the Barcelona squad joined in to help Maradona. From this point, Barcelona and Bilbao players brawled on the field with Maradona in the centre of the action, kicking and punching anyone in a Bilbao shirt.^[42]

The mass brawl was played out in front of the Spanish King Juan Carlos and an audience of 100,000 fans inside the stadium, and more than half of Spain watching on television.^[44] After fans began throwing solid objects on the field at the players, coaches and even photographers, sixty people were injured, with the incident effectively sealing Maradona's transfer out of the club in what was his last game in a Barcelona shirt.^[43] One Barcelona executive stated: "When I saw those scenes of Maradona fighting and the chaos that followed I realized we couldn't go any further with him."^[44] Maradona got into frequent disputes with Barcelona executives, particularly club president Josep Lluís Núñez, culminating with a demand to be transferred out of the Camp Nou in 1984. During his two injury-hit seasons at Barcelona, Maradona scored 38 goals in 58 games.^[45] Maradona transferred to Napoli in Italy's Serie A for another world record fee, £6.9 million ($10.48 million).^[46]

Napoli

[edit]

Maradona arrived in Naples and was presented to the world media as a Napoli player on 5 July 1984, where he was welcomed by 75,000 fans at his presentation at the Stadio San Paolo.^[47] Sports writer David Goldblatt commented, "They [the fans] were convinced that the saviour had arrived."^[48] A local newspaper stated that despite the lack of a "mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona".^[48] Prior to Maradona's arrival, Italian football was dominated by teams from the north and centre of the country, such as AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and Roma, and no team in the south of the Italian Peninsula had ever won a league title. This was perhaps the perfect scenario for Maradona and his working-class-sympathetic image, as he joined a once-great team that was facing relegation at the end of the 1983–84 Serie A season, in what was the toughest and most highly regarded football league in Europe.^[48]^[49]

At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career: he soon inherited the captain's armband from Napoli veteran defender Giuseppe Bruscolotti^[50] and quickly became an adored star among the club's fans; in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history.^[48] Maradona played for Napoli at a period when north–south tensions in Italy were at a peak due to a variety of issues, notably the economic differences between the two.^[48]

Led by Maradona, Napoli won their first ever Serie A Championship in 1986–87.^[48] Regarding the celebrations, Goldblatt wrote, "The celebrations were tumultuous. A rolling series of impromptu street parties and festivities broke out contagiously across the city in a round-the-clock carnival which ran for over a week. The world was turned upside down. The Neapolitans held mock funerals for Juventus and Milan, burning their coffins, their death notices announcing 'May 1987, the other Italy has been defeated. A new empire is born.'"^[48] Murals of Maradona were painted on the city's ancient buildings, and newborn children were named in his honour.^[48] Napoli completed a double that year, when they won the 1987 Coppa Italia final on aggregate against Atalanta. Maradona had been one of the key players of the campaign, scoring seven goals in ten matches, including a brace in the team's first group game against SPAL.^[51]

The following season, the team's prolific attacking trio, formed by Maradona, Bruno Giordano, and Careca, was later dubbed the "Ma-Gi-Ca" (magical) front-line.^[52] Despite the team's failing to defend their league title, losing out to AC Milan after a collapse in the final four matches, Maradona was the Serie A top scorer in the 1987–88 season with 15 goals, and was the all-time leading goalscorer for Napoli, with 115 goals,^[53] until his record was broken by Marek Hamšík in 2017.^[34]^[54]^[55] He was also the top scorer for that season's Coppa Italia, scoring six goals,^[56] despite being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Torino, with Maradona's two goals in the second leg not enough to prevent the elimination.^[57] In the 1988–89 season, Napoli finished runner-up in the league and in the Coppa Italia, losing to Sampdoria in the final. However the team avenged these runner-up finishes with the UEFA Cup title, won over two legs in the final against Stuttgart. During the second leg of the quarterfinals against rivals Juventus, Maradona scored a penalty, and Napoli eventually qualified to the next round after extra time.^[58] During the first leg of the finals, Maradona scored from a penalty in a 2–1 home victory and later assisted Careca's match-winning goal,^[59]^[60] while in the second leg on 17 May—a 3–3 away draw—he assisted Ciro Ferrara's goal with a header.^[61]^[62]

Napoli would win their second league title in 1989–90, and later won the 1990 Italian Supercup, beating rivals Juventus 5–1.^[48] When asked who was the toughest player he ever faced, AC Milan central defender Franco Baresi stated it was Maradona, a view shared by his Milan teammate Paolo Maldini.^[63]^[64]

Although Maradona was successful on the field during his time in Italy, his personal problems increased. His cocaine use continued, and he received US$70,000 in fines from his club for missing games and practices, ostensibly because of "stress".^[65] He faced a scandal there regarding an illegitimate son, and he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra crime syndicate.^[66]^[67]^[68]^[69] He also faced intense backlash and harassment from some local fans after the 1990 World Cup, in which he and Argentina beat Italy in a semi-final match at the San Paolo stadium.

In 2000, the number 10 jersey of Napoli was officially retired, but in 2011, Maradona stated that he wanted Ezequiel Lavezzi to use it.^[70] In a poll on Il Mattino, 54% of fans voted to keep the shirt retired, and the change ultimately did not occur.^[71] On 4 December 2020, nine days after Maradona's death, Napoli's home stadium was renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.^[72]

Late career

[edit]

After serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine, Maradona left Napoli in disgrace in 1992. Despite interest from Real Madrid and Marseille, he signed for Sevilla, where he stayed for one year.^[73] In 1993, he played for Newell's Old Boys and in 1995 returned to Boca Juniors for a two-year stint.^[21] Maradona also appeared for Tottenham Hotspur in a testimonial match for Osvaldo Ardiles against Internazionale, shortly before the 1986 World Cup.^[74] In 1996, he played in a friendly match alongside his brother Raul for Toronto Italia against the Canadian National Soccer League All-Stars.^[75] In 2000, he captained Bayern Munich in a friendly against the German national team in the farewell game of Lothar Matthäus.^[76] Maradona was himself given a testimonial match on 10 November 2001, played between an all-star World XI and the Argentina national team, scoring two penalty kicks in a 6–3 win at La Bombonera.^[77]^[78]

International career

[edit]

Debut at age 16

[edit]

Maradona made his full international debut at age 16, against Hungary, on 27 February 1977, only four months after his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors.^[79]

He was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17.^[80] On 3 November 1978, just a few days after turning 18, Maradona played for the U20 Argentina team in a friendly match against Franz Beckenbauer's New York Cosmos, scoring twice in a 2–1 win.^[81]

1979 World Youth Championship and Copa América

[edit]

At age 18, Maradona played the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship in Japan and emerged as the star of the tournament, shining in Argentina's 3–1 final win over the Soviet Union, scoring a total of six goals in six appearances in the tournament.^[82] On 2 June 1979, Maradona scored his first senior international goal in a 3–1 win against Scotland at Hampden Park.^[83] He went on to play for Argentina in two 1979 Copa América ties during August 1979, a 2–1 loss against Brazil and a 3–0 win over Bolivia in which he scored his side's third goal.^[84] Speaking thirty years later on the impact of Maradona's performances in 1979, FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated, "Everyone has an opinion on Diego Armando Maradona, and that's been the case since his playing days. My most vivid recollection is of this incredibly gifted kid at the second FIFA U-20 World Cup in Japan in 1979. He left everyone open-mouthed every time he got on the ball."^[85] Maradona and his compatriot Lionel Messi are the only players to win the Golden Ball at both the FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup. Maradona did so in 1979 and 1986, which Messi emulated in 2005 and 2014 (and again in 2022).^[86]^[87]

Maradona appeared at the 1979 Copa América, where Argentina had a poor performance, being knocked out in the first round. Maradona exited the tournament having scored once in a 3–0 victory against Bolivia.

1982 World Cup

[edit]

Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982 in his new country of residence, Spain. Argentina played Belgium in the opening game of the 1982 Cup at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Maradona did not perform to expectations,^[88] as Argentina, the defending champions, lost 1–0. Although the team convincingly beat both Hungary and El Salvador in Alicante to progress to the second round, there were internal tensions within the team, with the younger, less experienced players at odds with the older, more experienced players. With a team that also included such players as Mario Kempes, Osvaldo Ardiles, Ramón Díaz, Daniel Bertoni, Alberto Tarantini, Ubaldo Fillol and Daniel Passarella, the Argentine side was defeated in the second round by Brazil and by eventual winners Italy. The Italian match is renowned for Maradona being aggressively man-marked by Claudio Gentile, as Italy beat Argentina at the Sarrià Stadium in Barcelona, 2–1.^[89]

Maradona played in all five matches without being substituted, scoring twice against Hungary. He was fouled repeatedly in all five games and particularly in the last one against Brazil at the Sarrià, a game that was blighted by poor officiating and violent fouls. With Argentina already down 3–0 to Brazil, Maradona's temper eventually got the better of him and he was sent off with five minutes remaining for a serious retaliatory foul against Batista.^[90]^[89]

1986 World Cup

[edit]

Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, winning the final in Mexico City against West Germany.^[91] Throughout the tournament, Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the competition. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scoring five goals and making five assists; three of the assists came in the opening match against South Korea at the Olímpico Universitario Stadium in Mexico City. His first goal of the tournament came against Italy in the second group game in Puebla.^[92] Argentina eliminated Uruguay in the first knockout round in Puebla, setting up a match against England at the Azteca Stadium, also in Mexico City.

After scoring two contrasting goals in the 2–1 quarter-final win against England, his legend was cemented.^[41] The majesty of his second goal and the notoriety of his first led to the French newspaper L'Équipe describing Maradona as "half-angel, half-devil".^[93] This match was played with the background of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom.^[94] Replays showed that the first goal was scored by striking the ball with his hand. Maradona was coyly evasive, describing it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God".^[91] It became known as the "Hand of God". Ultimately, on 22 August 2005, Maradona acknowledged on his television show that he had hit the ball with his hand purposely, and no contact with his head was made, and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. This became known as an international fiasco in World Cup history. The goal stood, much to the wrath of the English players.^[95]

"Maradona, turns like a little eel and comes away from trouble, little squat man... comes inside Butcher and leaves him for dead, outside Fenwick and leaves him for dead, and puts the ball away... and that is why Maradona is the greatest player in the world."

—Bryon Butler's BBC Radio commentary on Maradona's second goal against England.^[96]

Maradona's second goal, just four minutes after the hotly disputed hand-goal, was later voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup. He received the ball in his own half, swivelled around and with 11 touches ran more than half the length of the field, dribbling past five English outfield players (Peter Beardsley, Steve Hodge, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick) before he left goalkeeper Peter Shilton on his backside with a feint, and slotted the ball into the net.^[97] This goal was voted "Goal of the Century" in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA.^[98] A 2002 Channel 4 poll in the UK saw his performance ranked number 6 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.^[99]

Maradona followed this with two more goals in a semi-final match against Belgium at the Azteca, including another virtuoso dribbling display for the second goal. In the final match, West Germany attempted to contain him by double-marking him, but in the 84th minute he nevertheless found space past West German player Lothar Matthäus to give the final pass to Jorge Burruchaga for the winning goal. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in front of 115,000 fans at the Azteca with Maradona lifting the World Cup as captain.^[101]

During the tournament, Maradona attempted or created more than half of Argentina's shots, attempted a tournament-best 90 dribbles—three times more than any other player—and was fouled a record 53 times, winning his team twice as many free kicks as any player.^[90] Maradona scored or assisted ten of Argentina's 14 goals (71%), including the assist for the winning goal in the final, ensuring that he would be remembered as one of the greatest names in football history.^[90]^[102] By the end of the World Cup, Maradona went on to win the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament by unanimous vote and was widely regarded to have won the World Cup virtually single-handedly, something that he later stated he did not entirely agree with.^[90]^[103]^[104]^[105] Zinedine Zidane, watching the 1986 World Cup as a 14-year-old, stated Maradona "was on another level".^[106] In a tribute to him, Azteca Stadium authorities built a statue of him scoring the "Goal of the Century" and placed it at the entrance of the stadium.^[107]

Regarding Maradona's performance at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, in 2014, Roger Bennett of ESPN FC described it as "the most virtuoso performance a World Cup has ever witnessed,"^[108] while Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times called it "one of the greatest individual performances in tournament history,"^[109] with Steven Goff of The Washington Post dubbing his performance as "one of the finest in tournament annals."^[110] In 2002, Russell Thomas of The Guardian described Maradona's second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals as "arguably the greatest individual goal ever."^[111] In a 2009 article for CBC Sports, John Molinaro described the goal as "the greatest ever scored in the tournament – and, maybe, in soccer."^[112] In a 2018 article for Sportsnet, he added: "No other player, not even Pel[é] in 1958 nor Paolo Rossi in 1982, had dominated a single competition the way Maradona did in Mexico." He also went on to say of Maradona's performance: "The brilliant Argentine artist single-handedly delivered his country its second World Cup." Regarding his two memorable goals against England in the quarter-finals, he commented: "Yes, it was Maradona's hand, and not God's, that was responsible for the first goal against England. But while the 'Hand of God' goal remains one of the most contentious moments in World Cup history, there can be no disputing that his second goal against England ranks as the greatest ever scored in the tournament. It transcended mere sports – his goal was pure art."^[113]

1987 and 1989 Copa América

[edit]

At the 1987 Copa América in Argentina, he scored three goals in four matches, including a brace in a 3–0 victory against Ecuador, but Argentina lost the semi-final 0–1 against eventual winners Uruguay.^[114]

In the 1989 Copa América in Brazil, Maradona played six games but would not score any goals. Argentina would finish the tournament third.

1990 World Cup

[edit]

Maradona captained Argentina again in the 1990 World Cup in Italy to yet another World Cup final. An ankle injury affected his overall performance, and he was much less dominant than four years earlier, and the team were missing three of their best players due to injury. After losing their opening game to Cameroon at the San Siro in Milan, Argentina were almost eliminated in the group stage, only qualifying in third position from their group. In the round of 16 match against Brazil in Turin, Claudio Caniggia scored the only goal after being set up by Maradona.^[115]

In the quarter-final, Argentina faced Yugoslavia in Florence; the match ended 0–0 after 120 minutes, with Argentina advancing in a penalty shootout even though Maradona's kick, a weak shot to the goalkeeper's right, was saved. The semi-final against the host nation Italy at Maradona's club stadium in Naples, the Stadio San Paolo, was also resolved on penalties after a 1–1 draw. This time, however, Maradona was successful with his effort, daringly rolling the ball into the net with an almost exact replica of his unsuccessful kick in the previous round. At the final in Rome, Argentina lost 1–0 to West Germany, the only goal being a controversial penalty scored by Andreas Brehme in the 85th minute, after Rudi Völler was adjudged to be fouled.^[115] At the final whistle, Maradona burst into tears and blamed the referee for the loss.^[116]

1993 Artemio Franchi Cup

[edit]

On 24 February 1993, Maradona returned to the national team when Argentina played the 1993 Artemio Franchi Cup against Denmark in Mar del Plata. Argentina won 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw.^[117]

1994 World Cup

[edit]

At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Maradona played in only two games (both at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston), scoring one goal against Greece, before being sent home after failing a drug test for ephedrine doping.^[118] After scoring Argentina's third goal against Greece, Maradona had one of the most remarkable World Cup goal celebrations as he ran towards one of the sideline cameras shouting with a distorted face and bulging eyes, in sheer elation of his return to international football.^[119] This turned out to be Maradona's last international goal for Argentina.^[120] In the second game, a 2–1 victory over Nigeria which was to be his last game for Argentina, he set up both of his team's goals on free kicks, the second an assist to Caniggia, in what were two very strong showings by the Argentine team.^[121]

In his autobiography, Maradona argued that the test result was due to his personal trainer giving him the energy drink Rip Fuel.^[122] His claim was that the U.S. version, unlike the Argentine one, contained the chemical and that, having run out of his Argentine dosage, his trainer unwittingly bought the U.S. formula.^[122] FIFA expelled him from USA '94, and Argentina were subsequently eliminated in the round of 16 by Romania in Los Angeles, having been a weaker team without Maradona, even with players like Gabriel Batistuta and Claudio Caniggia on the squad.^[123] Maradona 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.^[124] His failed drug test at the 1994 World Cup signalled the end of his international career, which lasted 17 years and yielded 34 goals from 91 games, including one winner's medal and one runners-up medal in the World Cup.^[125]

Unofficial internationals

[edit]

Alongside official internationals, Maradona also played and scored for an Argentina XI against the World XI in 1978 to mark the first anniversary of their first World Cup win,^[126]^[127] scored for The Americas against the World in a UNICEF fundraiser a short time after the 1986 triumph,^[126]^[127] a year after that captained the 'Rest of the World' against the English Football League XI to celebrate the organization's centenary (after reportedly securing a £100,000 appearance fee)^[128]^[129]

Player profile

[edit]

Style of play

[edit]

Described as a "classic number 10" in the media,^[130] Maradona was a traditional playmaker who usually played in a free role, either as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards, or as a second striker in a front–two,^[131]^[132]^[133] although he was also deployed as an offensive–minded central midfielder in a 4–4–2 formation on occasion.^[134]^[135]^[136]^[137] A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname "El Pibe de Oro" ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career.^[138] He was renowned for his dribbling ability, vision, close ball control, passing and creativity, and is considered to have been one of the most skilful players in the sport.^[105]^[139]^[140] He had a compact physique, and with his strong legs, low center of gravity, and resulting balance, he could withstand physical pressure well while running with the ball, despite his small stature,^[108]^[141]^[142] while his acceleration, quick feet, and agility, combined with his dribbling skills and close control at speed, allowed him to change direction quickly, making him difficult for opponents to defend against.^[143]^[144]^[145]^[146]

On his dribbling ability, former Dutch player Johan Cruyff saw similarities between Maradona and Lionel Messi with the ball seemingly attached to their boot.^[147]^[148]^[149] His physical strengths were illustrated by his two goals against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup. Although he was known for his penchant for undertaking individual runs with the ball,^[150] he was also a strategist and an intelligent team player, with excellent spatial awareness, as well as being highly technical with the ball. He was effective in limited spaces, and would attract defenders only to quickly dash out of the melee (as in the second goal against England in 1986),^[151]^[152]^[153]^[154] or give an assist to a free teammate. Being short, but strong, he could hold the ball long enough with a defender on his back to wait for a teammate making a run or to find a gap for a quick shot. He showed leadership qualities on the field and captained Argentina in their World Cup campaigns of 1986, 1990 and 1994.^[155]^[156] While he was primarily a creative playmaker, Maradona was also known for his finishing and goalscoring ability.^[105]^[157] Former Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi also praised Maradona for his defensive work-rate off the ball in a 2010 interview with Il Corriere dello Sport.^[158]

The team leader on and off the field – he would speak up on a range of issues on behalf of the players – Maradona's ability as a player and his overpowering personality had a major positive effect on his team, with his 1986 World Cup teammate Jorge Valdano stating:

Maradona was a technical leader: a guy who resolved all difficulties that may come up on the pitch. Firstly, he was in charge of making the miracles happen, that's something that gives team-mates a lot of confidence. Secondly, the scope of his celebrity was such that he absorbed all the pressures on behalf of his team-mates. What I mean is: one slept soundly the night before a game not just because you knew you were playing next to Diego and Diego did things no other player in the world could do, but also because unconsciously we knew that if it was the case that we lost then Maradona would shoulder more of the burden, would be blamed more, than the rest of us. That was the kind of influence he exercised on the team.^[159]

Lauding the "charisma" of Maradona, another of his Argentina teammates, prolific striker Gabriel Batistuta, stated, "Diego could command a stadium, have everyone watch him. I played with him and I can tell you how technically decisive he was for the team".^[160] Napoli's former president – Corrado Ferlaino – commented on Maradona's leadership qualities during his time with the club in 2008, describing him as "a coach on the pitch."^[161]

"Even if I played for a million years, I'd never come close to Maradona. Not that I'd want to anyway. He's the greatest there's ever been."

—Lionel Messi, the player most closely identified with the "New Maradona" label.^[85]

One of Maradona's trademark moves was dribbling full-speed on the right wing, and on reaching the opponent's goal line, delivering accurate passes to his teammates. Another trademark was the rabona, a reverse-cross pass shot behind the leg that holds all the weight.^[162] This manoeuvre led to several assists, such as the cross for Ramón Díaz's header against Switzerland in 1980.^[163] Moreover, he was also a well–known proponent of the roulette, a feint which involved him dragging the ball back first with one foot and then the other, while simultaneously performing a 360° turn; due to his penchant for using this move, it has even occasionally been described as the "Maradona turn" in the media.^[164] He was also a dangerous free kick and penalty kick taker, who was renowned for his ability to bend the ball from corners and direct set pieces.^[165]^[166]^[167] Regarded as one of the best dead-ball specialists of all time,^[168]^[169]^[170]^[171] his free kick technique, which often saw him raise his knee at a high angle when striking the ball, thus enabling him to lift it high over the wall, allowed him to score free kicks even from close range, within 22 to 17 yards (20 to 16 metres) from the goal, or even just outside the penalty area.^[172] His style of taking free kicks influenced several other specialists, including Gianfranco Zola,^[170] Andrea Pirlo,^[173] and Lionel Messi.^[174]

Maradona was famous for his cunning personality.^[175] Some critics view his controversial "Hand of God" goal at the 1986 World Cup as a clever manoeuvre, with one of the opposition players, Glenn Hoddle, admitting that Maradona had disguised it by flicking his head at the same time as palming the ball.^[176] The goal itself has been viewed as an embodiment of the Buenos Aires shanty town Maradona was brought up in and its concept of viveza criolla—"cunning of the criollos".^[177] Although critical of the illegitimate first goal, England striker Gary Lineker conceded, "When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal. He's the greatest player of all time, by a long way. A genuine phenomenon."^[13] Maradona used his hand in the 1990 World Cup, again without punishment, and this time on his own goal line, to prevent the Soviet Union from scoring.^[178] A number of publications have referred to Maradona as the Artful Dodger, the urchin pickpocket from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.^[179]^[180]^[181]^[182]

Maradona was dominantly left-footed, often using his left foot even when the ball was positioned more suitably for a right-footed connection.^[183] His first goal against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup semi-final is a worthy indicator of such; he had run into the inside right channel to receive a pass but let the ball travel across to his left foot, requiring more technical ability. During his run past several England players in the previous round for the "Goal of the Century" he did not use his right foot once, despite spending the whole movement on the right-hand side of the pitch. In the 1990 World Cup second-round tie against Brazil, he used his right foot to set up the winning goal for Claudio Caniggia due to two Brazilian markers forcing him into a position that made use of his left foot less practical.^[184]

Reception

[edit]

Pelé scored more goals. Lionel Messi has won more trophies. Both have lived more stable lives than the overweight former cocaine addict who tops this list, whose relationship with football became increasingly strained the longer his career continued. If you've seen Diego Maradona with a football at his feet, you'll understand.
— Andrew Murray on Maradona topping FourFourTwo magazine's "100 Greatest Footballers Ever" list, July 2017.^[185]

Maradona is widely regarded as the best player of his generation.^[152] He is considered one of the greatest players of all time by pundits, players, and managers,^[85]^[186]^[187] and by some as the best player ever.^[185]^[188]^[189]^[190] Known as one of the most skilful players in the game, he is regarded as one of the greatest dribblers^[108]^[141]^[148]^[149] and free kick takers in history.^[168]^[169]^[170]^[171] A precocious talent in his youth,^[138] in addition to his playing ability, Maradona also drew praise from his former manager Menotti for his dedication, determination, and the work-ethic he demonstrated in order to improve the technical aspect of his game in training, despite his natural gifts, with the manager noting: "I'm always cautious about using the word 'genius'. I find it hard to apply that even to Mozart. The beauty of Diego's game has a hereditary element – his natural ease with the ball – but it also owes a lot to his ability to learn: a lot of those brushstrokes, those strokes of 'genius', are in fact a product of his hard work. Diego worked very hard to be the best."^[191] Maradona's former Napoli manager – Ottavio Bianchi – also praised his discipline in training, commenting: "Diego is different to the one that they depict. When you got him on his own he was a very good kid. It was beautiful to watch him and coach him. They all speak of the fact that he did not train, but it was not true because Diego was the last person to leave the pitch, it was necessary to send him away because otherwise he would stay for hours to invent free kicks."^[192] However, although, as Bianchi noted, Maradona was known for making "great plays" and doing "unimaginable" and "incredible things" with the ball during training sessions,^[193]^[194]^[195] and would even go through periods of rigorous exercise, he was equally known for his limited work-rate in training without the ball, and even gained a degree of infamy during his time in Italy for missing training sessions with Napoli, while he often trained independently instead of with his team.^[193]^[196]^[197]^[198]

In a 2019 documentary film on his life, Diego Maradona, Maradona confessed that his weekly regime consisted of "playing a game on Sunday, going out until Wednesday, then hitting the gym on Thursday." Regarding his inconsistent training regimen, the film's director, Asif Kapadia, commented in 2020: "He had a metabolism. He would look so incredibly out of shape, but then he'd train like crazy and sweat it off by the time matchday came along. His body shape just didn't look like a footballer, but then he had this ability and this balance. He had a way of being, and that idea of talking to him honestly about how a typical week transpired was pretty amazing." He also revealed that Maradona was ahead of his time in the fact that he had a personal fitness coach – Fernando Signorini – who trained him in a variety of areas, in addition to looking after his physical conditioning, adding: "While he [Maradona] was in a football team he had his own regime. How many players would do that? How many players would even know to think like that? 'I'm different to anyone else so I need to train at what I'm good at and what I'm weak at.' Signorini is very well read and very intelligent. He would literally say, 'This is the way I'm going to train you, read this book.' He would help him psychologically, talk to him about philosophy, and things like that."^[199]^[200] Moreover, Maradona was notorious for his poor diet and extreme lifestyle off the pitch, including his use of illicit drugs and alcohol abuse, which along with personal issues, his metabolism, medication that he was prescribed, and periods of inactivity due to injuries and suspensions, led to his significant weight–gain and physical decline as his career progressed; his lack of discipline and difficulties in his turbulent personal life are thought by some in the sport to have negatively impacted his performances and longevity in the later years of his playing career.^[191]^[201]

A controversial figure in the sport, while he earned critical acclaim from players, pundits and managers over his playing style, he also drew criticism in the media for his temper and confrontational behaviour, both on and off the pitch.^[202]^[203]^[204] However, in 2005, Paolo Maldini described Maradona both as the greatest player he ever faced, and also as the most honest, stating: "He was a model of good behaviour on the pitch – he was respectful of everyone, from the great players down to the ordinary team member. He was always getting kicked around and he never complained – not like some of today's strikers."^[205] Franco Baresi stated when he was asked who was his greatest opponent: "Maradona; when he was on form, there was almost no way of stopping him,"^[63] while fellow former Italy defender Giuseppe Bergomi described Maradona as the greatest player of all time in 2018.^[206] Zlatan Ibrahimović said that his off-field antics did not matter, and that he should only be judged for the impact he made on the field. "For me Maradona is more than football. What he did as a footballer, in my opinion, he will be remembered forever. When you see number 10 who do you think about? Maradona. It is a symbol, even today there are those who choose that number for him."^[207]

Today his skills would afford him greater protection. Back then they merely served as the red rag of provocation that would guarantee he would be the victim of brutal challenges wherever he played. The rules changed as a direct result of some of the injuries Maradona received. When I interviewed him a few years ago, he told me he thought players such as Lionel Messi owed him a great deal because some of the tackles he had endured would never be allowed today.
— Guillem Balagué writing for the BBC in 2020 on 'the magician, the cheat, the god, the flawed genius'.^[41]

In 1999, Maradona was placed second behind Pelé by World Soccer in the magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century".^[208] Along with Pelé, Maradona was one of the two joint winners of the "FIFA Player of the Century" award in 2000,^[209]^[186] and also placed fifth in "IFFHS' Century Elections".^[210] In a 2014 FIFA poll, Maradona was voted the second-greatest number 10 of all time, behind only Pelé,^[211] and later that year, was ranked second in The Guardian's list of the 100 greatest World Cup players of all time, ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, once again behind Pelé.^[212] In 2017, FourFourTwo ranked him in first place in their list of "100 greatest players",^[185] while in 2018 he was ranked in first place by the same magazine in their list of the "Greatest Football Players in World Cup History";^[213] in March 2020, he was also ranked first by Jack Gallagher of 90min.com in their list of "Top 50 Greatest Players of All Time".^[214] In May 2020, Sky Sports ranked Maradona as the best player never to have won the UEFA Champions League/European Cup.^[215]

Retirement and tributes

[edit]

Hounded for years by the press, Maradona once fired a compressed-air rifle at reporters whom he claimed were invading his privacy.^[216]^[217] This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarises the feelings of many:

He is someone many people want to emulate, a controversial figure, loved, hated, who stirs great upheaval, especially in Argentina... Stressing his personal life is a mistake. Maradona has no peers inside the pitch, but he has turned his life into a show, and is now living a personal ordeal that should not be imitated.^[218]

In 1990, the Konex Foundation from Argentina granted him the Diamond Konex Award, one of the most prestigious culture awards in Argentina, as the most important personality in sports in the last decade in his country.^[219]

In April 1996, Maradona had a three-round exhibition boxing match with Santos Laciar for charity.^[220] In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am The Diego"), which became a bestseller in Argentina.^[221] Two years later, Maradona donated the Cuban royalties of his book to "the Cuban people and Fidel".^[222]

In 2000, he won FIFA Player of the Century award which was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury. Maradona won the Internet-based poll, garnering 53.6% of the votes against 18.53% for Pelé.^[223] In spite of this, and shortly before the ceremony, FIFA added a second award and appointed a "Football Family" committee composed of football journalists that also gave to Pelé the title of best player of the century to make it a draw. Maradona also came fifth in the vote of the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics).^[210] In 2001, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) asked FIFA for authorization to retire the jersey number 10 for Maradona. FIFA did not grant the request, even though Argentine officials have maintained that FIFA hinted that it would.^[224]

Maradona has topped a number of 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. On 22 March 2010, Maradona was chosen number 1 in 'The Greatest 10 World Cup Players of All Time' by the London-based newspaper The Times.^[225] Argentinos Juniors named its stadium after Maradona on 26 December 2003. In 2003, Maradona was employed by the Libyan footballer Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, as a "technical consultant", while Al-Saadi was playing for the Italian club, Perugia, which was playing in Serie A at the time.^[226]

On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to former club 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).^[228]^[229] His contract began 1 August 2005, and one of his first recommendations proved to be very effective: advising the club to hire Alfio Basile as the new coach.^[230] With Maradona fostering a close relationship with the players, Boca won the 2005 Apertura, the 2006 Clausura, the 2005 Copa Sudamericana, and the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana.^[231]

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.^[232] However, the show also included a cartoon villain with a clear physical resemblance to Pelé. In subsequent evenings, La Noche del 10 led the ratings on all occasions but one. Most guests were drawn from the worlds of football and show business, including Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, but also included interviews with other notable friends and personalities such as Cuban leader Fidel Castro and boxers Roberto Durán and Mike Tyson.^[233] Maradona gave each of his guests a signed Argentina jersey, which Tyson wore when he arrived in Brazil, Argentina's biggest rivals.^[234] In November 2005, however, Maradona rejected an offer to work with Argentina's national football team.^[235]

In May 2006, Maradona agreed to take part in UK's Soccer Aid (a program to raise money for UNICEF).^[236] 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. On 26 August 2006, it was announced that Maradona was quitting his position in the club Boca Juniors because of disagreements with the AFA, who selected Alfio Basile to be the new coach of the Argentina national team.^[237] In 2008, Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica made Maradona, a documentary about Maradona's life.^[238]

On 1 September 2014, Maradona, along with many current and former footballing stars, took part in the "Match for Peace", which was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with the proceeds being donated entirely to charity.^[239] Maradona set up a goal for Roberto Baggio during the first half of the match, with a chipped through-ball over the defence with the outside of his left foot.^[240] Unusually, both Baggio and Maradona wore the number 10 shirt, despite playing on the same team.^[240] On 17 August 2015, Maradona visited Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian referee of the Argentina–England quarter-final match at the 1986 World Cup where Maradona scored his Hand of God, and paid tribute to him by giving him a signed Argentine jersey.^[241]^[242]

Managerial career

[edit]

Club management

[edit]

Maradona began his managerial career alongside former Argentinos Juniors midfield teammate Carlos Fren. The pair led Mandiyú of Corrientes in 1994 and Racing Club in 1995, with little success.^[175]^[243] In May 2011 he became manager of Dubai club Al Wasl FC in the United Arab Emirates.^[244]^[245] Maradona was sacked on 10 July 2012.^[246]^[247]^[248] In August 2013, Maradona moved on to become 'spiritual coach' at Argentine club Deportivo Riestra.^[249] Maradona departed this role in 2017 to become the head coach of Fujairah, in the UAE second division, before leaving at the end of the season upon failure to secure promotion at the club.^[250]^[251] In May 2018, Maradona was announced as the new chairman of Belarusian club Dynamo Brest.^[252] He arrived in Brest and was presented by the club to start his duties in July.^[253] In September 2018, he was appointed manager of Mexican second division side Dorados.^[254] He made his debut with Dorados on 17 September with a 4–1 victory over Cafetaleros de Tapachula.^[255] On 13 June 2019, after Dorados failed to clinch promotion to the Mexican top flight, Maradona's lawyer announced that he would be stepping down from the role, citing health reasons.^[256]

On 5 September 2019, Maradona was unveiled as the new head coach of Gimnasia de La Plata, signing a contract until the end of the season.^[257] After two months in charge he left the club on 19 November.^[258] However, two days later, Maradona rejoined the club as manager saying that "we finally achieved political unity in the club".^[259] Maradona insisted that Gabriel Pellegrino remain club president if he were to stay with Gimnasia de La Plata.^[260]^[261] However it was still not clear if Pellegrino, who declined to run for re-election,^[260]^[261] would stay on as club President.^[260]^[261] Originally scheduled to be held on 23 November,^[260] the election was delayed 15 days.^[261] On 15 December, Pellegrino, who was encouraged by Maradona to seek re-election, was re-elected to a three-year term.^[262] Despite having a bad record during the 2019–20 season, Gimnasia renewed Maradona's contract on 3 June 2020 for the 2020–21 season.^[263] In November 2020, Maradona died in post. His coaching staff resigned from the club following his death.^[264]

International management

[edit]

Maradona as coach of Argentina in 2009. He left the position after the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

After the resignation of Argentina national team coach Alfio Basile in 2008, Maradona immediately proposed his candidacy for the vacant role.^[265] According to several press sources, his major challengers included; Diego Simeone, Carlos Bianchi, Miguel Ángel Russo, and Sergio Batista.^[266] On 29 October 2008, AFA chairman Julio Grondona confirmed that Maradona would be the head coach of the national team.^[267] On 19 November, Maradona managed Argentina for the first time when they played against Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which Argentina won 1–0.^[268]

After winning his first three matches as the coach of the national team, he oversaw a 6–1 defeat to Bolivia, equalling the team's worst ever margin of defeat.^[269]^[270] With two matches remaining in the qualification tournament for the 2010 World Cup, Argentina was in fifth place and faced the possibility of failing to qualify, but victory in the last two matches secured qualification for the finals.^[271]^[272] After Argentina's qualification, Maradona used abusive language at the live post-game press conference, telling members of the media to "suck it and keep on sucking it".^[273] FIFA responded with a two-month ban on all footballing activity, which expired on 15 January 2010, and a CHF 25,000 fine, with a warning as to his future conduct.^[274] The friendly match scheduled to take place at home to the Czech Republic on 15 December, during the period of the ban, was cancelled. The only match Argentina played during Maradona's ban was a friendly away to Catalonia, which they lost 4–2.^[275]

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Argentina started by winning 1–0 against Nigeria, followed by a 4–1 victory over South Korea on the strength of a Gonzalo Higuaín hat-trick.^[276]^[277] In the final match of the group stage, Argentina won 2–0 against Greece to win the group and advance to a second round, meeting Mexico.^[278] After defeating Mexico 3–1, however, Argentina was routed by Germany 4–0 in the quarter-finals to go out of the competition.^[279] Argentina was ranked fifth in the tournament.^[280] After the defeat to Germany, Maradona admitted that he was reconsidering his future as Argentina's coach, stating, "I may leave tomorrow."^[281] On 15 July, the AFA said that he would be offered a new four-year deal that would keep him in charge through to the summer of 2014 when Brazil staged the World Cup.^[282] On 27 July, however, the AFA announced that its board had unanimously decided not to renew his contract.^[283] Afterwards, on 29 July, Maradona claimed that AFA president Julio Grondona and director of national teams (as well as his former Argentine national team and Sevilla coach) Carlos Bilardo had "lied to", "betrayed", and effectively sacked him from the role. He said, "They wanted me to continue, but seven of my staff should not go on, if he told me that, it meant he did not want me to keep working."^[284]

Personal life

[edit]

Family

[edit]

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,^[285] 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).^[286]

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 Naples for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on other occasions, including the Argentina games during 2006 World Cup.^[287] 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 DNA tests 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.^[288] Sinagra is now a footballer playing in Italy.^[289]

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 West in Los Angeles.^[290]^[291]

Maradona's relationship with his immediate family was a close one. In a 1990 interview with Sports Illustrated, he showed phone bills where he had spent a minimum of $15,000 US per month calling his parents and siblings.^[292] 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.^[293]

In 2014, Maradona was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Rocío Oliva, allegations which he denied.^[294]^[295] In 2017, he gifted her a house in Bella Vista, but in December 2018 they split up.^[296] Maradona's great-nephew Hernán López is also a professional footballer.^[297]

Drug abuse and health problems

[edit]

From the mid-1980s until 2004, Maradona was addicted to cocaine. He allegedly began using the drug in Barcelona in 1983.^[299] By the time he was playing for Napoli, he had a full-blown addiction, which interfered with his ability to play football.^[300] In the midst of his drug crisis in 1991, Maradona was asked by journalists if the hit song "Mi enfermedad" (lit. 'My Disease') was dedicated to him.^[301] Maradona was banned from football in both 1991 and 1994 for abusing drugs.^[302]

Maradona had a tendency to put on weight and suffered increasingly from obesity, at one point weighing 280 lb (130 kg). He was obese from the end of his playing career until undergoing gastric bypass surgery in a clinic in Cartagena, Colombia, on 6 March 2005. His surgeon said that Maradona would follow a liquid diet for three months in order to return to his normal weight.^[303] When Maradona resumed public appearances shortly thereafter, he displayed a notably thinner figure.^[304]

On 29 March 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 readmitted two days later.^[305] In the following days, there were constant rumours about his health, including three false claims of his death within a month.^[306] After being transferred to a psychiatric clinic specializing in alcohol-related problems, Maradona was discharged on 7 May.^[307] On 8 May, Maradona appeared on Argentine television and stated that he had quit drinking and had not used drugs in two and a half years.^[308] During the 2018 World Cup match between Argentina and Nigeria, Maradona was shown on television cameras behaving extremely erratically, with an abundance of white residue visible on the glass in front of his seat in the stands. The smudges could have been fingerprints, and he later blamed his behaviour on consuming lots of wine.^[309] In January 2019, Maradona underwent surgery after a hernia caused internal bleeding in his stomach.^[310]

Political views

[edit]

Maradona was ideologically left-wing.^[311] He supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and condemned Israel's military strikes in the Gaza Strip during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, saying: "What Israel is doing to the Palestinians is shameful."^[312] He became friends with Cuban president Fidel Castro while receiving treatment on the island, with Castro stating, "Diego is a great friend and very noble, too. There's also no question he's a wonderful athlete and has maintained a friendship with Cuba to no material gain of his own."^[85] Maradona had a portrait of Castro tattooed on his left leg and one of Fidel's second in command, fellow Argentine Che Guevara on his right arm.^[313] In his autobiography, El Diego, he dedicated the book to various people, including Castro. He wrote: "To Fidel Castro and, through him, all the Cuban people."^[314] In 1990, he visited Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square.^[315]

Maradona voiced support for Bolivia's president Evo Morales^[316] and was also a supporter of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In 2005, he came to Venezuela to meet Chávez, who received him in the presidential Miraflores Palace. After the meeting, Maradona said that he had come to meet a "great man" (un grande, which can also mean "a big man", in Spanish), but had instead met a gigantic man (un gigante). He also stated, "I believe in Chávez, I am a Chavista. Everything Fidel does, everything Chávez does, for me is the best."^[317] Maradona was Chávez's guest of honour at the opening game of the 2007 Copa América held in Venezuela.^[318] In a 2017 interview, Maradona praised Russian president Vladimir Putin and considered him, along with Chavez and Castro, to be among the best political leaders in the world, stating: "Putin is a man who can bring peace to many in this world. He’s a phenomenon; simply a phenomenon".^[319]

Many sportsmen claim to be champions of the people, but Maradona's populism is underwritten by his itinerary — the proletarian strongholds of Buenos Aires, Naples, and now Havana.
— Martin Amis writing for The Guardian, 2004.^[320]

In 2004, Maradona participated in a protest against the U.S.-led war in Iraq.^[311] Maradona declared his opposition to what he identified as imperialism, particularly during the 2005 Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. There he protested George W. Bush's presence in Argentina, wearing a T-shirt labelled "STOP BUSH" (with the "s" in "Bush" being replaced with a swastika) and referring to Bush as "human garbage".^[321]^[322] In August 2007, Maradona went further, making an appearance on Chávez's weekly television show Aló Presidente and saying, "I hate everything that comes from the United States. I hate it with all my strength."^[323] By December 2008, Maradona seemed to adopt a more positive U.S. attitude and expressed admiration for Bush's successor, then-President-elect Barack Obama, for whom he had great expectations.^[227] However, in 2017, Maradona was critical of President Donald Trump and called him "a cartoon character".^[324]

"I asked myself, 'Who is this man? Who is this footballing magician, this Sex Pistol of international football, this cocaine victim who kicked the habit, looked like Falstaff and was as weak as spaghetti?' If Andy Warhol had still been alive, he would have definitely put Maradona alongside Marilyn Monroe and Mao Tse-tung. I'm convinced that if he hadn't been a footballer, he'd've become a revolutionary."

—Emir Kusturica, film director^[85]

With his poor shanty town (villa miseria) upbringing, Maradona cultivated a man-of-the-people persona.^[325] During a meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1987, they clashed on the issue of wealth disparity, with Maradona stating, "I argued with him because I was in the Vatican and I saw all these golden ceilings and afterwards I heard the Pope say the Church was worried about the welfare of poor kids. Sell your ceiling then, amigo, do something!"^[325] In September 2014, Maradona met with Pope Francis in Rome, crediting Francis for inspiring him to return to religion after many years away; he stated: "We should all imitate Pope Francis. If each one of us gives something to someone else, no one in the world would be starving."^[326]

In December 2007, Maradona presented a signed shirt with a message of support to the people of Iran: it is displayed in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' museum.^[327] In April 2013, Maradona visited the tomb of Hugo Chávez and urged Venezuelans to elect the late leader's designated successor, Nicolás Maduro, to continue the socialist leader's legacy; "Continue the struggle," Maradona said on television.^[328] Maradona attended Maduro's final campaign rally in Caracas, signing footballs and kicking them to the crowd, and presented Maduro with an Argentina jersey.^[328] Having visited Chávez's tomb with Maradona, Maduro said, "Speaking with Diego was very emotional because comandante Chávez also loved him very much."^[328] Maradona participated and danced at the electoral campaign rally during the 2018 presidential elections in Venezuela.^[329]^[330] During the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, the Mexican Football Federation fined him for violating their code of ethics and dedicating a team victory to Nicolás Maduro.^[331]

Maradona in his 2000 autobiography Yo Soy El Diego, linked the "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup to the Falklands War: "Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas [Falklands] War, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge."^[332] In October 2015, Maradona thanked Queen Elizabeth II and the Houses of Parliament in London for giving him the chance to provide "true justice" as head of an organization designed to help young children.^[333] In a video released on his official Facebook page, Maradona confirmed he would accept their nomination for him to become Latin American director for the non-governmental organization Football for Unity.^[333]

Failure to pay tax

[edit]

In March 2009, Italian officials announced that Maradona still owed the Italian government €37 million in local taxes, €23.5 million of which was accrued interest on his original debt. They reported that at that point, Maradona had paid only €42,000, two luxury watches and a set of earrings.^[334]^[335] He was posthumously cleared of the accusations in January 2024 by the Supreme Court of Cassation.^[336]

Death

[edit]

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.^[337] A day later, he underwent emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural hematoma.^[338] He was released on 12 November after successful surgery and was supervised by doctors as an outpatient.^[339] 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.^[340]^[341] 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.^[342] 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.^[343]^[344] 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.^[345]

Tributes

[edit]

"I have lost a great friend and the world has lost a legend. There's still so much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to his relatives. One day I hope we can play football together in heaven."

— Pelé paying tribute following Maradona's death^[346]

In a statement on social media, the Argentine Football Association expressed "its deepest sorrow for the death of our legend", adding: "You will always be in our hearts."^[347] President Alberto Fernández announced three days of national mourning.^[348] UEFA and CONMEBOL announced that every match in the Champions League, Europa League, Copa Libertadores, and Copa Sudamericana would hold a moment of silence prior to kickoff.^[349]^[350] Boca Juniors' game was postponed in respect to Maradona.^[351] Subsequently, other confederations around the world followed suit, with every fixture observing a minute of silence, starting with the AFC Champions League's fixtures.^[352] In addition to the minute of silence in Serie A, an image of Maradona was projected on stadium screens in the 10th minute of play.^[353]

In Naples, the Stadio San Paolo—officially renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on 4 December 2020—was illuminated at night in honour of Maradona, with numerous fans gathering outside the stadium placing murals and paintings as a tribute. Both Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis and the mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris expressed their desire to rename their stadium after Maradona, which was unanimously approved by Naples City Council.^[72] Prior to Napoli's Europa League match against Rijeka the day after Maradona's death, all of the Napoli players wore shirts with "Maradona 10" on the back of them, before observing a minute of silence.^[354] Figures in the sport from every continent around the world also paid tribute to him.^[346]^[355]^[356] Celebrities and other sports people outside football also paid tribute to Maradona.^[357]^[358]^[359]^[360]^[361]

On 27 November 2020, the Aditya School of Sports in Barasat, Kolkata, India named their cricket stadium after Maradona.^[362] Three years earlier Maradona had conducted a workshop with 100 kids in the stadium and played a charity match at the same venue with former Indian cricket captain, Sourav Ganguly.^[362] The AFA announced that the 2020 Copa de la Liga Profesional, which is the debut season of Copa de la Liga Profesional, would be renamed Copa Diego Armando Maradona.^[363] On 28 November, Pakistan Football Federation's main cup PFF National Challenge Cup honoured Maradona along with Wali Mohammad. In a rugby union test match between Argentina and New Zealand on 28 November, as the New Zealand team lined up to perform the haka their captain Sam Cane presented a black jersey with Maradona's name and his number 10.^[364]^[365] On 29 November, compatriot Lionel Messi scored in Barcelona's 4–0 home win over Osasuna in La Liga, dedicating his goal to Maradona by revealing a Newell's Old Boys shirt worn by the latter under his own, and subsequently pointing to the sky.^[366]

On 30 November, after Boca Juniors opened the scoring against Newell's Old Boys at La Bombonera, the club's players paid an emotional tribute by laying a Maradona jersey in front of his private suite where his daughter Dalma was present.^[367]

Aftermath

[edit]

In May 2021, seven medical professionals were charged with homicide over Maradona's death, in violation of their duties, and could face between eight and 25 years in prison if convicted.^[368] On 25 June, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov was summoned by the Prosecution Office of San Isidro and faced a formal questioning, where she agreed to answer more than 100 queries regarding the medical treatment given to Maradona in that medical field.^[369]^[370] After seven hours of questioning, Cosachov's lawyer Vadim Mischanchuk addressed the press and denied that Cosachov's prescription medication could have worsened Maradona's heart condition, and Cosachov further denied any responsibility in the death.^[371] On 28 June, multiple arrest warrants were requested by a plaintiff lawyer against Cosachov, personal doctor Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Díaz, and doctor Nancy Forlini in direct connection with Maradona's alleged negligent death.^[372] On 1 July, the prosecutors in the case refused to ask a judge to issue arrest warrants against all the aforementioned professionals, on the basis that they considered the request had been a media stunt ("incursión mediática") for the case, coinciding with personal doctor Luque's interrogation.^[373]^[374]

In June 2022, a judge ruled that eight medical personnel should face trial for criminal negligence and homicide in regards to Maradona's death.^[375]^[376]^[377]

On 18 April 2023, the Court of Appeals and Guarantees of San Isidro upheld the June 2022 ruling where eight medical personnel, including physician Luque and psychiatrist Cosachov, should face trial on the charge of "simple homicide with malice aforethought". The accused face between eight and 25 years in prison if found guilty.^[378]

In September 2024, a criminal court in San Isidro, set the trial date for Luque, Cosachov, and other medical personnel to start on 11 March 2025.^[379]

In popular culture

[edit]

In Argentina, Maradona is considered an icon. Concerning the idolatry that exists in his country, former teammate Jorge Valdano said:

At the time that Maradona retired from active football, he left Argentina traumatized. Maradona was more than just a great footballer. He was a special compensation factor for a country that in a few years lived through several military dictatorships and social frustrations of all kinds. Maradona offered to Argentines a way out of their collective frustration, and that's why people there love him as a divine figure.^[381]

In leading his nation to the 1986 World Cup, and in particular his performance and two goals in the quarter-final against England, Guillem Balagué writes: "That Sunday in Mexico City, the world saw one man single-handedly – in more than one sense of the phrase – lift the mood of a depressed and downtrodden nation into the stratosphere. With two goals in the space of four minutes, he allowed them to dare to dream that they, like him, could be the best in the world. He did it first by nefarious and then spellbindingly brilliant means. In those moments, he went from star player to legend."^[41]

Since 1986, it has been common for Argentines abroad to hear Maradona's name as a token of recognition, even in remote places.^[40] The Tartan Army sing a version of the Hokey Cokey in honour of the Hand of God goal against England.^[382] In Argentina, Maradona is often talked about in terms reserved for legends. In the Argentine film El hijo de la novia ("Son of the Bride"), somebody who impersonates a Catholic priest says to a bar patron, "They idolized him and then crucified him." When a friend scolds him for taking the prank too far, the fake priest retorts, "But I was talking about Maradona." He is the subject of the film El camino de San Diego, though he himself only appears in archive footage.^[383]

Maradona was included in many cameos in the Argentine comic book El Cazador de Aventuras. After the closing of it, the authors started a new short-lived comic book titled El Die, using Maradona as the main character. Maradona has had several online Flash games that are entirely dedicated to his legacy.^[384] In Rosario, Argentina, locals organized the parody religion of the "Church of Maradona". The organization reformulates many elements from Christian tradition, such as Christmas or prayers, reflecting instead details from Maradona. It had 200 founding members, and tens of thousands more have become members via the church's official web site.^[385]

Many Argentine artists performed songs in tribute to Diego, such as "La Mano de Dios" by El Potro Rodrigo, "Maradona" by Andrés Calamaro, "Para siempre Diego" (Diego Forever) by Los Ratones Paranoicos, "Francotirador" (Sniper) by Attaque 77, "Maradona Blues" by Charly García, "Santa Maradona" (Saint Maradona) by Mano Negra, and "La Vida Tómbola" by Manu Chao, among others. There are also other films, such as: Maradona, La Mano de Dios (Maradona, the Hand of God), Amando a Maradona (Loving Maradona), and Maradona by Kusturica.^[238] In March 1981, Queen were introduced to Maradona backstage during their concert at the Vélez Sarsfield Stadium.^[386]

By 1982, Maradona had become one of the biggest sports stars in the world and had endorsements with many companies, including Puma and Coca-Cola, earning him an additional $1.5 million per year on top of his club salary.^[387] In 1982, he featured in a World Cup commercial for Coca-Cola, and a Japanese commercial for Puma.^[387] In 1984 he earned $7m a year at Napoli, and sponsorships included $5m from Hitachi.^[320] In 1984, a poll from IMG named Maradona the best known person in the world.^[320] In 2010 he appeared in a commercial for French fashion house Louis Vuitton, indulging in a game of table football with fellow World Cup winners Pelé and Zinedine Zidane.^[388] Maradona featured in the music video to the 2010 World Cup song "Waka Waka" by Shakira, with footage shown of him celebrating Argentina winning the 1986 World Cup.^[389]

A 2006 television commercial for Brazilian soft drink Guaraná Antarctica portrayed Maradona as a member of the Brazil national team, including wearing the yellow jersey and singing the Brazilian national anthem with Brazilian players Ronaldo and Kaká.^[390] Later on in the commercial he wakes up realizing it was a nightmare after having too much of the drink. This generated some controversy in the Argentine media after its release (although the commercial was not supposed to air for the Argentine market, fans could see it online). Maradona replied that he had no problem wearing the Brazilian national squad jersey despite Argentina and Brazil's tense football rivalry, but that he would refuse to wear the shirt of River Plate, Boca Juniors' traditional rival.^[391] There is a documented phenomenon of Brazilians being named in honour of Maradona,^[392] an example being footballer Diego Costa.^[393]

In 2017, Maradona featured as a legendary player in the football video games FIFA 18 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2018.^[394] In 2019, a documentary film titled Diego Maradona was released by Academy Award and BAFTA Award winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia, director of Amy (on singer Amy Winehouse) and Senna (on motor racing driver Ayrton Senna). Kapadia stated that " ...Maradona is the third part of a trilogy about child geniuses and fame."^[395] He added, "...I was fascinated by his journey, wherever he went there were moments of incredible brilliance and drama. He was a leader, taking his teams to the very top, but also many lows in his career. He was always the little guy fighting against the system... and he was willing to do anything, to use all of his cunning and intelligence to win."^[396]

Career statistics

[edit]

Maradona made 680 appearances and scored 345 goals for club and country combined, with a goalscoring average of 0.51.

Club

[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Argentinos Juniors^[53]^[397]	1976	Argentine Primera División	11	2	–		–		–		11	2
	1977	Argentine Primera División	49	19	–		–		–		49	19
	1978	Argentine Primera División	35	26	–		–		–		35	26
	1979	Argentine Primera División	26	26	–		–		–		26	26
	1980	Argentine Primera División	45	43	–		–		–		45	43
	Total		166	116	–		–		–		166	116
Boca Juniors^[53]^[397]	1981	Argentine Primera División	40	28	–		–		–		40	28
Barcelona^[53]	1982–83	La Liga	20	11	5	3	4^[b]	5	6^[c]	4	35	23
	1983–84	La Liga	16	11	4	1	3^[b]	3	–		23	15
	Total		36	22	9	4	7	8	6	4	58	38
Napoli^[53]	1984–85	Serie A	30	14	6	3	–		–		36	17
	1985–86	Serie A	29	11	2	2	–		–		31	13
	1986–87	Serie A	29	10	10	7	2^[d]	0	–		41	17
	1987–88	Serie A	28	15	9	6	2^[e]	0	–		39	21
	1988–89	Serie A	26	9	12	7	12^[d]	3	–		50	19
	1989–90	Serie A	28	16	3	2	5^[d]	0	–		36	18
	1990–91	Serie A	18	6	3	2	4^[e]	2	1^[f]	0	26	10
	Total		188	81	45	29	25	5	1	0	259	115
Sevilla^[53]	1992–93	La Liga	26	5	4	2	–		–		30	7
Newell's Old Boys^[53]^[397]	1993–94	Argentine Primera División	5	0	–		–		–		5	0
Boca Juniors^[53]^[397]	1995–96	Argentine Primera División	24	5	–		–		–		24	5
	1996–97	Argentine Primera División	1	0	–		–		1^[g]	0	2	0
	1997–98	Argentine Primera División	5	2	–		–		–		5	2
	Total		70	35	–		–		1	0	71	35
Career total			491	259	58	35	32	13	8	4	589	311

^ Includes Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
^ ^a ^b Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup
^ Appearances in Copa de la Liga
^ ^a ^b ^c Appearances in UEFA Cup
^ ^a ^b Appearances in European Cup
^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
^ Appearance in Supercopa Libertadores

International

[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition
Team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
Team	Year	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Argentina U20^[398]	1977	3^[a]	0	–		3	0
	1978	–		–		–
	1979	11^[b]	7	1	1	12	8
	Total	14	7	1	1	15	8
Argentina^[53]^[84]	1977	–		3	0	3	0
	1978	–		1	0	1	0
	1979	2^[c]	1	6	2	8	3
	1980	–		10	7	10	7
	1981	2^[d]	1	–		2	1
	1982	5^[e]	2	5	0	10	2
	1983	–		–		–
	1984	–		–		–
	1985	6^[f]	3	4	3	10	6
	1986	7^[g]	5	3	2	10	7
	1987	4^[h]	3	2	1	6	4
	1988	2^[i]	1	1	0	3	1
	1989	6^[j]	0	1	0	7	0
	1990	7^[k]	0	3	1	10	1
	1991	–		–		–
	1992	–		–		–
	1993	3^[l]	0	1	0	4	0
	1994	2^[m]	1	5	1	7	2
	Total	46	17	45	17	91	34
Career total		60	24	46	18	106	42

Notes

^ Appearances in the 1977 South American U-20 Championship
^ Five appearances and one goal in the 1979 South American U-20 Championship, six appearances and six goals in the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship
^ Appearances in the 1979 Copa América
^ Appearances in the 1980 Mundialito
^ Appearances in the 1982 World Cup
^ Appearances in the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
^ Appearances in the 1986 World Cup
^ Appearances in the 1987 Copa América
^ Appearances in the Four Nations Tournament
^ Appearances in the 1989 Copa América
^ Appearances in the 1990 World Cup
^ One appearance in the 1993 Artemio Franchi Cup, two appearances in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
^ Appearances in the 1994 World Cup

Managerial statistics

[edit]

Team	From	To	Record
Team	From	To	G	W	D	L	Win %
Textil Mandiyú^{[citation needed]}	January 1994	June 1994	12	1	6	5	008.33
Racing Club^{[citation needed]}	May 1995	November 1995	11	2	6	3	018.18
Argentina^{[citation needed]}	November 2008	July 2010	24	18	0	6	075.00
Al-Wasl^{[citation needed]}	May 2011	July 2012	23	11	3	9	047.83
Fujairah^{[citation needed]}	April 2017	April 2018	11	7	3	1	063.64
Dorados^{[citation needed]}	September 2018	June 2019	38	20	9	9	052.63
Gimnasia de La Plata^{[citation needed]}	September 2019	November 2020	21	8	4	9	038.10
Total			140	67	31	42	047.86

Honours

[edit]

Boca Juniors^[399]

Argentine Primera División: 1981 Metropolitano

Barcelona^[399]

Napoli^[399]

Argentina U20

FIFA World Youth Championship: 1979^[399]

Argentina

Individual

Argentine Primera División top scorers: 1978 Metropolitano, 1979 Metropolitano, 1979 Nacional, 1980 Metropolitano, 1980 Nacional^[401]
FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Ball: 1979^[82]
FIFA World Youth Championship Silver Shoe: 1979^[82]
Olimpia de Oro: 1979, 1986^[402]
Guerin Sportivo World Player of the Year: 1979, 1986, 1987^[403]^[404]^[405]
Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986^[406]
El Mundo South American Footballer of the Year: 1979, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992^[401]^[407]^[408]^[409]^[410]
El Gráfico Footballer of the Americas:^[a] 1980, 1981^[411]^[412]
Guerin Sportivo World All-star Team: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985^[403]^[413]^[414]^[404]
Eric Batty's World XI: 1984, 1987^[415]
Serie A Team of The Year: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988^[416]
Guerin d'Oro (Serie A Footballer of the Year): 1985^[417]
Onze de Onze: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989^[418]
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1986^[401]
FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe: 1986^[419]
FIFA World Cup Most Assists: 1986^[420]
L'Équipe Champion of Champions: 1986^[421]
La Gazzetta dello Sport Athlete of the Year: 1986^[422]
Agence France-Presse Athlete of the Year: 1986^[422]
Associated Press Athlete of the Year: 1986^[422]
United Press International Athlete of the Year: 1986^[423]
Corriere dello Sport Athlete of the Year: 1986^[424]
Onze d'Or: 1986, 1987^[418]
La Gazzetta dello Sport Footballer of the Year: 1987, 1988^[425]^[426]
Capocannoniere (Serie A top scorer): 1987–88^[401]
Coppa Italia top scorer: 1987–88^[427]
FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1990^[401]
El País Ideal Team of the America's: 1993, 1995^[428]
FIFA World Cup All-Time Team: 1994^[429]
Ballon d'Or for services to football (France Football): 1995^[430]
World Team of the 20th Century: 1998^[401]
World Soccer magazine's Greatest Players of the 20th century: (#2) 1999^[208]
Argentine Sports Writers' Sportsman of the Century: 1999^[431]
Marca Leyenda: 1999^[432]
Number 10 retired by Napoli football team as a recognition to his contribution to the club: 2000^[433]
FIFA Player of the Century: 2000^[401]
FIFA Goal of the Century (for his second goal against England in 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter-final): 2002^[401]
FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2002^[434]
Golden Foot: 2003, as football legend^[435]
FIFA 100 Greatest Living Players: 2004^[401]
Argentine Senate "Domingo Faustino Sarmiento" recognition for lifetime achievement: 2005^[436]
Greatest Footballers in World Cup History: No. 1, by The Times, 2010^[437]
Best Athlete in History: No. 1, by Corriere dello Sport – Stadio, 2012^[438]
Player of the 20th Century, by Globe Soccer Awards: 2012^[439]^[440]^[441]
World Soccer magazine's Greatest XI of All Time: 2013^[442]
Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2014^[443]
AFA Team of All Time: 2015^[444]
Greatest Football Players of All-Time: No. 1 by FourFourTwo magazine, 2017^[185]
Greatest Football Players in World Cup History: No. 1, by FourFourTwo magazine, 2018^[213]
Napoli all-time Top Scorer (1991–2017)^[34]^[55]
L'Équipe's top 50 South-American footballers in history: #2^[445]
International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) Legends^[446]
Ballon d'Or Dream Team: 2020^[447]
IFFHS All-time Men's Dream Team: 2021^[448]
IFFHS South America Men's Team of All Time: 2021^[449]

Notes

^ El Grafico South American Footballer of the Year was an award that included over 130 journalists/tv broadcasters from South America

Works

[edit]

Maradona, Diego Armando (2000). Yo Soy el Diego [I Am the Diego] (in Spanish). Planeta Pub. Corp. ISBN 84-08036-74-2.
Maradona, Diego (2016). México 86 : así ganamos la copa : mi mundial, mi verdad (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Barcelona: Debate. ISBN 978-84-9992-627-8. OCLC 953395867.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

^ "Diego Armando Maradona Franco stats". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
^ "Small is beautiful". FIFA. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
^ Warrington, Mark WhiteContributions from Declan; Haugstad, Thore; Yokhin, Michael; Murray, Andrew; Stafford-Bloor, Seb; Spurling, Jon; Hess, Alex; Alves, Marcus; published, Alex Reid (5 September 2023). "Ranked! The 100 best football players of all time". fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^ Dart, James; Doyle, Paul; Hill, Jon (12 April 2006). "The greatest rags-to-riches stories ever". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Don Diego, father of Maradona, dies in Argentine clinic". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
^ "Hugo Maradona, younger brother of Diego, dies at 52". AP News. 28 December 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
^ Paul Doyle (11 July 2012). "Does Diego Maradona have a more famous brother?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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External links

[edit]

Diego Maradona: Argentina football legend dies aged 60 Archived 10 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine
Diego Maradona was addicted alcohol and marijuana cause of death Archived 10 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine
Diego Maradona – FIFA competition record (archived)
Diego Maradona – UEFA competition record (archive)

World Cup-winners status
Preceded by Carlos Alberto Torres 1944	Latest Born Captain to Die 25 November 2020 – present	Incumbent

Diego Maradona

Career

Family

Claudia Villafañe (wife)
Diego Sinagra (son)
Dalma Maradona (daughter)
Raúl Maradona (brother)
Hugo Maradona (brother)
Hernán López (great-nephew)

Media & art

Film	Hero (1987) The Road to San Diego (2006) Maradona, the Hand of God (2007) In the Hands of the Gods (2007) Maradona by Kusturica (2008) I Am Diego Maradona (2015) Diego Maradona (2019)
Television	Maradona in Mexico (2019) Maradona: Blessed Dream (2021)
Music	"Maradona (kesä '86)" (2014)
Video games	Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona (1986)

Tributes

Estadio Diego Armando Maradona (Buenos Aires)
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (Naples)
Estadio Único Diego Armando Maradona (La Plata)
New Maradona
Iglesia Maradoniana

Argentina squads

v t e Argentina squad – 1979 Copa América
MF Barbas MF Bochini DF Bordón DF Bujedo FW Castro FW Coscia FW Díaz GK Ferrero FW Fortunato MF Gaitán MF Gáspari MF Gallego MF Larraquy MF López MF Maradona DF Ocaño DF Passarella (c) DF Saporiti MF Valencia DF Van Tuyne GK Vidallé Coach: Menotti

v t e Argentina squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup
1 Ardiles 2 Baley 3 Barbas 4 Bertoni 5 Calderón 6 Díaz 7 Fillol 8 Galván 9 Gallego 10 Maradona 11 Kempes 12 Hernández 13 Olarticoechea 14 Olguín 15 Passarella (c) 16 Pumpido 17 Santamaría 18 Tarantini 19 Trossero 20 Valdano 21 Valencia 22 Van Tuyne Coach: Menotti

v t e Argentina squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup winners (2nd title)
1 Almirón 2 Batista 3 Bochini 4 Borghi 5 Brown 6 Passarella 7 Burruchaga 8 Clausen 9 Cuciuffo 10 Maradona (c) 11 Valdano 12 Enrique 13 Garré 14 Giusti 15 Islas 16 Olarticoechea 17 Pasculli 18 Pumpido 19 Ruggeri 20 Tapia 21 Trobbiani 22 Zelada Coach: Bilardo

v t e Argentina squad – 1987 Copa América fourth place
1 Alfaro 2 Batista 3 Caniggia 4 Dertycia 5 Brown 6 H.Díaz 7 Funes 8 Acosta 9 Cuciuffo 10 Maradona (c) 11 Percudani 12 Siviski 13 Garré 14 Giusti 15 Islas 16 Olarticoechea 17 Pasculli 18 Goycochea 19 Ruggeri 20 Tapia 21 Theiler 22 Bartero Coach: Bilardo

v t e Argentina squad – 1989 Copa América third place
1 Pumpido 2 Batista 3 Alfaro Moreno 4 Balbo 5 Brown 6 Basualdo 7 Burruchaga 8 Caniggia 9 Cuciuffo 10 Maradona (c) 11 Calderón 12 Clausen 13 H. Díaz 14 Enrique 15 Giusti 16 Monzón 17 Ruggeri 18 Islas 19 Sensini 20 Troglio 21 Gorosito 22 Falcioni Coach: Bilardo

v t e Argentina squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup runners-up
1 Pumpido / Comizzo ^a 2 Batista 3 Balbo 4 Basualdo 5 Bauza 6 Calderón 7 Burruchaga 8 Caniggia 9 Dezotti 10 Maradona (c) 11 Fabbri 12 Goycochea 13 Lorenzo 14 Giusti 15 Monzón 16 Olarticoechea 17 Sensini 18 Serrizuela 19 Ruggeri 20 Simón 21 Troglio 22 Cancelarich Coach: Bilardo
^a Comizzo replaced Pumpido after Argentina's second match.

v t e Argentina squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup
1 Goycochea 2 Vázquez 3 Chamot 4 Sensini 5 Redondo 6 Ruggeri 7 Caniggia 8 Basualdo 9 Batistuta 10 Maradona (c) 11 Medina Bello 12 Islas 13 Cáceres 14 Simeone 15 Borelli 16 Díaz 17 Ortega 18 Pérez 19 Balbo 20 Rodríguez 21 Mancuso 22 Scoponi Coach: Basile

v t e Argentina squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup
1 Pozo 2 Demichelis 3 C. Rodríguez 4 Burdisso 5 Bolatti 6 Heinze 7 Di María 8 Verón 9 Higuaín 10 Messi 11 Tevez 12 Garcé 13 Samuel 14 Mascherano (c) 15 Otamendi 16 Agüero 17 Gutiérrez 18 Palermo 19 Milito 20 M. Rodríguez 21 Andújar 22 Romero 23 Pastore Coach: Maradona

Awards

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Steve Cram	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1986	Succeeded by Ben Johnson
Preceded by Hugo Porta	*Olimpia de Oro* 1986	Succeeded by Gabriela Sabatini
Preceded by Sergey Bubka	L'Équipe Champion of Champions 1986	Succeeded by ~~Ben Johnson~~

v t e 1986 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Jean-Marie Pfaff
Defenders	Josimar Manuel Amoros Júlio César
Midfielders	Jan Ceulemans Jean Tigana Michel Platini Diego Maradona
Forwards	Preben Elkjær Emilio Butragueño Gary Lineker

v t e 1990 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Sergio Goycochea Gabelo Conejo
Defenders	Andreas Brehme Paolo Maldini Franco Baresi
Midfielders	Diego Maradona Lothar Matthäus Dragan Stojković Paul Gascoigne
Forwards	Salvatore Schillaci Roger Milla Jürgen Klinsmann

FIFA World Cup winning captains

1930: Nasazzi
1934: Combi
1938: Meazza
1950: Varela
1954: Walter
1958: Bellini
1962: Mauro
1966: Moore
1970: Carlos Alberto
1974: Beckenbauer
1978: Passarella
1982: Zoff
1986: Maradona
1990: Matthäus
1994: Dunga
1998: Deschamps
2002: Cafu
2006: Cannavaro
2010: Casillas
2014: Lahm
2018: Lloris
2022: Messi

v t e FIFA U-20 World Cup awards
Golden Ball	1977: Bessonov 1979: Maradona 1981: Gabor 1983: Geovani 1985: Silas 1987: Prosinečki 1989: Bismarck 1991: Peixe 1993: Adriano 1995: Caio 1997: Olivera 1999: Keïta 2001: Saviola 2003: Matar 2005: Messi 2007: Agüero 2009: Adiyiah 2011: Henrique 2013: Pogba 2015: Traoré 2017: Solanke 2019: Lee Kang-in 2023: Casadei
Golden Boot	1977: Guina 1979: Díaz 1981: Koussas 1983: Geovani 1985: Losada 1987: Witeczek 1989: Salenko 1991: Scherbakov 1993: Zambrano 1995: Etxeberria 1997: Adaílton 1999: Couñago 2001: Saviola 2003: Johnson 2005: Messi 2007: Agüero 2009: Adiyiah 2011: Henrique 2013: Assifuah 2015: Kovalenko 2017: Orsolini 2019: Haaland 2023: Casadei
Golden Glove	2009: Alvarado 2011: Mika 2013: De Amores 2015: Rajković 2017: Woodman 2019: Lunin 2023: Desplanches

Onze d'Or

1976: Rensenbrink
1977: Keegan
1978: Kempes
1979: Keegan
1980: Rummenigge
1981: Rummenigge
1982: Rossi
1983: Platini
1984: Platini
1985: Platini
1986: Maradona
1987: Maradona
1988: Van Basten
1989: Van Basten
1990: Matthäus
1991: Papin
1992: Stoichkov
1993: Baggio
1994: Romário
1995: Weah
1996: Cantona
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Zidane
1999: Rivaldo
2000: Zidane
2001: Zidane
2002: Ronaldo
2003: Henry
2004: Drogba
2005: Ronaldinho
2006: Henry
2007: Kaká
2008: C. Ronaldo
2009: Messi
2010–11: Messi
2011–12: Messi
2012–14: not awarded
2014–15: Griezmann
2015–16: not awarded
2016–17: C. Ronaldo
2017–18: Messi
2018–19: Mané
2019–20: not awarded
2020–21: Benzema
2021–22: Benzema
2022–23: Haaland

v t e South American Footballer of the Year
Men's winners (Rey de América)
El Mundo award	1971: Tostão 1972: Cubillas 1973: Pelé 1974: Figueroa 1975: Figueroa 1976: Figueroa 1977: Zico 1978: Kempes 1979: Maradona 1980: Maradona 1981: Zico 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates 1984: Francescoli 1985: Romerito 1986: Maradona 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1991: Batistuta 1992: Maradona
El Gráfico award	1980: Maradona 1981: Maradona 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates
El País award	1986: Alzamendi 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Bebeto 1990: Amarilla 1991: Ruggeri 1992: Raí 1993: Valderrama 1994: Cafu 1995: Francescoli 1996: Chilavert 1997: Salas 1998: Palermo 1999: Saviola 2000: Romário 2001: Riquelme 2002: Cardozo 2003: Tevez 2004: Tevez 2005: Tevez 2006: Fernández 2007: Cabañas 2008: Verón 2009: Verón 2010: D'Alessandro 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar 2013: Ronaldinho 2014: Gutiérrez 2015: Sánchez 2016: Borja 2017: Luan 2018: Martínez 2019: Gabriel 2020: Marinho 2021: Alvarez 2022: Pedro 2023: Cano 2024: Luiz Henrique
Women's winners (Reina de América)
El País award	2021: Tamires 2022: Caicedo 2023: Priscila

Footballer of the Year of Argentina

Original award

1970: Yazalde
1971: Pastoriza
1972: Bargas
1973: Brindisi
1974: Raimondo
1975: Scotta
1976: Passarella
1977: Fillol
1978: Kempes
1979: Maradona
1980: Maradona
1981: Maradona
1982: Gatti
1983: Bochini
1984: Márcico
1985: Francescoli
1986: Maradona
1987: Fabbri
1988: Paz
1989: Alfaro Moreno
1990: Goycochea
1991: Ruggeri
1992: Islas
1993: Medina Bello
1994: Navarro Montoya
1995: Francescoli
1996: Chilavert
1997: Salas
1998: Batistuta
1999: Saviola
2000: Riquelme
2001: Riquelme
2002: Milito
2003: Tevez
2004: Tevez
2005: Messi
2006: Verón
2007: Messi
2019: Messi
2020: Messi
2021: Messi
2022: Messi
2023: Messi
2024: E. Martínez

Shared award

Domestic	2008: Riquelme 2009: Verón 2010: J. M. Martínez 2011: Riquelme 2012: L. López 2013: M. Rodríguez 2014: Pratto 2015: Ruben 2016: Belluschi 2017: Benedetto 2018: P. Martínez
Abroad	2008: Messi 2009: Messi 2010: Messi 2011: Messi 2012: Messi 2013: Messi 2014: Di María 2015: Messi 2016: Messi 2017: Messi

v t e Argentine Primera División top scorers
1890s	1891: Archer 1892 1893: Leslie 1894: Gifford 1895: (No records) 1896: Allen / Anderson 1897: Stirling 1898: Allen 1899: Hooton
1900s	1900: Leonard 1901: Dorning 1902: J. Brown 1903: J. Brown 1904: A. Brown 1905: T. González / C. Lett 1906: E. Brown / Hooton / Lawrie / Whalley 1907: E. Brown 1908: E. Brown 1909: E. Brown
1910s	1910: Watson Hutton 1911: Malbrán / E. Lett / Piaggio 1912: Ohaco 1912 FAF: Colla 1913: Ohaco 1913 FAF: Dannaher 1914: Ohaco 1914 FAF: Carabelli 1915: Ohaco 1916: Hiller 1917: Marcovecchio 1918: Zabaleta 1919: Garasino / Martín 1919 AAmF: Marcovecchio
1920s	1920: Lucarelli 1920 AAmF: Carreras 1921: Dannaher 1921 AAmF: Zabaleta 1922: Clarke / Tarasconi 1922 AAmF: Seoane 1923: Tarasconi 1923 AAmF: Barceló 1924: Tarasconi 1924 AAmF: Lucarelli / Ravaschino 1925: Gaslini 1925 AAmF: Bellomo 1926: Cherro 1926 AAmF: Seoane 1927: Tarasconi 1928: Cherro 1929: Cortese / Seoane
1930s	1930: Cherro 1931: Zozaya 1932: B. Ferreyra 1933: Varallo 1934: Barrera 1935: Cosso 1936: Barrera 1937: Erico 1938: Erico 1939: Erico
1940s	1940: Benítez Cáceres / Lángara 1941: Canteli 1942: Martino 1943: Arrieta / Labruna / Frutos 1944: Mellone 1945: Labruna 1946: Boyé 1947: Di Stéfano 1948: Santos 1949: Simes / Pizzuti
1950s	1950: Papa 1951: Vernazza 1952: Ricagni 1953: Pizzuti / Benavídez 1954: Berni / Conde / Borello 1955: Massei 1956: Castro / Grillo 1957: Rob. Zárate 1958: Sanfilippo 1959: Sanfilippo
1960s	1960: Sanfilippo 1961: Sanfilippo 1962: Artime 1963: Artime 1964: Veira 1965: Carone 1966: Artime 1967 Met: Acosta 1967 Nac: Artime 1968 Met: Obberti 1968 Nac: Wehbe 1969 Met: Machado 1969 Nac: Fischer / Bulla
1970s	1970 Met: Más 1970 Nac: Bianchi 1971 Met: Bianchi 1971 Nac: Obberti / Luñiz 1972 Met: Brindisi 1972 Nac: Morete 1973 Met: Más / Curioni / Peña 1973 Nac: Gómez Voglino 1974 Met: Morete 1974 Nac: Kempes 1975 Met: Scotta 1975 Nac: Scotta 1976 Met: Kempes 1976 Nac: Eresuma / L. Ludueña / Marchetti 1977 Met: C. Álvarez 1977 Nac: Letanú 1978 Met: Maradona / Andreucci 1978 Nac: Reinaldi 1979 Met: Maradona / Fortunato 1979 Nac: Maradona
1980s	1980 Met: Maradona 1980 Nac: Maradona 1981 Met: Chaparro 1981 Nac: Bianchi 1982 Nac: M. Juárez 1982 Met: Morete 1983 Nac: Husillos 1983 Met: Ramos 1984 Nac: Pasculli 1984 Met: Francescoli 1985 Nac: Comas 1985–86: Francescoli 1986–87: Palma 1987–88: J. L. Rodríguez 1988–89: Dertycia / Gorosito 1989–90: Cozzoni
1990s	1990–91: E. González 1991 Ap: Díaz Cl 1992: Scotto / Latorre 1992 Ap: Acosta 1993 Cl: Da Silva 1993 Ap: Martínez 1994 Cl: Espina / Crespo 1994 Ap: Francescoli 1995 Cl: Flores 1995 Ap: Calderón 1996 Cl: A. López 1996 Ap: Reggi 1997 Cl: Martínez 1997 Ap: Da Silva 1998 Cl: Sosa 1998 Ap: Palermo 1999 Cl: Calderón 1999 Ap: Saviola
2000s	2000 Cl: Fuertes 2000 Ap: Ángel 2001 Cl: Romeo 2001 Ap: Cardetti 2002 Cl: Cavenaghi 2002 Ap: Silvera 2003 Cl: Figueroa 2003 Ap: Farías 2004 Cl: Rol. Zárate 2004 Ap: L. López 2005 Cl: Pavone 2005 Ap: Cámpora 2006 Cl: Vargas 2006 Ap: M. Zárate / Palacio 2007 Cl: Palermo 2007 Ap: Denis 2008 Cl: Cvitanich 2008 Ap: Sand 2009 Cl: Sand 2009 Ap: Silva
2010s	2010 Cl: Boselli 2010 Ap: Stracqualursi / Silva 2011 Cl: Cámpora / Gutiérrez 2011 Ap: Ramírez 2012 Cl: Luna 2012 In: F. Ferreyra / Scocco 2013 Fi: Gigliotti / Scocco 2013 In: Pereyra 2014 Fi: M. Zárate 2014 Tr: Pratto / M. Rodríguez / Romero 2015: Ruben 2016: Sand 2016–17: Benedetto 2017–18: García 2018–19: L. López
2020s	2020: Borré / Romero 2021: J. Alvarez 2022: Retegui 2023: Santos / Vegetti 2024: Jara

Serie A top scorers

Coppa Italia top scorers

1922: Bonino
1936: Buscaglia
1937: Boffi
1938: Meazza
1939: Marchetti
1940: Salvadori
1941: Amadei & Ostromann
1942: Lushta
1943: Ispiro, Mazzola & Sentimenti
1958: Humberto
1959: Charles
1960: Pistacchi
1961: Petris
1962: Gilardoni & Recagni
1963: Domenghini
1964: Hamrin & Seminario
1965: Cané, Cappellaro, Menichelli, Petroni, Riva & Rizzo
1966: Hamrin
1967: Rivera
1968: Mujesan
1969: Riva
1970: Savoldi
1971: Rivera
1972: Boninsegna
1973: Riva
1974: Savoldi
1975: Anastasi & Prati
1976: Magistrelli
1977: Braglia & Calloni
1978: Savoldi
1979: Palanca
1980: Damiani & Pruzzo
1981: Graziani
1982: Altobelli
1983: Greco
1984: Schachner
1985: Francis
1986: Cecconi
1987: Giordano
1988: Maradona
1989: Vialli
1990: Baresi
1991: Rizzitelli & Völler
1992: Melli
1993: Signori
1994: Lombardo
1995: Branca & Ravanelli
1996: Batistuta
1997: Maspero & Zamorano
1998: Bokšić, Chiesa & Signori
1999: Crespo
2000: Caccia, Di Michele, Flachi & M'Boma
2001: Schwoch
2002: Amoruso
2003: Miccoli
2004: Fiore
2005: Lazzari
2006: Del Piero
2007: Bonazzoli, Burdisso, Crespo, Flachi, Greco & Perrotta
2008: Balotelli, Cruz, Iaquinta & Pazzini
2009: Pandev
2010: Baclet & Mutu
2011: Eto'o & Evacuo
2012: Cavani
2013: Destro
2014: Callejón, De Luca, Ebagua, Evacuo, Gervinho, Insigne & Sansovini
2015: Di Natale & Gómez
2016: Bizzotto
2017: Borriello, Dybala & Pandev
2018: Cerri, Di Piazza & López
2019: Piątek
2020: Scamacca & Vano
2021: Scamacca
2022: Vlahović
2023: Cheddira
2024: Milik

UEFA Cup and Europa League winning captains

UEFA Cup era

UEFA Europa League era

v t e World Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Franz Beckenbauer Bobby Moore Nílton Santos
Midfielders	Johan Cruijff // Alfredo Di Stéfano Michel Platini
Forwards	Garrincha Diego Maradona Pelé

v t e South American Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Ubaldo Fillol
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Elías Figueroa Daniel Passarella Nílton Santos
Midfielders	Didi / Alfredo Di Stéfano Rivellino
Forwards	Garrincha Diego Maradona Pelé

v t e FIFA World Cup Dream Team
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Paolo Maldini Franz Beckenbauer Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Roberto Baggio Zinedine Zidane Michel Platini Diego Maradona
Forwards	Romário Johan Cruyff Pelé

v t e Copa América Historical Dream Team
José Luis Chilavert Héctor Chumpitaz Alfredo Di Stéfano Marco Etcheverry Elías Figueroa Diego Maradona José Nasazzi Pelé Alberto Spencer Carlos Valderrama Obdulio Varela

Ballon d'Or Dream Team

First Team

Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Cafu Franz Beckenbauer Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Diego Maradona Xavi Lothar Matthäus Pelé
Forwards	Lionel Messi Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo

Second Team

Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Franco Baresi Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	/ Alfredo Di Stéfano Andrea Pirlo Frank Rijkaard Zinedine Zidane
Forwards	Garrincha Johan Cruyff Ronaldinho

Third Team

Goalkeeper	Manuel Neuer
Defenders	Philipp Lahm Sergio Ramos Paul Breitner
Midfielders	Michel Platini Johan Neeskens Didi Andrés Iniesta
Forwards	George Best Marco van Basten Thierry Henry

v t e IFFHS Men's World Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Franco Baresi Franz Beckenbauer Bobby Moore
Midfielders	Lothar Matthäus Diego Maradona Michel Platini Johan Cruyff
Forwards	/ Ferenc Puskás Pelé // Alfredo Di Stéfano

v t e IFFHS Men's South American Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Amadeo Carrizo
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Elías Figueroa Daniel Passarella Nílton Santos
Midfielders	Didi Diego Maradona Zico
Forwards	Garrincha Pelé / Alfredo Di Stéfano

IFFHS All-time Men's World Dream Team

Dream Team

Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Cafu Franz Beckenbauer Franco Baresi Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Xavi Diego Maradona Johan Cruyff
Forwards	Cristiano Ronaldo Pelé Lionel Messi

B Team

Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Bobby Moore Daniel Passarella Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Lothar Matthäus Zinedine Zidane Michel Platini
Forwards	Ronaldo Gerd Müller / Alfredo Di Stéfano

v t e IFFHS All-time Men's South American Dream Team
Goalkeeper	Amadeo Carrizo
Defenders	Cafu Elías Figueroa Daniel Passarella Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Didi Diego Maradona Zico
Forwards	Alfredo Di Stéfano Pelé Lionel Messi

v t e FIFA 100
UEFA	Baggio Ballack Banks Baresi Van Basten Beckenbauer Beckham Bergkamp Bergomi Best Boniek Boniperti Breitner Buffon Butragueño Cantona Ceulemans Charlton Cruyff Dalglish Dasayev Davids Del Piero Desailly Deschamps Emre Eusébio Facchetti Figo Fontaine Gullit Hagi Henry Kahn Keane Keegan R. van de Kerkhof W. van de Kerkhof Klinsmann Kluivert Kopa B. Laudrup M. Laudrup Lineker Luis Enrique Maier Maldini Masopust Matthäus Müller Nedvěd Neeskens Nesta Van Nistelrooy Owen Papin Pfaff Pires Platini Puskás Raúl Rensenbrink Rijkaard Rivera Rossi Rui Costa Rummenigge Rüştü Schmeichel Seedorf Seeler Shearer Shevchenko Stoichkov Šuker Thuram Totti Trésor Trezeguet Van der Elst Vieira Vieri Zidane Zoff
CONMEBOL	Carlos Alberto Batistuta Cafu Crespo Cubillas Di Stéfano Falcão Figueroa Francescoli Júnior Kempes Maradona Passarella Pelé Rivaldo Rivelino Roberto Carlos Romário Romerito Ronaldinho Ronaldo Djalma Santos Nílton Santos Saviola Sívori Sócrates Valderrama Verón Zamorano Zanetti Zico
CAF	Diouf Milla Okocha Abedi Pelé Weah
CONCACAF	Akers Hamm Sánchez
AFC	Hong M.B. Nakata

v t e Golden Foot Legends Award
2003	Eusébio Fontaine Maradona Rivera
2004	Di Stéfano Platini Zoff
2005	Best Gento Riva Rivellino Weah
2006	Facchetti Ghiggia Kopa Puskás Zico
2007	Kempes Müller Romário Rossi Stoichkov
2008	Aldair Belanov Suárez Zidane
2009	Blokhin Boniek Higuita Rummenigge Nílton Santos
2010	Antognoni Beckenbauer Dunga Sánchez Varallo
2011	Figo Gullit Madjer Abedi Pele Zanetti
2012	Baresi Cantona Matthäus Pelé
2013	Ardiles Papin Valderrama
2014	Hamm Milla Nakata Panenka Pfaff Şükür
2015	Dasayev Hagi Passarella Trezeguet
2016	De Boer Deco Puyol Ranieri
2017	Desailly Kahn Li Mancini Owen
2018	Deschamps Leonardo Lippi Pirlo Seedorf
2019	Altafini Falcão Vieira Morace
2021	Alves Maldini Netzer Oriali Smith
2022	Butragueño Terim Verón
2024	Cannavaro Costa Krol Llorente Piqué

v t e Ballon d'Or Special awards
France Football magazine awards
Honorary Ballon d'Or	1989 (Super Ballon d'Or): / Di Stéfano 1995 (Golden Ballon d'Or): Maradona 2013 (FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur): Pelé
Football Player of the Century	1st: Pelé 2nd: Maradona 3rd: Cruyff 4th: / Di Stéfano 5th: Platini
Internationalized reevaluation	1958: Pelé 1959: Pelé 1960: Pelé 1961: Pelé 1962: Garrincha 1963: Pelé 1964: Pelé 1970: Pelé 1978: Kempes 1986: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1994: Romário
Ballon d'Or additional awards (Ballon d'Or Féminin, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy, Gerd Müller Trophy, Ballon d'Or Dream Team) Related awards (French Player of the Year, FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015), FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009), The Best FIFA Men's Player)

v t e Italian Football Hall of Fame
Italian players	Baggio Baresi Bergomi Cannavaro De Rossi Del Piero P. Maldini Nesta Pirlo Totti Vialli Zola
Coaches	Allegri Ancelotti Bagnoli Capello Conte Lippi Mancini Mazzone Mourinho Ranieri Sacchi Spalletti Trapattoni
Italian veterans	Altobelli Antognoni Boninsegna Cabrini Conti S. Mazzola Oriali Riva Rivera Rossi Tardelli Zoff
Italian referees	Agnolin Braschi Casarin Collina Gussoni Gonella Michelotti Rizzoli Rocchi Rosetti
Italian directors	Berlusconi Boniperti Braida Campana Ferlaino Galliani Marotta Matarrese Moratti Pellegrini Percassi Sartori
Foreign players	Batistuta Boniek Falcão Gullit Maradona Platini Ronaldo Rummenigge Shevchenko van Basten Zanetti Zidane
Italian female players	Bertolini Bonansea Gabbiadini Gama Giacinti Girelli Morace Panico Vignotto
Posthumous honours – Players	Amadei Anastasi Bulgarelli D'Amico Di Bartolomei Facchetti Ferrari Fogli V. Mazzola Meazza Mihajlović Monzeglio Picchi Piola Schiavio Scirea
Posthumous honours – Coaches	Bearzot Bernardini Boškov Carcano Erbstein Herrera Liedholm C. Maldini Pozzo Radice Rocco Scopigno Simoni Valcareggi Viani Vicini Weisz
Posthumous honours – Directors	U. Agnelli Allodi Barassi Dall'Ara Fini Franchi Novo
Posthumous honours – Referees	Campanati Farina Lo Bello Mauro
Davide Astori Fair Play Award	Agnese Kjær Lukaku Martelli Rullo Trocchia
Special Award	Brera Sconcerti

L'Équipe Champion of Champions

Original award

Male and female
awards separated

Male award	2012: Usain Bolt 2013: Rafael Nadal 2014: Renaud Lavillenie 2015: Usain Bolt 2016: Usain Bolt 2017: Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal 2018: Marcel Hirscher 2019: Rafael Nadal 2020: Lewis Hamilton 2021: Novak Djokovic 2022: Lionel Messi 2023: Novak Djokovic 2024: Léon Marchand
Female award	2012: Serena Williams 2013: Serena Williams 2014: Katie Ledecky 2015: Serena Williams 2016: Simone Biles 2017: Katie Ledecky 2018: Simone Biles 2019: Simone Biles 2020: Marte Olsbu Røiseland 2021: Elaine Thompson-Herah 2022: Iga Świątek 2023: Simone Biles 2024: Simone Biles

Diego Maradona managerial positions

Racing Club de Avellaneda – managers

Stábile (1946–53)
Della Torre (1954)
D'Amico (1954)
Ongaro (1955–57)
Della Torre (1958–60)
Ongaro (1961)
Verdeal (1962)
Rossi (1963)
Anido (1964)
Giménez (1964)
Della Torre (1964)
Garczía Pérez (1965)
Pizzuti (1965–69)
Santiago (1970)
Sánchez (1970)
Urriolabeitía (1970)
Spinetto (1970)
Maschio (1971)
D'Amico (1971)
Spinetto (1971)
Rodríguez (1972)
Rulli (1973)
Griguol (1973)
Labruna (1973)
Pizzuti (1974)
Santiago (1975)
Zubeldía (1975)
Giménez (1976)
Iturrieta (1976)
Dellacha (1976)
Basile (1977)
Giménez (1977)
Cejas (1977)
Rodríguez (1978)
Cejas (1978)
Urriolabeitía (1978)
Sívori (1979)
Hernández (1979)
Cavagnaro (1979)
Lorenzo (1980)
Cejas (1980)
V.Rodríguez (1980)
Pastoriza (1981)
Collazo (1982)
Cavagnaro (1982)
Domínguez (1982)
Salguiero (1983)
Pizzutti (1983)
Cejas (1984)
Castelli (1984)
Rodríguez (1985)
Giménez (1985)
Basile (1985)
Domínguez (1986)
Rocchia (1986)
Basile (1986–89)
Martínez (1989)
Marchetta (1989–90)
Chabay (1990)
Oleniak (1990)
Perfumo (1991)
Sosa (1991)
Grondona (1992)
Solari (1993)
Pizzuti-Della Pica (1993)
Babington (1993–94)
Della Pica (1994)
Cubilla (1994)
Martínez (1994)
Maradona-Fren (1995)
Martínez (1995)
Marchetta (1995)
Domínguez (1995)
Brindisi (1995–96)
Basile (1996–97)
Babington (1997–98)
Cappa (1998)
Zapata (1998)
Costas-Maschio (1999–2000)
Jorge (2000)
O. López-Cavallero (2000–01)
Merlo (2001–02)
Ardiles (2002–03)
Comisso (2003)
Cappa (2003)
Colombatti^c (2003)
Fillol (2004)
Rivarola (2004–05)
Quiroz (2005–06)
Fanesi (2005–06)
Simeone (2006)
Merlo (2006–07)
Costas (2007)
Micó (2007–08)
Llop (2008–09)
Caruso Lombardi (2009)
Barbas^c (2009)
Vivas (2009–10)
Russo (2010–11)
Simeone (2011)
Basile (2012)
Zubeldía (2012–13)
Ischia (2013)
Merlo (2013–14)
Radaelli^c (2014)
Cocca (2014–15)
Sava (2016)
Úbeda^c (2016)
Zielinski (2016)
Cocca (2017)
Fleita^c (2017)
Coudet (2018–19)
Beccacece (2020–21)
Pizzi (2021)
Úbeda^c (2021)
Gago (2021–23)
Grazzini-Videla^c (2023)
Costas (2024–)

(c) = caretaker manager

Argentina national football team – managers

Vázquez (1924–25)
Lago Millán (1927–28)
Olazar (1928–29)
Olazar & Tramutola (1929–30)
Pascucci (1934)
Seoane (1934–37)
Fernández Roca (1937–39)
Stábile (1939–58)
Barreiro, Della Torre & Spinetto (1959)
Stábile (1960)
Spinetto (1960–61)
D'Amico (1961)
Lorenzo (1962)
Rossi (1962)
López (1962)
D'Amico (1963)
Minella (1964–65)
Zubeldía (1965)
Lorenzo (1966)
López (1967)
Faraone (1967)
Cesarini (1967–68)
Minella (1968)
Maschio (1969)
Pedernera (1969)
Pizzuti (1970–72)
Sívori (1972–73)
Cap (1974)
Menotti (1974–82)
Bilardo (1982–90)
Basile (1990–94)
Passarella (1994–98)
Bielsa (1998–2004)
Pékerman (2004–06)
Basile (2006–08)
Maradona (2008–10)
Batista (2010–11)
Sabella (2011–14)
Martino (2014–16)
Bauza (2016–17)
Sampaoli (2017–18)
Scaloni (2018–)

Al Wasl – managers

Salem (1960–70)
Al-Jarman (1971)
Osman (1972–73)
Valinhos (1980–81)
Santana (1981–86)
Shehata (1986–88)
Lopes (1988–89)
Nunes (1989–90)
Davidovic (1991–92)
Nordin (1995–96)
Ivić (1996)
Bernardes (1996–97)
Laurier (1997–98)
Bernardes (1998)
Campos (1999)
Kasperczak (1999–00)
Laurier (2000)
Hickersberger (2000–01)
Lasarte (2002–03)
Al Shamsi (2003)
Begović (2004–05)
Hašek (2005)
Mario (2006–07)
Beránek (2007–08)
Juričić (2008)
Guimarães (2009–10)
Al Shamsi (2010)
Farias (2010–11)
Maradona (2011–12)
Metsu (2012)
Lacombe (2012–13)
Baroot (2013)
Banide (2013)
Cúper (2013–14)
Jorginho (2014)
Calderón (2014–16)
Arruabarrena (2016–18)
Quinteros (2018)
Al Abdouli (2018)
Reghecampf (2018–20)
Rabie (2020)
Hellmann (2020–22)
Pizzi (2022–23)
Milojević (2023–)

Fujairah FC – managers

Shehata (2000)
Ion (2002–03)
Qadir (2003–05)
Basílico (2005–06)
Benzarti (2006)
Fabisch (2006–07)
Jassam (2007–08)
Basílico (2008–09)
Hidoussi (2009)
Mohammed (2009–10)
Eid (2010)
Devèze (2010–11)
Chebil (2011)
Jassam (2011)
Sérgio (2011)
Hadžiabdić (2012)
Souissi (2012)
Campos (2012–13)
Rabie (2013)
Cusin (2013)
Hadžiabdić (2013–14)
Qadir (2014)
Hašek (2014–16)
Baroot (2016)
Hadžiabdić (2016–17)
Mostafa (2017)
Maradona (2017–18)
Mesfer (2018)
Hašek (2018–19)
Mesfer (2019)
Bougherra (2019–20)
Viviani (2020)
Tufegdžić (2020–21)
Beyaoui (2021)
Al-Timoumi (2021–22)
Nechma (2022)
Al Hosani (2022–23)
Markov (2023–)

Dorados de Sinaloa – managers

Arteaga (2003–04)
Guimarães (2004)
Real (2004–05)
Bracamontes (2005)
Lillo (2005–06)
Saldívar (2006)
Passy^c (2006)
Fernández (2006–08)
Almirón (2008–09)
Rayas (2009–11)
Palacios^c (2011)
Siboldi (2012)
P. Ramírez (2012–14)
Torres (2014)
Fentanes (2014)
Bustos (2014–15)
Briceño^c (2015)
Suárez (2015–16)
Guadalupe Cruz (2016)
Caballero (2016–17)
D. Ramírez (2017)
P. Ramírez (2018)
Maradona (2018–19)
Guadalupe Cruz (2019)
Patiño (2020)
García (2021–24)
Abreu (2024–)

(c) = caretaker manager

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata – managers

Scarone (1948–51)
López (1963–64)
Varacka (1968–71)
Dominguez (1976)
Novarini (1976–77)
Rattín (1977–78)
Varacka (1978–79)
Rattín (1979)
Iturrieta (1980)
Santiago (1980)
Pizarro (1980)
Janín (1981)
Restelli (1981)
Della Savia (1981–83)
Cocco (1983)
Rosl (1983)
Veiga (1984–85)
Faraone (1985)
Bedogni (1985)
Garisto (1985–87)
Solari (1987)
Rezza (1988)
Garisto (1988–89)
Di Plácido (1989)
Ramos Delgado (1989–90)
Gutiérrez (1990)
López & Cavallero (1990)
Fanesi (1990–91)
Pérez (1991–92)
Del Favero (1992)
Gelves (1992)
Ramacciotti & Sbrissa (1992–93)
Perfumo (1993–94)
Griguol (1994–99)
Pérez (1999–2000)
Gelves (2000)
Griguol (2000–01)
Ramacciotti (2002–03)
Gómez (2003)
Agostinelli (2003)
Griguol (2003–04)
Ischia (2004–05)
Kuzemka (2005)
Troglio (2005–07)
Kuzemka (2007)
Maturana (2007)
Falcioni (2007)
Sanguinetti (2008)
Madelón (2008–09)
P. Fernández (2009)
Cocca (2009–10)
Morant (2010)
Cappa (2011)
Troglio (2011–16)
Alfaro (2016–17)
Martini & Messera^c (2017)
Soso (2017)
Sava (2018)
Troglio (2018–19)
Ortiz (2019)
Maradona (2019–20)
Martini & Messera (2020–21)
Gorosito (2021–22)
Romero (2023)
Madelón (2023–24)
Méndez (2024–25)
Zaniratto^c (2025)
Flores (2025–)

Authority control databases
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Academics	CiNii
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