Maradona did whatever he wanted with the ball - he had no equal on the football field. Excellent technique allowed him to score goals for every taste, and strong muscles did not allow him to fall even after strong blows on the legs.
Off the court, life hit Diego Maradona harder than his rivals: he often fell, but got up even more often - the biography of the explosive Argentine is replete with intrigues, scandals, love stories and problems with the law...
25 years of love and infidelity
Despite the many novels that are attributed to Maradona, he lived with one woman for 25 years. Diego was seventeen years old when he decided to invite a neighbor girl named Claudia Villafaña to a dance. The next day, the friend was introduced to her parents, and the couple became inseparable. True, Diego was in no hurry to get married - according to the footballer himself, Claudia did not insist on this either.“ A piece of paper in a desk drawer cannot guarantee love.,” - said Maradona.
The relationship with Claudia did not stop Diego from having affairs with the Argentine movie star Adriana Brodsky, Italian actresses Loredana Berthe and Heather Parisi. And there are simply too many finalists of beauty contests to count... However, Maradona himself said that he never cheated on Claudia.“ But if this had happened, I would never have confessed” .
In 1988, Diego and Claudia had a daughter, who was named Dalma Nerea. - in honor of the football player's mother. A year later, another girl appeared in the family - Giannina Dinora. In the same year, the couple legalized their relationship and started a family. For a wedding that took place at the stadium“Luna Park” in Buenos Aires, $2 million was spent. About one and a half thousand guests came to congratulate the newlyweds. Family happiness lasted about 10 years - until Diego left home in 1998. Five years later, Claudia filed for divorce. Despite the breakup ex-spouses remained on good terms.
Five women a day and nepotism with a mafia boss
Maradona spent his best years in football playing for“Napoli” . The footballer’s personal life was also seething in the hot Neapolitan soil. And so much so that the football player was accused of facilitating the appearance of prostitutes from South American countries in Italy. They were allegedly supplied to him by Carmela Cinquegrana, the owner of the brothel. If you believe the words of a participant in these dubious transactions with live goods, the scale was simply incredible.
A certain Felice Pizza claimed that Diego had 12 thousand women while he lived in Naples - that is, about five a day! The famous local mafia did not bypass Maradona either. The press wrote about his connections with the boss“Cosa Nostra” Giuliano, whose christening was attended by a football player. Later the mafia helped find what was stolen from Diego" Golden Ball " and several pairs of expensive watches. Is it true, the ball was recovered when it was melted down into a gold bar and the watch was returned to its owner.
Bullets - for journalists
Press relations- a separate milestone in Maradona's life.
The attention of journalists to the football player was so intense from the very beginning of his career that over time Diego developed a persistent hatred of people in this profession. Attacks from the press and some publications drove Maradona into depression, due to which the game often suffered.
“ I'm tired of all this! I want to play, and not answer their stupid questions from morning to night, give endless autographs!" - Unfortunately , Diego did not limit himself to words alone.He broke car windows for cameramen from“ Reuters” , beat up a newspaper correspondent"El Panama America" , many paparazzi got it from him, and one TV cameraman even ran over Maradona’s leg.
But perhaps the most“bright” there was a case when bullets flew towards journalists...
After treatment for drug addiction in Cuba, Maradona hid from prying eyes in his Argentine villa. The paparazzi, who wanted to get into the football player's possessions, did not fare well. They say Maradona ordered security to shoot journalists, and, without thinking twice - I myself made several effective shots from an air gun. Four people were wounded: photojournalist Raoul Mauleon was shot in the arm and ribs, and a trial ensued. The prosecutor insisted on four years in prison, but the lawyer managed to obtain a suspended sentence for Maradona.
Illegitimate children
The footballer's stormy personal life could not pass without a trace: the first claim for recognition of paternity was brought against Maradona by the Italian Cristina Sinagra. Then, in 1995, Diego refused to take a paternity test, and the court ruled that the boy, named after the alleged father, could bear the surname Maradona. For a long time, the football player did not pay the alimony established by the court, owing more than 200 thousand dollars. Communication between Maradona's alleged son Diego Jr. and his father took place only in 2003. Despite the warm welcome, Maradona still did not recognize the child.
The second illegitimate child, a girl named Zhanna, was born in 1996. Her mother was 20-year-old Valeria Sabalain. As in the first case, Diego refused the test, and the court recognized him as Jeanne's father. Son Santiago became Maradona's third illegitimate child. This time paternity was confirmed by DNA testing. Diego regularly helped Santiago's mother, Natalia Garat. The woman died in 2005 from cancer.
Women's abuser and defender
Maradona also sued tax service Italy. He was charged with multiple tax evasion charges. 2006 became“fruitful” for Diego to go to court. He was accused of organizing a car accident, as a result of which several people were injured, and, While on vacation in Polynesia, Maradona broke a glass on the head of a local beauty queen who had quarreled with his daughter. The girl received 8 stitches, and the incident was resolved in court.
However, the tireless Argentinean made a scandal out of noble motives:c just recently he rushed into a fight during football match Arab teams to protect his girlfriend and several other women from offensive remarks from local fans.
Well, Maradona’s name is still around, and who knows what other surprises we can expect from“ Golden barrel” !
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On the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Villa Fiorito. He was the fifth of eight children in the family.
At the age of three, Diego received a soccer ball as a gift and began to devote all his time to the game. At the age of 10, he joined the Los Cebolitas children's team, the youth section of the Argentinos Juniors football club. The team played so strongly that it reached a record of 136 consecutive games without defeat.
At less than 16 years old, Maradona made his debut in the main team of Argentinos Juniors, and in 1977 he made his debut in the national team.
In 1979, Maradona, as part of the youth team, won silver medals at the South American Championship. That same year, as team captain, he went to the World Youth Championships in Japan. At the tournament, the Argentines won all their matches, conceding only two goals, becoming the best team in the world, and Maradona himself was recognized as the best player of the championship.
At the club level, Maradona, as part of Argentinos Juniors, became the top scorer of the Metropolitan and Nacional (football tournaments in Argentina in 1967-1985), scoring 14 and 12 goals respectively. At the end of the season, Maradona was recognized as the best player and best athlete in Argentina.
In 1980, Maradona was again the top scorer in both Argentina championships.
In 1981, Maradona was acquired by the Argentine team Boca Juniors. The transfer amount was $3.6 million. In total, he played 40 matches for the club and scored 28 goals. In 1982, Diego Maradona participated in the World Cup for the first time in Spain. After the end of the championship, he signed his first foreign contract with Barcelona (Spain). The transfer amount was 1.2 million pesetas ($8 million). This transfer became the most expensive in the history of football at that time. During his stay at the club, the footballer played 73 matches and scored 45 goals. As part of Barcelona, Maradona won the Spanish Cup and the Spanish League Cup.
In 1984, Maradona made the move to the Italian club Napoli. The contract value was $7.6 million. In Italy (1984-1991) he spent best years his football career. In 1985 and 1986, Napoli, with his participation, took third place in the national championship, in 1987, for the first time in its history, won the title of Italian champion, in 1989 - its first European Cup - the UEFA Cup, and in 1990 the club again became champion Italy.
As part of the Argentina national team, Maradona went to the World Cup in Mexico. In the quarter-final game against Team Great Britain, he scored his famous goal, which was called the "Hand of God". The football player, contrary to all the rules, sent the ball into the goal with his hand. However, this was done so quickly that the referee did not notice the violation and awarded a point to Argentina. As a result of the championship, Argentina became the world champion.
At the end of the championship, Maradona received the Golden Ball as the best player, he also became the best in the number of assists and the “goal + pass” indicator.
In 1986, he again received the title of best football player in Argentina.
In 1991, the football player was disqualified for 15 months - doping control found traces of cocaine in his blood. Maradona admitted that he took cocaine, but not as a dope, but as a means of relieving accumulated fatigue.
On July 1, 1992, the football player's disqualification ended. In the 1992/93 season, he played 29 matches in the Spanish Championship with Sevilla, scoring seven goals.
In 1993, Maradona returned to Argentine football; on September 9, he signed a contract with the Newell's Old Boys club. After the change of head coach on February 1, 1994, the player’s contract with the club was terminated. In total, Diego played 5 official matches for the club.
In 1994, Maradona took part in his fourth World Championship (USA), but was disqualified for using ephedrine for 15 months, until September 15, 1995. In total, he played 91 matches for the national team and scored 34 goals.
On October 3, 1994, Maradona was appointed head coach of the Argentine club Mandia. Two months after starting work, due to a conflict with one of the owners of the club, Diego submitted his resignation.
On January 6, 1995, Maradona was hired by Racing Club. Diego worked at this club for 4 months.
The player spent the last years (1995-1997) of his sports career in the Argentine club Boca Juniors, played 29 matches and scored 7 goals. The official date of his last match is considered to be October 25, 1997, when Diego, wearing a yellow and black Boca jersey, last time entered the field against the River Plate team. On October 30, his 37th birthday, Maradona announced his retirement.
After finishing his playing career, Maradona worked as a sports commentator and acted as an expert on sports programs.
On November 10, 2001, Maradona entered the field for the first time after a long break, participating in the match between the Argentina national team and the world team. This match was a farewell for Diego, who spent the first half for the national team and the second for the world team. The game ended in favor of Argentina 6:3, and Maradona scored 2 goals.
From June 2005 to August 2006, he was vice-president of the football commission of the Boca Juniors club.
This phase of his life was marred by health problems related to drug use. At the same time, Diego sought to recover from drug addiction, visiting clinics in Argentina and Cuba.
Since October 2008, Maradona has been the head coach of the Argentina national team, with which he reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup.
Diego Maradona has left his post as head coach of the Argentine national team.
Maradona headed the Dubai club Al Wasl.
In 2013, it became known that Maradona would work as a consultant for the Argentine fifth division club Deportivo Riestra.
Diego Maradona has expressed his intention to stand for the presidency of the International Football Federation (FIFA).
During his football career, Diego Maradona won many titles, including: champion of Argentina (1981), champion of Italy (1987, 1990), winner of the Italian Cup (1987), Italian Super Cup (1990), Spanish Cup (1983), UEFA Cup ( 1989); world champion (1986), vice world champion (1990), footballer of the year in Argentina (1979, 1980, 1981), footballer of the year in South America(1979, 1980), the best Argentine football player of all time according to the AFA (1993), winner of the honorary Ballon d'Or (1995), scorer of the best goal in the history of football (1999), member of the symbolic team of South American players of all time (1999), FIFA player of the century (2000), member of the FIFA all-time team (2002).
Inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame (2014).
Diego Maradona has two daughters from ex-wife Claudia Villafane, as well as three children out of wedlock (two sons and a daughter).
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
I happy man, because I happened to see Diego Maradona play. Even if this happened in childhood and early youth, but now, after more than 20 years, an equal football player has not appeared.
Diego Armando Maradona
- Country: Argentina.
- Position – attacking midfielder.
- Born: October 30, 1960.
- Height: 165 cm.
Biography and career of a football player
Maradona was born in the Argentine city of Lanus, which today is part of the Greater Buenos Aires agglomeration. Family future star world football is more than simple: father worked at a mill, mother drove household and took care of the children, because in addition to Diego, there were seven more children in the family (Maradona was the fifth child).
Needless to say, Maradona spent his childhood with a soccer ball – this is Argentina, after all. And the poverty of Diego’s family did not provide opportunities for any other entertainment.
In order to somehow help his parents, little Maradona and his sisters made clay flower pots, which they sold at the market.
It was from his childhood that Diego brought out simply deified love and respect for his parents, who, despite all the difficulties, raised eight children on their feet.
“If my parents ask me for the moon, I will do anything to get it. But that would have been nothing compared to what they did for me,” he would say much later.
At the age of nine, Maradona began training in the Argentinos Juniors youth team, where he looked simply head and shoulders above his peers. He almost constantly played for teams of older children, and when he made his debut for the youth team at the age of 12, the coaches even put him on the field under a different name, since Diego’s age was significantly below the maximum allowable.
Argentinos Juniors
1976-1981
On October 20, 1976, ten days before his 16th birthday, Diego Armando Maradona came on as a substitute in the Argentine Championship match between Argentinos Juniors and Talleres. So it began great path great football player.
“That day I touched the sky with my hands,” is how Maradona himself spoke about his debut.
In the same season, the prodigy became a starter for the club, playing 11 matches for the club and scoring 2 goals.
In just five seasons with Argentinos, Maradona scored 116 goals. With Diego in the lineup, the club achieved the highest achievement in its history at that time - second place in the 1980 national championship. More precisely, the club took second place in the Metropolitan tournament - the first part of the Argentine championship.
The second part was called Nacional and both parts of the championship were independent and equivalent, i.e. within one season, Argentine clubs competed for two championship titles.
That year was a record year for Maradona - in 45 matches in both tournaments he scored 43 goals.
However, that same year, Diego decided to leave the club due to disagreements with the management over the salary, which was much less than what the leading players in the championship received.
Boca Juniors
1981-1982
As a result, Maradona was bought by Boca Juniors, one of the two most popular Argentine clubs.
40 matches, 28 goals and the Metropolitan title - this is the result of Diego’s performances for Boca. Here he took part for the first time in the Argentine “superclásico” Boca Juniors - River Plate, which ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of Boca and one of the goals was scored by Diego.
However, during his first arrival at Boca Juniors, Maradona spent only one season, as European clubs paid attention to him.
Barcelona
1982-1984
So Diego ended up in Europe, and nowhere else, but in Barcelona itself. Later, Maradona himself would call this transition a mistake. Not to say that the Argentine failed in Spain, far from it.
Over two seasons in the capital of Catalonia, Maradona scored 38 goals in 58 matches, with him the team won three titles, and in the second match of the Spanish League Cup final, Barça won 2:1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, and the winning goal scored by Maradona even caused an ovation , it’s scary to imagine Real Madrid fans.
It’s just that in Barcelona, Diego was haunted by some kind of fatal bad luck: in his first season he missed three months due to hepatitis, in the second – six months due to a broken ankle.
On top of that, Diego, who had never previously been distinguished by a meek disposition, quarreled with club president Josep Nunez and decided to leave the club, for which he was ready to buy out his own contract, but the Italian Napoli intervened in the matter.
Be that as it may, Barcelona fans, in a survey conducted in 1999, named Maradona among the best players in the club's history after Ladislav Kubala.
"Napoli"
1984-1991
70 thousand spectators were present, no, not at Maradona’s first match for new club, and at the ceremony of its presentation. Diego became the idol of Neapolitan fans, and, as it turned out, for good reason.
In seven seasons with Diego, Napoli won two Scudettos, something that had never happened before or after Maradona, the UEFA Cup, the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup, and finished second in the championship twice and third once.
This is where we come to a very delicate topic. Some fans and even journalists, among those who did not see Diego play, compare him with Lionel Messi.
Guys! This cannot be done, these are players of different weight categories. And no one will convince me otherwise. When Messi comes to a club of the level of Napoli and wins a couple of championship titles with him, then I will be ready to argue on this topic. In the meantime, it’s not discussed - Maradona is the best!
But the Neapolitans saw in Diego not only a great player, but also a kind of messiah who was able to put an end to the hegemony of the rich northern clubs - Milan, Inter and Juventus.
By the way, when in 1986 the president of Milan wanted to buy Maradona and offered him simply unprecedented conditions, Diego refused. After that, he became practically a saint for Napoli fans.
The only time I had a chance to see Maradona live was on a cold Moscow evening on November 7, 1990, in a crowded Luzhniki Stadium, when Spartak hosted Napoli in the 1/8 finals of the Champions Cup. Maradona came on as a substitute in the 65th minute. The match, like the first meeting in Naples, ended in a goalless draw. In the post-match series, Maradona scored his penalty, but it didn’t help Napoli; Spartak was luckier then.
Maradona's departure from Napoli is associated with a huge scandal. At first, the player’s doping test gave a positive reaction, and then, when Maradona returned to his homeland, he was arrested for possession of cocaine. It was then that Maradona’s story with drugs, which he began taking while still a Barcelona player, came to light.
"Seville"
1992-1993
At the end of the disqualification, which lasted as much as 15 months, Diego ended up in Sevilla, which was coached by Carlos Bilardo, who was well known to Maradona. It was he who insisted on the footballer’s transfer.
However, the player only lasted for one season, during which Maradona managed to quarrel with Bilardo and left the club.
Newell's Old Boys
Maradona played only five matches for the club from Rosario, although this time the reason for his departure was the change of head coach - the team was headed by Jorge Castelli, with whom the player did not find mutual language. In addition, Diego was increasingly plagued by injuries.
And soon Maradona was again suspended from football for a long time. The reason for this was the suspended prison sentence received by the football player for shooting with an air rifle at journalists who were near his home.
Boca Juniors
1995-1997
But Maradona returned to big football again after a break of more than a year and a half.
Yes, he played a little for Boca, to put it mildly - 30 matches over four seasons. But the Argentines still went to their idol, and Maradona did not disappoint - he gave several amazing matches, just like in his best years.
But, alas... Here Maradona received another, unknown number of disqualifications. Traces of doping and cocaine were again found in his blood. But after serving it, Diego returned to the field again.
And the great football player ended his career after another injury. Diego Armando Maradona played his last official match on October 25, 1997, five days before his 37th birthday.
Argentina national team
1977-1994
Maradona made his debut for the national team at the age of 16, playing his first match in February 1997. A little bit more than a year Later, Diego faced one of the most bitter disappointments in his life. Maradona, who was included in the extended application of the Argentina national team, was excluded from the list by the team's head coach two weeks before the start of the tournament.
What the national team meant to Maradona can be judged by his statement:
“I put on the national team jersey and it became one with my skin. It will be like this until the end of my days."
Therefore, the first World Cup for Maradona was the 1982 tournament. Then the Argentines failed, losing both matches in the second group round - Italy and Brazil, and in the last game Maradona was sent off for hitting an opponent.
In Diego’s defense, we can say that throughout the championship he was mercilessly beaten on the legs; Italian defender Claudio Gentile, who personally took care of the Argentine, showed particular zeal in this.
But the next World Cup became the Maradona Championship. Before the tournament, Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo awarded Maradona the captain's armband, although many veterans opposed this decision.
But Diego proved everything with his play. He was a real captain: he led his teammates, fought on the field, gave assists and scored. Maradona sent five goals into the net of Argentina's opponents, two of which he scored in the quarterfinals with England (2:1) and two in the semifinals with Belgium (2:0).
Maradona's goals against the English became perhaps the most famous in the history of world football: he scored the first goal with his hand, and the second after a slalom pass from his own half of the field, beating six players of the English team, including the goalkeeper.
After the match, Maradona will say:
"This goal was scored partly by Maradona's head and partly by the hand of God."
which will cause a barrage of sanctimonious criticism.
Why sanctimonious? Yes, because football has long ceased to be a gentleman’s game; any means, often the dirtiest, are used to win. And Maradona is not the only one who has gone this route. It is not customary to simply admit this, and therefore people who remain silent or deny everything remain beyond criticism, and various labels are hung on those who honestly talk about their actions.
In addition, it is high time to distinguish between small football tricks, as Vladimir Nikitovich Maslachenko liked to say, and outright meanness. After all, when a player “dives” after light contact or plays with his hand, that’s one thing, but when he surreptitiously pokes his finger in the opponent’s eye, that’s completely different.
But many people call Maradona’s second goal in that match nothing more than “the goal of the century.”
In general, Maradona’s dribbling and feints are a separate issue, and he scored several similar goals. Why go far - at the same World Cup he scored a similar goal against the Belgian national team.
Be that as it may, Argentina became the world champion, and Maradona became the best player of the championship. And, to be honest, I don’t remember a time when the role of one football player in winning the World Cup was so great. Which of Maradona's teammates on the national team can you remember offhand now? Perhaps Valdano, Ruggeri, Burruchaga. These are all skilled players, but far from world-class.
Maradona's national team partner Jorge Valdano spoke best about this.
“Do you know why we won in Mexico? Because our team had 20 normal players and one abnormal one. This crazy guy won us the championship.”
I think he is very close to the truth.
That year, Maradona fully deserved the Ballon d'Or, but it was then awarded only to Europeans.
But for me, what is much more amazing is what Maradona did at the 1990 World Cup, when he literally dragged Argentina into the final. That team was much inferior to the 1986 team, and many of the players were in frankly bad shape.
Maradona suffered from swelling before the tournament thumb on his right foot and they custom-made 40 boots for this foot.
Already the first match ended in a defeat from the Cameroon team 0:1, then there was a difficult victory over the USSR team and a draw with Romania, which allowed Argentina to reach the playoffs from third place.
Here, however, again it could not have happened without the “hand of God” - Maradona knocked it out with the ball flying into the Argentine goal in the game with the USSR national team, when the score had not yet been opened.
The Argentines did not play football then, they fought - in the playoff matches they scored only two goals and beat their opponents twice in the penalty shootout. Maradona fought like a lion, and the other players, seeing the dedication of their captain, could not play differently.
I will especially focus on two matches. 1/8 finals against Brazil, which is clearly stronger. The Argentines fought off Seleçao attacks throughout the match, and in the 81st minute Maradona made his signature pass, after which he passed a brilliant pass to Caniggia, who, going one on one with the goalkeeper, did not miss his chance.
And the semi-final match with Italy took place in Naples, a city where Maradona was, if not God, then a person very close to him.
“Maradona, we love you, but Italy is our homeland” - fans hung this and similar posters in the stands of the Sao Paulo stadium.
The match ended in a 1:1 draw, and in the penalty shootout, Maradona struck the decisive blow.
Argentina lost the decisive match to the Germans, the same ones they managed to defeat in the 1986 final. Andreas Brehme scored the only goal from a far from certain penalty. Maradona cried like a child after the match, and later accused FIFA of promoting the German national team.
But in fairness, I note that that Argentina did not deserve to win. Moreover, if it weren’t for Maradona, this team most likely would not even make it out of the group.
And so I return to the topic again: “Who is better: Maradona or Messi?” If we draw a parallel between 1990 and 2014, the conclusion suggests itself. Although, I repeat, I personally consider this formulation of the question simply inappropriate.
Maradona went to the 1994 World Cup without being a player of any club. This time the Argentina national team was very strong - such players as Redondo, Balbo, Batistuta appeared on the team.
In the first two matches, the Argentines confirmed their status as favorites, and Maradona showed that he is in in great shape. In the match with Greece (4:0) he scored a goal, with Nigeria (2:1) he provided an assist.
And then there was a doping test, a positive result and a 15-month disqualification.
“My legs were cut off” - one of Maradona’s most famous quotes was said precisely on this occasion.
As it turned out, the legs were cut off not only from Maradona, but also from the whole of Argentina, which, having lost its leader, lost to Bulgaria and Romania, going home after the first round of the playoffs.
So the match against Nigeria unexpectedly became Maradona’s farewell match as part of the Argentina national team, for which he played 91 matches and scored 34 goals.
Diego Maradona titles
Team
- Champion of Argentina.
- Winner of the Spanish Cup.
- Winner of the Spanish League Cup.
- Winner of the Spanish Super Cup.
- Two-time Italian champion.
- Winner of the Italian Cup.
- Winner of the Italian Super Cup.
- Winner of the UEFA Cup.
- World champion and vice-champion.
Individual
- Top scorer of the Argentine championship - 5 times.
- Top scorer of the Italian Championship - 1 time.
- Footballer of the Year in Argentina - 2 times.
- Footballer of the Year in South America - 3 times.
- Best player of the 1986 World Cup.
Diego Maradona - coach
Maradona's club career as a coach was unremarkable - two not very strong Argentine clubs and one Emirati club, in each of which he led an incomplete season.
But how the national team coach Maradona took part in the 2010 World Cup. Already before the start of the championship, his decision not to include Cambiasso, Sanetti and Riquelme in the national team caused a wave of criticism.
Having reached the quarterfinals, Argentina lost heavily to Germany 0:4. Perhaps Maradona could have played differently then. But he did not step on the throat of his own song, fielded an attacking line-up and was demonstrably beaten by a collected and disciplined Germany.
As if they didn’t scold Diego then! Even Pele himself, with whom Maradona recently reconciled, fired his share of critical arrows, calling Maradona a great player but a bad coach.
Of course, the King of Football knows better, but he himself, having finished his playing career, never dared to try himself as a coach, preferring to trade own name, including calling them very bad coffee. There are no questions, he has earned this right, but criticism of what you did not do does not look correct, to say the least.
Family and personal life of Diego Maradona
Maradona's wife, Claudia, is 2 years older than him. Maradona has two daughters - Dalma and Janina. The latter is the wife of the famous Argentine football player Sergio Aguero, and godfather their son Benjamin, Maradona's grandson, is Lionel Messi.
After his divorce from Claudia, Maradona had numerous affairs, but his relationship with Veronica Orjeda lasted for a long time. The couple had a son, who was named Diego Fernando.
- Maradona is the only player in history to become the top scorer of the Argentine championship 5 times (Metropolitano and Nacional are considered separately here).
- Due to problems with drugs, Maradona's contract with one of the Japanese clubs fell through - the legislation of this country prohibits the entry into it of any person convicted of any activity with drugs.
- Maradona's number ten was withdrawn from the Argentine national team, but after the intervention of FIFA, this decision was reversed.
- The Argentinos Juniors stadium is named after Diego Armando Maradona.
- Maradona wears watches on both hands and this is not a whim, it’s just that some watches show Argentine time, others show the time of the country where Maradona is located.
- On the eve of Euro 2016, a friendship match between Maradona and Pele took place in Paris. The game took place in a 5 vs 5 format and ended in a draw 8:8. Moreover, if Pele limited himself to the role of a coach, then Maradona played a few minutes.
- In Argentina there is a Maradoniana church, where Maradona is God, Christmas is celebrated on October 30, and Easter is celebrated on June 22, the day Maradona scored two famous England goals. Despite the seeming humor of religion, the church’s parishioners are about 60 thousand people.
- Maradona had to undergo several complex operations, and not all of them were associated with injuries, for example, in 2013, he underwent surgery to correct age-related presbyopia, an eye disease.
Maradona and politics
Maradona is known for his leftist political views. He never hid his admiration for Ernesto Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, whose tattoos are on Maradona’s body.
Maradona more than once allowed himself to make critical statements about the church, but not about God - since these concepts are completely different, for example:
“Yes, I went against the Pope. This happened because I came to the Vatican and saw roofs made of gold. And then I heard the Pope say that the Church is worried about poor children... But, damn it, sell the roof, do at least something!
And isn't he right?
Diego Maradona in culture and art
- Many songs are dedicated to Maradona, including Soviet composer Ruslan Gorobets based on the verses of Mikhail Tanich “Samba with Maradona”, which was performed by Anna Veski back in 1987.
- Several films have been made about Diego, the most famous of which is, perhaps, the film directed by Emir Kusturica, which is called “Maradona”.
- They staged in Cuba theater performance, dedicated to the great football player: “T-shirt number 10: between heaven and hell.”
- Maradona wrote an autobiographical book called “I am El Diego.”
What more can be said about a great football player? I don't know. Therefore, I will end with the words of ordinary Argentines.
“The great Diego must live forever and has the right to leave the Earth only if God himself wants to play football with him.”
And I agree with them one hundred percent.
Maradona Diego Armando
(born 1961)
Argentine football player, one of the most outstanding football players of the 20th century. Champion (1986) and vice-champion (1990) of the world. Champion of Italy (1987, 1990) and winner of the UEFA Cup (1989) with Napoli, winner of the Spanish Cup (1983) with Barcelona.
Diego Maradona, despite his scandalous biography, remains one of business cards Argentina, along with Evita Peron and tango. His outstanding talent allowed the Argentina national team, which did not have other world-class stars in its composition, to win the 1986 world championship in Mexico and reach the final in Italy four years later.
Diego Maradona was born on October 30, 1961 in the Argentine town of Villa Fiorito near Buenos Aires. His father worked at a factory and worked part-time at a construction site to support his eight children. But despite all his efforts, big family lived in poverty. Since childhood, Diego dreamed of becoming a football player, and certainly one that the whole world would talk about.
He received his first soccer ball as a gift from his cousin on his third birthday. The boy literally did not part with the ball, playing with the neighboring children on the street all day long. At the age of nine, Diego’s game attracted the attention of the coach of the local children’s team, Little Onions. As part of this team, Maradona achieved incredible results: 140 children's league matches were won in a row. Naturally, showing such results, the team regularly won children's tournaments. In recognition of the services of the young Maradona, he was entrusted with a T-shirt with the number “10”. In those years, a player with a “ten” on his back was doomed to constant comparisons with the great Pele, who was then preparing to retire. And Diego regularly justified the trust placed in him, scoring important goals for his team.
From the age of 16, Maradona linked his fate with the professional club Argentinos Juniors. His debut in the Argentine championship took place on October 20, 1976, when he came on as a substitute in a match against the Talleres de Cordoba club. A few weeks later, coming on as a substitute against San Lorenzo, Maradona opened the scoring for the most goals scored in professional football.
Around the same time, he began playing for the Argentine youth team, immediately becoming its leader. Fans flocked to the stadiums to see the new star. And soon Maradona was invited to the national team, and, coming on as a substitute in a friendly match with Hungary, he became the youngest Argentine player to receive such an honor. Due to his very young age, Diego was not included in the team that won the 1978 World Cup, but he became the world champion a year later. In 1979, Maradona led Argentina's youth team to victory in the World Cup, after which he was recognized as the best player of the year in South America. A year later, in 1980, he won this honorary title again.
In 1981, Maradona moved from the modest Argentinos Juniors to one of the strongest clubs in the local championship, Boca Juniors. At the new club, Diego continued to show excellent football, demonstrating amazing dribbling, accurate passes and shots on goal. In his first season for Boca, he led the club to victory in the Argentine championship.
The Argentines were looking forward to the 1982 World Cup in Spain with great anticipation. The team was expected to defend the championship title won four years earlier. Maradona went to the tournament as the main star of the Argentines, the new leader of the national team. However, the performance of the Argentines in Spain cannot be called successful. Already in the first match, the world champions sensationally lost to the modest Belgians 0:1. And although the Argentines then beat the teams of Hungary and El Salvador and advanced to the next round, they were not impressed with the game. In that championship, at the quarterfinal stage, the teams had to participate in a one-round tournament among three teams. Argentina's opponents were quite strong teams from Italy and Brazil. The Argentina national team turned out to be the weakest in this trio, losing first to the Italians 1:2, and then to the Brazilians 1:3. And Maradona clearly demonstrated his intemperance for the first time at international level. Having rudely attacked one of the Brazilians at the end of a lost match, Diego saw a well-deserved red card in front of him.
Even before the World Cup, it became known that after its end, Maradona would continue his career in the Spanish Barcelona. In the capital of Catalonia, he was entrusted with big hopes, because the club bosses paid Boca more than seven million dollars. However, Maradona did not live up to expectations. He suffered frequent injuries, most of which were caused by Diego's unwillingness to deal with the roughness of European defenders. Especially serious injury Athletic Bilbao defender Andoni Goicoechea struck Maradona. His rough tackle in a match on September 24, 1983 resulted in a broken left ankle and torn ligaments. And Barcelona fans did not like the wayward newcomer. Therefore, at the first opportunity, the management of the Catalan club sold Maradona to the Italian Napoli for $12 million. As it turned out, it was Napoli that became the club in which Diego most fully revealed himself as a great football player and game manager for his team. During his career at Napoli, Maradona led an average club by Italian standards to two league titles and a UEFA Cup. He became the idol of the local public; club jerseys with number ten were in short supply. Celebrating the first title won by Napoli with Maradona, fans dressed the fountains decorating Naples in T-shirts with the Argentine's number.
But Diego Maradona became the champion of Italy already in the rank of world champion. Maradona was in great shape for the world forum in Mexico. For two seasons in a row, his Napoli finished third in the Italian championship, and Maradona played in the team main role. Before the championship, Diego’s coaches and teammates on the national team unanimously argued that the key to their team’s success in Mexico would be the successful play of Maradona, who must rehabilitate himself for his disastrous performance at the last world championship. Argentina began the championship with a victory over the Korean team 3:1, then played a draw with the world champions Italians 1:1 and beat the Bulgarian team in the final match of the group stage
2:0. Having defeated Uruguay 1:0 in the quarter-final match, the Argentines met the England team in the quarterfinals. This match was of not only sporting, but also political interest. After all, a few years earlier, a real war broke out between England and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. The English team was strong at that time; Gary Lineker, who became the top scorer in the Mexican championship, shone among its members. For a long time the teams could not open the scoring, and only in the second half did Argentina take the lead and almost immediately score the second goal. Both goals were scored by Maradona, and both went down in football history. The first one is considered one of the most scandalous, and the second one is considered one of the most beautiful. So, trying to complete his partner’s cross, Maradona jumped into the English penalty area and, not reaching the ball with his head, sent it into the goal... with his hand. The whole stadium, the players of both teams and millions of television viewers saw this. But the referee did not see this, and as if nothing had happened, he counted the ball. And then, as if to compensate for his scandalous goal, Maradona produced a true masterpiece. Having received the ball in his own half of the field, he beat six Englishmen along with the goalkeeper at high speed and rolled the ball into an empty goal. Similar goals had been scored before, but since the seventies, when speeds on football fields increased sharply and the competition became tougher, such slalom passes, especially in matches high level, no one succeeded. In the time remaining until the end of the match, the British, through the efforts of Lineker, won back one goal, and after the match they tried to protest the result, demanding that Maradona’s first goal be canceled. However, the protests came to nothing, and Diego said that the Lord God himself directed his hand to the ball.
Meanwhile, the championship continued, and in the next match the Argentines easily beat Belgium, for whom reaching the semi-finals was an incredible success. The match ended with a score of 2:0, with both goals scored by Maradona. In the final, the Argentines faced the German team. Thanks to the efforts of Valdano and Passarella, the Argentines took a 2-0 lead, but in the last quarter of the game the Germans went on the attack in large numbers and equalized the score, both times after successful corner kicks. It seemed impossible to avoid extra time, but then Maradona had his say. With an amazing penetrating pass, he brought Jorge Burruchaga into the German goal, and he scored the decisive goal. 3:2, and Argentina became the world champion for the second time in history! Diego Maradona was recognized as the best player of the championship. In the scorers' dispute, he shared second place with the Brazilian Careca and the Spaniard Butragueno, just one goal behind Gary Lineker. However, the championship organizers awarded prizes for second place only to Careca and Butragueno, and Maradona was remembered for his “God’s hand.” However, Diego was not very upset about this.
Four years later, the Argentines had to defend their title. The championship was held in Italy, and it seemed that Maradona could count on the support of Neapolitan fans. However, the championship started with a sensation. In the first match with Cameroon, Maradona and Burruchaga symbolically played the ball with the starting whistle, hinting that they would not mind repeating the triumph of four years ago. However, the Cameroonians unexpectedly beat the world champions 1:0. In the next match, Maradona and company were opposed by the USSR national team, which also lost the first match. At the beginning of the meeting, the advantage was on the side of the Soviet football players, and in the thirteenth minute the ball was supposed to fly into the Argentines' goal. Maradona prevented this, and did it... with his hand. This was clearly visible to the fans at the stadium and on television, but the referee did not notice anything. Again, “God’s hand” helped Maradona and the Argentina national team, who won that match 2:0. Having drawn 1:1 with the Romanians in the third match, the Argentines advanced from the group and met the Brazilians in the eighth final. The important match remained a goalless draw for a long time, and only a few minutes before the end of the match, Maradona brought Caniggia to the goal with an accurate pass, and he scored the winning goal. In the quarterfinals, in the match with the Yugoslavs, the Argentines' secret weapon came into play. Goalkeeper Goicoechia, who took his place in goal after the injury of the main goalkeeper Pumpido, became famous at that championship for his ability to repel penalty kicks. Thanks to his skill, the Argentines defeated the Yugoslavs in a penalty shootout, reducing the main and extra time to a goalless draw. The semi-final took place in Maradona's favorite Naples, but the stands did not support him at all, but the Italian team, the Argentines' rival. The Italians had a big advantage and were leading the score, but towards the end of the second half Maradona organized an attack on the goal of Walter Zenga and Caniggia equalized the score. And in the penalty shootout, Goicoechia again helped Argentina. The championship final brought together the same rivals as four years ago - Argentina and Germany. But this time the Germans were the clear favorites. Everyone noted the weak play of the Argentines, highlighting only goalkeeper Goicoechia, forward Caniggia and, of course, Maradona. The Germans attacked throughout the final match, but could not break through the Argentine defense. And only after the referee removed two Argentina players from the field and awarded a very dubious penalty against them at the end of the match, the German national team won 1:0. Maradona was extremely disappointed by what had happened, refused to shake hands with FIFA President Havelange, who was presenting the Argentines with silver medals, and accused football officials of conspiring against his team. Whether it was a conspiracy or just an unqualified judge who entrusted the final to be judged is difficult to say, but Maradona made an enemy in the person of Havelange. And besides, fans all over Italy hated him, because it was he who robbed them of victory in the home World Cup.
After this World Cup, Maradona's career began to decline. Soon, a doping analysis showed that Diego had used cocaine before the Italian Championship match. He was disqualified for fifteen months. After serving his disqualification, he did not want to return to Napoli, explaining this by constant threats against him from the Italian mafia. According to Maradona, it was the mafia who framed the drug charges. Few people believed this, because Diego’s addiction to cocaine had often been talked about before. His contract was bought by the Spanish Sevilla, but Maradona “managed” to quickly quarrel with the club’s management. He returned to Argentina, where he played for the local club Newell's Old Boys. By the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Diego was in good shape, and Argentina national team coach Basile heeded public requests and included Maradona in the championship squad. Diego entered the field in the second match against Nigeria. Together with his old comrade Canigia, he brought Argentina a 2:1 victory, with both assists coming from Maradona. However, after this match, Diego had to undergo a doping test, and his sample gave a positive reaction to ephedrine, a banned drug that helps to quickly get into shape. The subsequent disqualification essentially ended Maradona's career as a football player. In subsequent years, he attracted attention with regular attempts to return to football (first as a player and then as a coach), which invariably ended in failure, conflicts with journalists and the law. However, Diego Armando Maradona is rightfully considered one of the best players of all time, and many even rate him higher than the great Pele.
Baby Diego was the fifth child and first son in the family of Diego Maradona Sr. and Dalma Franco. The genius spent his childhood in one of the poor neighborhoods on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires. The boy’s favorite toy was, of course, a ball (what else?), and his childhood love was Independiente. Alas, in Avellaneda they found out about this too late - Diego never had the chance to play for this team.
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Maradona's football alma mater can be considered the Argentinos Juniors club. In the 1960s, he created the children's team Los Cebollitas ("The Bulbs"), which Diego joined at the age of nine. On September 28, 1971, his name first appeared in the press - albeit in a distorted form. A columnist for the Clarin newspaper mentioned the young talent in his note: they say, in the bowels of the club a boy is growing up “with the habits and class of a star.” And he strongly recommended that you remember the last name... Caradona.
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Before appearing in the Juniors team, the prodigy played several matches for the reserve team. Under someone else's name. The regulations did not allow trainers to use the green boy - but the trainers were already impatient to test the boy in a serious matter. In October 1976, the need for conspiracy disappeared. 10 days before his 16th birthday, Maradona made his debut in the Argentine Primera. The newcomer appeared on the field in the second half with the 16th number on his back, and his team lost to Talleres (0:1). “That day I touched the heavens with my hand,” Diego later recalled his adult debut. Less than a month later, on November 14, he scored his first goal in the national championship - and immediately the second. The San Lorenzo was damaged.
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An amazing thing: Maradona made his debut in the Argentine national team earlier than in the youth team! He first put on the jersey of the country's first team on February 27, 1977, in a friendly match with the Hungarians at the famous Bombonera, and played for the youth only a month and a half later.
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Maradona was on the expanded list of 25 names for participation in the 1978 home World Cup. But I didn’t make it into the final application. Cesar Luis Menotti did not risk taking yesterday’s backup to the main four-year anniversary tournament. Returning to the club, Diego took out his anger at the coach on his next opponent in the national league: he scored two goals against Chacarita himself and assisted his partners twice. Argentina won its first World Cup without Maradona.
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In 1981, River Plate strongly invited Maradona to join them, promising a salary at the level of the club's highest paid player - the goalkeeper Figliola. But Diego firmly decided: if he left Argentinos Juniors, then only to Boca Juniors. The latter's economic problems did not bother him. The blue and gold were unable to buy the midfielder's transfer and signed a lease for a year and a half. It was in this team that Diego ended his bright career after a decade and a half.
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The Argentine national team - already with Diego in the squad - purposefully prepared for four (!) months for the Spanish World Cup. But she performed poorly. The tournament started just as it did, with a defeat to the Belgians at the Camp Nou, and ended just as it did. In the final match of the second group round (there was one), the Albiceleste lost to Brazil, and its curly-haired leader, unable to control his nerves, was sent off at the end of the match. After this incident, Maradona was not called up to the national team for almost three years (!).
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Failure at the World Cup did not prevent Diego from signing a contract with Barcelona. In Spain, Maradona suffered from hepatitis, suffered a severe leg fracture and ultimately received a long disqualification. However, in terms of sports, this was not the worst period in the life of the great short man: when he played, he did it really well, from the heart. He also won some trophies - the Spanish Cup, the League and the Super Cup. And if not for the scandal of 1984, he might have made a brilliant career at Camp Nou. However, it didn’t work out. At the end of the final match of the “Royal” Cup with Athletic at the Bernabeu, Maradona, annoyed by the defeat, fought with the Basque Saloy. The matter ended in a grandiose wall-to-wall massacre. The Spanish Federation subjected the instigators of the fight to severe punishment. The Argentine was banned for three months. This episode, in essence, predetermined Maradona’s move from one peninsula, the Iberian Peninsula, to another, the Apennine Peninsula. Having received an offer from Napoli, the Barça president Nunez hastened to get rid of the unreliable legionnaire.
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The 1986 World Cup became real finest hour Space Barrel. New national team coach Carlos Bilardo not only returned the disgraced maestro to the team, but also gave him captain's powers. Captain Diego led Argentina to its second planetary triumph. On June 22, at Azteca, he scored two of the most famous goals in the history of world championships. One of them went down in the annals as the “hand of God”: after cutting off a defender, Diego, unnoticed by the referee, sent the ball into the English goal with his upper limb. He will then innocently tell reporters: “I didn’t touch the ball. It was the hand of God..." Maradona's second trick was voted Goal of the Century in 2002. Before hitting Shilton's goal, Diego successively dribbled past six (!) Britons, including himself Shilton.
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First of all, Maradona owes the first Scudetto in the history of Napoli. Neither before nor after 1987 did the southerners win the national championship, but here they achieved a golden double. In 1989, Maradona and company once again excelled in Serie A - and henceforth Napoli did not climb so high.
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Journalist Jimmy Barnes in the footballer’s biography “Hand of God,” he claimed that Maradona became acquainted with drugs while still in Barcelona. In Italy, so to speak, he developed deep sympathy for them. Shortly after the 1990 World Cup, in which captain Maradona, goalkeeper Goikoechea and forwards Caniggia They carried “nothing” Argentina on their shoulders to the final, Diego was caught in a doping test. Traces of cocaine were found in the midfielder's urine, and he was banned from football for 15 months. After the disqualification expired, Diego hurried to leave Italy, but was unable to return to the previous level either in Spain or Argentina. This was the beginning of the end of an amazing story...
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At the 1994 World Cup in the USA, he scored his last goal for the national team, against the Greeks, and was again excommunicated from his favorite game. The reason for the next disqualification was a positive doping test - now ephedrine was found in the body of the great football player. In those days, he uttered his famous phrase: “My legs were cut off.” All subsequent attempts by Maradona to restart his career ended in failure. In the mid-90s, he was already a pale shadow of the Maradona whom millions knew and loved.
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In 2008, out of respect for the legend, Maradona was given the leadership of the Argentina national team. With her, he reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, where he was defeated by the Germans with a score of 0:4. Subsequently, Diego tried his hand at the Emirates, but did not stay there for long either. It seems that a great football player did not make a great coach. However, he secured his place in history in advance.
"God's Hand" by Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup