Football Icons: Part One - Diego Maradona

By David Lee Wheatley

15^th February 2013

Hand of God, Genius with Feet

Diego Armando Maradona, while not everyone’s cup of tea, is surely one of the greatest players ever to grace the game of football. Dividing opinion wherever he goes, ‘El Diego’ as he is affectionately known in his homeland, managed to astound the world with his brilliance on the field and his craziness off it. Yet, despite the fact that he upset me deeply as a young boy(!) watching the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina on the TV when the two sides of Diego came out to play to down the English in Mexico, it still must be said that his level of skill and ability on the field of play was unsurpassed.

Born 30^th October 1960, Diego was brought up in the shanty town of Villa Fiorito on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He learned and perfected his technique on those very streets before being picked up by pro side Argentinos Juniors. Extraordinarily, he made his debut ten days before his 16^th birthday against Talleres de Cordoba in 1976.

The Argentine national side quickly recognised his mercurial talent and they threw him into his full international debut aged 16 against Hungary in February 1977. Five years playing for Argentinos Juniors yielded a fine return of 115 goals in 167 games and a star was born.

His form prompted giants Boca Juniors to part with the handsome sum of £1 million to take him to La Bombonera midway through the 1981 season and Maradona went on to earn his first league championship medal the following year. Then, Catalan giants FC Barcelona tabled a world record bid of £5 million to take the stocky little Argentine maestro to Camp Nou prior to the World Cup in Spain.

The move to Catalonia seemed to be a match made in heaven, but after a second round exit from the ’82 World Cup, Diego embarked upon two difficult, injury-ravaged seasons with the Blaugrana. His situation was compounded by several fall-outs with the club directors, eventually leading to a move to Napoli in 1984 for another world record fee of £6.9 million. Despite all his problems, Maradona left Barcelona with a Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup triumph to his name.

Maradona’s time in Naples saw him achieve legendary status, which coincided with the greatest period in the Italian club’s history to date. The Argentine ace became a hero with the fans as he led the club to the Scudetto in both 1987 and 1990, while coming second twice in the intervening years. The club also lifted the Coppa Italia in ’87 to do the double, along with success in the UEFA Cup in ’89.

During that period, at international level, he dragged Argentina all the way to victory in the 1986 World Cup final, helped along the way by the infamous ‘Hand of God’ incident against England in the quarter-final. At once everyone cried ‘cheat’, but then Diego showed his true excellence to run rings around the English for his second goal of the game to finish the tie off in great style.

Diego Maradona in a nutshell!

The 1990 World Cup in Italy saw Argentina reach the final once again only to fall at the hands of the West Germans. Diego was in tears, but there was little sympathy for him after his side had pushed and kicked their way to the final match.

Although everything appeared to be going well on the field, Diego’s personal problems were spiralling out of control while in Naples. Drug use, unauthorised absences from training and links to organised crime blighted his time in Italy and he finally failed a drugs test for cocaine abuse, resulting in a 15-month suspension; it was a sour end to his time with Napoli.

Leaving Naples under a cloud in 1992, Diego joined Sevilla. It seemed his career was winding down, as he struggled with weight issues during his time in Andalucia before a transfer back to his homeland to join Newell’s Old Boys.

So, it came as a surprise when he made the squad for the 1994 World Cup to be held in the USA. It was an apparently triumphant return to the fray for the leaner-looking Maradona, as he featured in two games and scored a fabulous goal against Greece before rushing wide-eyed to the TV cameras to celebrate wildly. However, the wired look in his face suggested there was something sinister going on and so it proved when he failed a drugs test for ephedrine. He was sent home from the tournament in disgrace.

That was the end of Maradona’s international career, a 17-year odyssey that had given so much to the game of football and the Argentine public in particular. It was a sad way to end such an exciting and tumultuous playing career in the blue and white stripes of Argentina. His record stood at 91 appearances, 34 goals.

After his latest suspension, Diego joined his old club Boca for one last hurrah in 1995. He spent two years back at the club where he had gained worldwide attention during his first spell. Alas, there was no return to the international stage this time and he retired to concentrate on a prospective coaching career.

Diego Armando Maradona. What a player; maybe the best ever.

At least until his contemporary Lionel Messi wins a World Cup with Argentina that is!