Power of suffering 10. [35] 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. $41.00. [252], Maradona had a tendency to put on weight and suffered increasingly from obesity, at one point weighing 280 lb (130 kg). p. 193. 1, by, Greatest Football Players of All-Time: No. A&C Black, Clemente A. Lisi (2011). À l'occasion de l'anniversaire de César Luis Menotti le 5 novembre, FIFA.com revient sur la carrière du légendaire entraîneur argentin, vainqueur de la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 1978. [277], 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. [309][310] In a rugby 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. "People on People: The Oxford Dictionary of Biographical Quotations". [293] 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. Faber & Faber. A new empire is born. "The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to South Africa 2010". "Maradona: The Hand of God". 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. [88][89] 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. In April 1996, Maradona had a three-round exhibition boxing match with Santos Laciar for charity. [42] 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. [217], 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. He wrote, "To Fidel Castro and, through him, all the Cuban people. He has a straight line vision facing the goal, but he knows how to get rid of the ball for the best placed teammate. The Neapolitans held mock funerals for Juventus and Milan, burning their coffins, their death notices announcing 'May 1987, the other Italy has been defeated. The things I could do with a football, he could do with an orange. "For me Maradona is more than football. [169][179][180], 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. Not that I'd want to anyway. At 17 he just missed inclusion in Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning squad at home. In subsequent evenings, he led the ratings on all occasions but one. [103] 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. $39.55. What he did as a footballer, in my opinion, he will be remembered forever. [87][88] Maradona scored or assisted 10 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. [34] In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Athletic Bilbao. 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. 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. [16], Maradona's parents were both born and brought up in the town of Esquina in the north-east province of Corrientes, living only two hundred metres from each other on the banks of the Corriente River. ... who in what he later called “the greatest tragedy” of his career was cut from the squad of the 1978 World Cup — which Argentina won at home — because he was only 17. [66] In 1996, he played in a friendly match alongside his brother Raul for Toronto Italia against the Canadian National Soccer League All-Stars. Kapadia stated that " For one of the game's major powers Argentina have produced many great players but have not had the success they probably deserve as a team. [211] 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. GRADING ASSESSMENT: Very good, extraordinary. [45] Led by Maradona, Napoli won their first ever Serie A Italian Championship in 1986–87. 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[32], After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to Barcelona in Spain for a then world record fee of £5 million ($7.6 million). He also went on to say of Maradona's performance: "The brilliant Argentine artist single-handedly delivered his country its second World Cup." Diego Maradona, c'était aussi la fameuse "main de Dieu", but marqué de la main lors d'Argentine / Angleterre en 1/4 de finale de Coupe du monde 1986, … "[262] He became friends with Cuban leader Fidel Castro while receiving treatment on the island, with Castro stating, "Diego is a great friend and very noble, too. ...Maradona is the third part of a trilogy about child geniuses and fame. Total accuracy. Messi’s Goal Better Than Maradona's Goal of the Century? ... At 17 he just missed inclusion in Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning squad at home. [123][124][125][126], Maradona is regarded as one of the greatest dribblers in the history of the game. 'Extraordinary', 'unbeatable', 'complete intelligence in football', 'excellent power', words and phrases that perfectly describe the great man. [101], 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. [258] 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. [135][136] While he was primarily a creative playmaker, Maradona was also known for his finishing and goalscoring ability. My Disease) was dedicated to him. How many players would do that? Diego Maradona, c'était aussi la fameuse "main de Dieu", but marqué de la main lors d'Argentine / Angleterre en 1/4 de finale de Coupe du monde 1986, … “I was 3 years old and I slept hugging that ball all night,” he said. FILE – In this March 1987 file photo, Pele, left, and Maradona hold “Sports Oscar” trophies in Milan, Rome. If each one of us gives something to someone else, no one in the world would be starving. In 2017, Maradona became the coach of Fujairah before leaving at the end of the season. In 1986 it was all about Maradona but in 1978 the impressive Menotti fielded a great team that played stylish attacking football. "[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. "[100], Maradona captained Argentina again in the 1990 World Cup in Italy to yet another World Cup final. If the boycotts against Russia in 2018 felt a little half-hearted, in 1978 against Argentina they came early, with conviction, and very nearly worked. His surgeon said that Maradona would follow a liquid diet for three months in order to return to his normal weight. "From spectacular to scandalous: Maradona's World Cup legacy", "Argentina's Lionel Messi still has one man to beat", "It's Argentina vs. Belgium in the World Cup, but always Lionel Messi vs. Diego Maradona", "England's past four World Cup clashes with Argentina", "1986 World Cup: The Diego Maradona Show", "History of the World Cup: 1986 – Maradona puts on a show in Mexico", "After Second Test, Maradona Is Out of World Cup", Fact Sheet | FIFA World Stars Games at a glance, "100 years bore: the arduous and elongated Football League centenary celebrations in 1988", When the Football League took on the world…, "What is a false nine? Although he was known for his penchant for undertaking individual runs with the ball,[130] he was also a strategist and an intelligent team player, with excellent spatial awareness, as well as being highly technical with the ball. [41] Maradona then headbutted Sola, elbowed another Bilbao player in the face and kneed another player in the head, knocking him out cold.