With the popularity of football, it’s no surprise that the game has its fair share of legends, both living and deceased, active and retired. But very few can compare to the level of Diego Maradona, this Argentinian player, who’s considered the best one in the history of football by many. While it’s difficult to provide clear comparisons, it’s obvious that he’s among the top players of all time.
This article will examine his career: the rises and falls, the wins and losses. We will cover his biography, best-known games, playing style, and legacy. After all, there’s plenty to discuss: he was active for two decades before becoming a coach.
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The Beginning
Maradona’s early days are similar to what many other South American football players endured in their childhood: a poor upbringing and starting playing the game early. His father was a worker at a chemical factory, and Diego had four older sisters and two younger brothers, both of whom went on to become professional football players.
Diego started playing soccer early, joining junior teams at 9. He played for Argentinos Juniors, likely the most successful junior football team in the country’s history, before turning 16, when his club career started.
Professional Career
In 1976, a few days before turning 16, Maradona joined the Argentinos Juniors as a senior player. His debut was very impressive; that’s when he showed his trademark nutmeg move, scoring a goal against an opposing team. He vividly remembered it and mentioned this match in his autobiographies decades later.
He spent five years with the “Juniors” before transferring to Boca Juniors. The deal was $4 million, quite impressive for a young Argentinian player. He provided his worth just a few days later, at his club debut, where he successfully scored two goals.
He participated in the 1982 World Cup, where he didn’t meet expectations, and the overall season wasn’t good for Argentina. Maradona received brutal markings from the players of the opposing team, which was one of the reasons for FIFA to tighten the regulations since they decided that this level of brutality shouldn’t be tolerated.
After that, Maradona moved to Barcelona, which symbolizes the start of the best years of his career. At around $7.5 million, the transfer was the most expensive at the time. He proved his worth quickly: at a match against Real Madrid on June 26, 1983, he provided one of the most impressive performances in the history of football. We will cover this later in the “Best Known Games” section.
Coaching Career
After successfully retiring, Maradona started his coaching career, which went on for nearly two decades. While it’s expected for high-level players to become coaches, not all of them do, especially not all of them become so successful. Let’s start with the fact that he was the Argentine National Team’s coach for some time. His coaching career had its ups and downs, but he continued managing the teams until his death.
Best Known Games
And this article wouldn’t be complete without us covering the most impressive Maradona’s games. Let’s take a look at some of these performances and find out what exactly made them so great and spectacular.
1986 World Cup Quarter-Final Against England
This game is best known for Maradona’s legendary “Hand of God” goal. What seemed like an arguably illegal move, the goal was legit and allowed Argentina to win against England.
1986 World Cup Final
Another game of the 1986 World Cup, the final match of Argentina vs. West Germany, provided Argentina with its second World Cup title. Let’s take a look at what made this game so memorable. Maradona himself didn’t score any goals, but his pass to Jorge Burruchaga allowed Argentina to get the lead. Lothar Matthaus actively and brutally marked Diego. Argentina ended up being the winner with a score of 3:2.
1982 World Cup Match Against Brazil
Argentina vs Brazil matches were always quite heated. This one isn’t an exception. Unfortunately, the game ended with Argentina losing 1:3 to Brazil. Maradona didn’t show much during this game but was issued a red card close to the end of the game.
1986 World Cup Semi-Final Against Belgium
This match probably involved Maradona’s most impressive display of skill ever in his career. Frankly speaking, it was a performance that every footballer wishes to have in their career. Maradona scored all the two goals during the game, created plenty of chances for his team, and tried to place several more. The game ended with total dominance of Argentina: 2:0.
1990 World Cup Round of 16 Match Against Brazil
This knockout match is interesting because Brazil seemed to dominate. But Maradona, well into his career at the time, managed to turn things around by scoring a goal, resulting in Argentina’s victory. The final score was 1:0.
Playing Style
Many call Maradona a traditional player, but it doesn’t do his style justice. He was quite a versatile player: he was good at playing on the team, was an impressive striker, and was well-known for his ability to dribble. His shots have impressive precision and accuracy. He also had a shockingly great level of close control, which made him a difficult player for his opponents. His creativity is also unmatched: he knew and used quite a few unexpected tricks actively.
Legacy
Maradona became an icon in his home country, Argentina, even during his most active years. The tributes and mentions are quite popular. He’s a character in several local movies, comic books, etc. Moreover, his name is a token of recognition for Argentinians everywhere.
If we start listing the things named after Maradona, we will end up with a big article. Let’s start by saying that there’s a metro station named after him in Naples, Italy, and a stadium carrying his name in Argentina. After his death in 2020, Maradona received even more tributes, and the country was mourning.
Conclusion
Football is full of great players, but not many can compare to Diego Maradona. Regarded as one of the best athletes of all time and the most known Argentinian football player, which says a lot for a country with a great output for this sport, Maradona had a great career. He died in 2020, but his legacy will continue to live on for decades.
Our article explored his successes and failures. Mind you, the latter group is much smaller: after all, Maradona’s career was impressive on its own in a good way. We looked at his most impressive games, legacy, and biography, making sure that the readers will now know why some consider him the best player of all time. While his life and career included some controversies, such as drug abuse and health issues, this never stopped Maradona from being an impressive football player and, later on, manager.
