Introduction
Diego Armando Maradona was born 30 October 1960 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a former Argentine footballer. He has served as manager and coach at multiple clubs as well as for the Argentina national team. Many experts, football critics, former players, current players and football fans regard Maradona as the greatest football player of all time. He was joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century with Pelé. His brilliance on the field as well as his actions off the pitch garnered worldwide attention from football fans and households.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
At the age of 10, Maradona joined the youth team of Argentinos Juniors. This is where he began to show his abilities as he led his team to a 136 game winning streak. At the age of 15, he made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors. With Argentinos he was top scorer 5 times in the Argentine first division tournaments between 1978 and 1980. In 1977 at the age of 16 he made his international debut with Argentina National Team during a match against Hungary and he scored his first international goal two years later, against Scotland. In 1979, he led the Argentina Under-20 team to win the World Cup played in Japan, he was awarded the Golden Ball, an award given to the best player of the tournament.
Club Career
In 1981, Maradona was transferred to Boca Juniors and he achieved the Metropolitano championship in his first year with the club. In 1982, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona and he won a Spanish League Cup and Copa del Rey before leaving the team to be transferred to Napoli from Italy in 1984. Additionally, Maradona is the only player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice, first when he transferred to Barcelona for a then world record $5m, and second, when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee $6.9m. Maradona succeeded at Napoli. He won several league titles and tournaments for the first time in the club’s history. In total for his career, Maradona played for 6 clubs; Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys. He is most famous for his time at Napoli where he won numerous accolades.
Style of Play
A playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position, Maradona's exceptional vision, passing, ball control, dribbling skills, speed, reflexes and thinking time combined with his small size (5'5") allowed him to be more maneuverable than other football players. Maradona's reputation for his ability to keep the ball close to his feet resulted in many targetted fouls by opposing teams.
International Career
In his international career with Argentina, Maradona earned 91 caps (appearances) and scored 34 goals. His presence on the pitch would have a great effect on his team's general performance. 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 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 66 yard dribble past five England players, voted "The Goal of the Century" by FIFA.com voters in 2002. Maradona coached two clubs in Argentina, Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club, as well UAE club Al Wasl. In 2008, he was appointed as the head coach of the Argentina National Team until 2010 World Cup.