DIEGO MARADONA

 DIEGO MARADONA


Image Credit: Original Photographer as in Google

Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine professional footballer and is regarded as the Prince of Football, positioned second only to enigmatic Pelé. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award along with Pelé.

Maradona's vision, passing, ball control and dribbling skills combined with his small stature gave him a low centre of gravity allowing him to manoeuvre better than most other football players. He would often dribble past multiple opposing players on a run. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he also possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname "El Pibe de Oro" (The Golden Boy), a name that stuck with him throughout his career.

An advanced game maker who operated in the classic number 10 jersey, Maradona was the first player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice; first when he transferred to Barcelona for a then world record £5 million and second when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee £6.9 million. He also played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys during his club career and is most famous for his time at Napoli and Barcelona where he won umpteen accolades.

In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico where he captained Argentina and led them to victory against West Germany in the final and won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. In the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he also scored both the goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul overlooked by the referee, popularly known as the "Hand of God Goal" while the second goal followed a marvellous 66 yard dribbling past five England players, voted as the "Goal of the Century" by FIFA in 2002.

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