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20 Moments of Madness and Magic from Diego Maradona
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Dan Fitch /
18 November 2008 /
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On Wednesday 19th November 2008, the world's greatest ever soccer player Diego Maradona, begins the next unexpected chapter of his life, as the coach of his beloved Argentina.
Maradona's managerial career kicks with a match against Scotland at Hampden Park, 29 years after Diego scored his first international goal at this ground.
Here are 20 Moments of Madness and Magic from Diego Maradona - The World's Greatest Ever Soccer Player.
20. Maradona falls into a cesspit
The world almost never got to see the skills of Maradona. As a small child Diego lost his way in the dark and fell down the family cesspit. His uncle saved Maradona's life by pulling him out by his head. Years later, Diego's psychiatrist told him that emerging from the shit was a suitable metaphor for life.
19. Makes professional debut aged 15
Diego played his first top flight game aged 15, for the Buenos Aires club Argentinos Juniors.
Aged at just 16 years and 120 days, Maradona became the youngest player to play for the Argentina national team.
18. Diego the fighter
Whilst playing for Barcelona, Maradona had his leg broken by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni 'The Butcher of Bilbao' Goikoetxea. Upon regaining fitness, Maradona wreaked a revenge upon Bilbao, that made Kill Bill parts 1 and 2 look like a minor dispute. Unsurprisingly this proved to be his last appearance for Barcelona.
17. Wins Serie A on his own (twice)
Napoli had never won a Serie A title before Maradona joined them in 1984. Diego inspired them to a league and cup double in 1987 and Napoli won the league again in 1990. Napoli also claimed their first and only European trophy in 1989, when they won the UEFA Cup.
Napoli have not won a major trophy since Maradona left the club.
16. The greatest player of all time accuses Pele of being homosexual
George Best never played in a World Cup. Pele never played in a major European football league. Only Maradona took on every challenge and proved to be the greatest.
In 2000 a public vote was held to find the FIFA Player of the Century. This was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury. Maradona won the vote with 53% over Pele with 18%.
However, FIFA were criticised over the fact that the online poll enabled people to vote for their favourite player as many times as they liked, allowing Maradona fans to conduct a Cyber Blitz to ensure their man won.
With Pele having won the vote of the magazine readers and getting the grand jury verdict, it was decided that the award would be shared between the two players. At the event ceremony, Maradona was given his award and then left before Pele was presented with his.
Pele subsequently accused Maradona of spreading rumours that he'd once had a homosexual affair with a coach.
15. Diego the talk show king
In 2005 Maradona launched his own talk show 'La Noche del 10' (The night of the number 10). In the first show he buried his long running feud with Pele, who was the main guest. Maradona went on to interview Mike Tyson and Fidel Castro.
14. Maradona and the Mafia
As the star player for a team based in Naples and a heavy user of cocaine, it comes as little surprise that there have been rumours that Maradona was on friendly terms with the Camorra.
In the mid-90s it was alleged that Maradona's Napoli side deliberately lost the 1988 Italian league championship to help out underground bookmakers and were rewarded with coke and calls girls.
Maradona has himself claimed that he was threatened by the mafia when he considered a transfer from Napoli to Olympique de Marseille.
13. Enters the Big Brother house
Maradona is no stranger to reality TV, having spent time in the Argentinean Big Brother house. Maradona's status in Argentina makes this akin to the occupants in the American Big Brother house waking up to find Abraham Lincoln, Frank Sinatra and Babe Ruth making themselves at home.
12. Diego a Daddy?
As well as a somewhat unhealthy appetite for drugs, food and alcohol, Maradona was also over-partial to the ladies.
In the mid-80s Maradona fathered an illegitimate son, Diego Maradona Jr. Until he admitted he was the father during his divorce in 2004, Maradona had denied that young Diego was his son and had refused to take DNA tests to determine parentage.
This photograph of Diego Jr surely makes the need for a DNA test redundant.
11. Diego the Brazilian
In 2008 Maradona created controversy by donning a Brazilian shirt and singing their national anthem, in a commercial for the soft drink Guarana Antarctica.
Maradona responded to criticism by stating that he had no problem with wearing a Brazil shirt, but would never wear a River Plate jersey.
10. Thrown out of World Cup 1994
Maradona was not expected to make much impact upon World Cup 94, but played a central role in Argentina's opening 4-0 win over Greece, scoring a goal in the process.
Diego's 'enthusiastic' celebration of the goal made many wonder if he was on some kind of drug and so it proved, when he failed a drug test for ephedrine doping and was banned from the tournament. Maradona later claimed that his personal trainer had bought the US version of the energy drink 'Rip Fuel', which unlike the Argentinean version, contained the banned chemical.
9. Befriends Fidel Castro, brings down Bush
In 2000 Maradona went to Cuba to recover from cocaine addiction, where he formed a friendship with the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Diego has a tattoo of Castro on his left leg, along with one of Che Guevara on his right arm.
When interviewing Castro for his talk show, Maradona promised that he would lead an anti-Bush march in Argentina, to coincide with the US President's attendance at a regional summit.
Maradona addressed a stadium full of protestors, stating "Argentina is dignified. Let's throw out Bush".
8. Shoots at photographers
Being the most famous man in your country ensures that you'll receive plenty of attention from the media. Unfortunately Maradona has never been the most patient of people and in 1994 fell foul of the law when he shot at reporters with an air rifle.
Argentina's favourite son was given a suspended jail sentence of 2 years and 10 months.
7. Diego the dancer
Austrian pop music is rarely moving, but in this clip the magic of Maradona makes it so. As Diego warms up before a Napoli game, the Opus hit 'Life is Life' is played over the loud speakers. With his untied bootlaces swinging, Maradona improvises a routine made up of equal parts rhythmic grace and sporting genius, which somehow sums up the man better than any footage of him actually playing the game.
6. Inspires own religion
Like Jesus Christ, Diego has inspired a religion - namely the 'Church of Maradona', otherwise known as 'Iglesia Maradoniana' (Spanish for Maradonian Church).
Founded in 1998 the religion now has 100,000 members from over 60 countries. The church's baptism ceremony requires the would be member to recreate Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal against a life sized picture of Peter Shilton.
5. Gets really fat
Maradona was always stocky as a player, but he really let himself go after his retirement. At only 5ft 5 inches tall, Diego's weight rose to over 250 lbs, as his addiction to eating vied for supremacy against his addiction to cocaine.
In 2005 Maradona had his stomach stapled, before going on a two week liquid only diet. Diego looked remarkably healthier upon public appearance shortly thereafter.
4. Wins the World Cup on his own
When Pele won the World Cup with Brazil, he was surrounded by brilliant players. Maradona's Argentinean contemporaries were good, but would never have won the World Cup without him. His performances during the tournament of 1986, remain the greatest ever seen in a World Cup.
3. Cheats Death
In 2004 Maradona suffered a massive heart attack following a cocaine overdose. Diego went to Cuba to continue his drug rehabilitation and having had his stomach stapled in 2005, appeared to be in good health.
However, in 2007 he was admitted to hospital with hepatitis and the effects of alcohol abuse. In the space of a month there were 3 false claims of Maradona's death. Following a transfer to a psychiatric clinic, Diego was discharged.
In May 2007, Maradona stated that he had quit drinking and had been clean of drugs for 2 and a half years.
2. The 'Hand of God' avenges the Falklands War
When Argentina played England in World Cup 86, it was a chance for the Argentines to avenge their loss in the Falklands War conflict.
Maradona gave Argentina the lead, courtesy of the most controversial goal in World Cup history. A high ball flew towards the England goal and their goalkeeper Peter Shilton came out towards it. Realising that he would never be able to jump above Shilton to head the ball, Maradona punched the ball into the net.
England's players complained furiously to the referee, but the goal stood. Afterwards, Maradona caused more controversy by describing his goal as being scored 'A little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God'.
In 2005 on his TV talk show, Maradona justified his goal, quoting the Spanish saying "Whoever robs a thief gets a 100-year pardon".
1. Scores the greatest goal of all time
If England were still smarting from Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal in the 1986 World Cup Quarter Final, then they could do nothing but admire Diego's second goal just 9 minutes later.
Maradona gets the ball inside his own half, before going on a mazy run, beating 5 England players, before dribbling past the goalkeeping legend Peter Shilton and passing the ball into the empty net.
In 2002 the goal was voted FIFA's 'Goal of the Century'. England's Gary Lineker later remarked "It was probably the one and only time in my whole career I felt like applauding the opposition scoring a goal."
Firehose | 20 November 2008
The audio also works well in this "greatest goal of all time", as the announcer scores a great running commentary, here's a translation:
"Goaaal! Goaal! Genius, genius, I want to cry, Oh my God, let soccer live forever, I want to cry, super goal, Diegoal Maradona, excuse me everybody but this is to cry for!
A memorable run, the best play of all time... What planet are you from, cosmic kite? Which planet, to leave behind so many an English footballer, for the country to be like a tight fist rooting for Argentina?
Thank you God for soccer, for Diegoal Armando Maradona, for this tears and for this Argentina 2, England 0."