Diego Armando Maradona would have turned 65 today | OneFootball

65 years after the birth of Diego Armando Maradona, we remember a truly unforgettable story. From Villa Fiorito to the hearts of millions, with the ball as his driving force.

On October 30, 1960, Diego Armando Maradona was born. The son of Dalma Salvadora Franco, known as Doña Tota, and Diego “Chitoro” Maradona. He was born at the Policlínico Evita de Lanús, and grew up in Villa Fiorito, in the district of Lomas de Zamora, within a hardworking family of scarce resources. He was the fifth of eight siblings.

Football entered his life almost from the very beginning. At nine years old, after standing out in the local fields, he joined the youth divisions of Argentinos Juniors, in the legendary category nicknamed “Los Cebollitas.” Soon, his skill with the ball caught the attention of the media, who introduced him for the first time as “Diego Caradona,” in a truly unrepeatable mistake.

He debuted in the First Division for Argentinos at just 15 years old. Many claim there was never a better Maradona than the one at Argentinos Juniors, where he was top scorer of the tournament several times and achieved the best scoring record of his career. In 1979, he became champion of the U-20 World Cup in Japan, an unprecedented milestone for the category, and later won his first club title with Boca Juniors.

After two seasons with the Xeneize, he was transferred to Barcelona for 7.2 million euros, a record sum at the time. In Spain, he suffered from hepatitis and a broken ankle, but what precipitated his departure was a suspension after being involved in a violent fight following a lost final.

The myth was born in Naples. Maradona revolutionized Italian football and, in seven years, led the club to win five titles. Napoli, which had never won a Scudetto, lifted two under his leadership, forever transforming its history.

His ultimate legend was forged at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, when he fulfilled his dream and that of an entire nation by becoming World Champion with the Albiceleste. He participated in 12 of the 14 goals scored by the Argentina National Team in the tournament and scored 4 of the 7 in the knockout stage.

Two of those goals were scored on June 22 at the Azteca Stadium, against England in the quarterfinals. The “Hand of God” marked a before and after in Argentine history, transcending sports in a country still shaken by the Falklands War, and became a symbol of a tiny “revenge.” Immediately after came the so-called “Goal of the Century,” eternal and unforgettable, considered the best goal in World Cup history.

In 1991, while still playing for Napoli, he received a 15-month ban from FIFA after testing positive for cocaine use in a doping test.

After that break, he played a season with Sevilla, had a brief stint at Newell’s Old Boys, and returned to the Argentina National Team to play his last World Cup, in 1994. After the victory over Nigeria in the United States, he was taken off the field by Sue Carpenter, who was actually not a nurse. The anti-doping test came back positive for five ephedrine derivatives, a drug legal in local sports, and FIFA suspended him again for fifteen months.

Mandiyú. He returned to the field in 1995 to wear the Boca shirt once again, but his addiction prevented him from staying active and he had to interrupt his career once more.

In 1997, he made his final comeback at Boca, said goodbye on the field, and after another positive test and a suspension imposed by the AFA that was never enforced, he announced the end of his career on his 37th birthday.

From then on, the rollercoaster began. He worked as a commentator, established close relationships with world leaders like Fidel Castro, was declared dead on television, held executive positions at Boca Juniors, coached the Argentina National Team at a World Cup, acted as a sports ambassador, coached in the United Arab Emirates and in Mexico, and presided over a club in Belarus.

In 2019, he returned to the country to take over as coach of Gimnasia de La Plata, and the suspension of activity due to the coronavirus pandemic ultimately helped the team avoid relegation. His 60th birthday became one of the saddest days, and his last public appearance showed a visibly deteriorated Maradona, forcing many to stop looking the other way.

He died on November 25, 2020, due to “acute pulmonary edema secondary to exacerbated chronic heart failure.” His legacy transcends time and space, even the very ball itself, being a fundamental and even necessary part of the lives of millions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.