Diego Armando Maradona would have turned 65 today | OneFootball

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

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

Football entered his life almost from the 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, which introduced him for the first time as «Diego Caradona», in a truly unrepeatable error.

He debuted in the First Division with Argentinos at just 15 years old. Many argue that there was no better Maradona than the Maradona of Argentinos Juniors, where he was several times the top scorer of the tournament and achieved the best scoring record of his career. In 1979, he became the 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 figure at that 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 final loss.

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, claimed two under his leadership, forever transforming its history.

His definitive legend was forged in 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 Argentine 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 slight “revenge”. Immediately followed the so-called “Goal of the Century”, eternal and unforgettable, considered the best goal in World Cup history.

In 1991, while still defending Napoli's jersey, he received a 15-month sanction from FIFA after testing positive in a doping test for cocaine use.

After that break, he played a season with Sevilla, had a brief stint with Newell’s Old Boys, and returned to the Argentine 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 not actually a nurse. The doping test was positive for five derivatives of ephedrine, a legal drug in local sports, and FIFA suspended him again for fifteen months.

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

In 1997, he made his last return to Boca, said goodbye on the field, and after a new positive test and a suspension imposed by the AFA that was never applied, he announced the end of his career on his 37th birthday.

From then on, the roller coaster began. He worked as a commentator, established a close relationship with world leaders like Fidel Castro, was declared dead on television, held executive positions at Boca Juniors, coached the Argentine national team in a World Cup, acted as a sports ambassador, coached in the United Arab Emirates and 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 contributed to the team avoiding relegation. His 60th birthday became one of the saddest days, and his last public appearance, with a visibly deteriorated Maradona, forced many to stop looking the other way.

He passed away on November 25, 2020, due to an “acute pulmonary edema secondary to a chronic heart failure exacerbation”. His legacy transcends time and space, even beyond the 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.