- Born:
- October 30, 1960, Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Died:
- November 25, 2020, Tigre, Buenos Aires (aged 60)
- Awards And Honors:
- FIFA World Cup (1986)
Diego Maradona
Who was Diego Maradona?
Which country and clubs did Diego Maradona play for?
What ended Maradona’s career?
What is Maradona famous for in the 1986 World Cup?
What is the “hand of God” goal?
Diego Maradona (born October 30, 1960, Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina—died November 25, 2020, Tigre, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine football (soccer) player who is generally regarded as the top footballer of the 1980s and one of the greatest of all time. Renowned for his ability to control the ball and create scoring opportunities for himself and others, he led club teams to championships in Argentina, Italy, and Spain, and he starred on the Argentine national team that won the 1986 FIFA World Cup. A stocky and tenacious midfielder, Maradona became a hero of the lower classes of Argentina (from which he hailed) and of southern Italy, where he led the football club SSC Napoli to victories over the wealthier northern clubs. An online poll conducted by FIFA named Maradona the top player of the 20th century.
Early life and career
Maradona displayed football talent early, and at age eight he joined Las Cebollitas (“The Little Onions”), a boys’ team that went on to win 136 consecutive games and a national championship. He signed with Buenos Aires-based club Argentinos Juniors at age 14 and made his first-division debut in 1976, 10 days before his 16th birthday. Only four months later he made his debut with the national team, becoming the youngest Argentine ever to do so. In 1979 he led the Argentine under-20 team to a FIFA World Youth championship.
Club career
After spending five years at Argentinos Juniors, Maradona moved to another club in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors, in 1981 and immediately helped them win the championship. He then moved to Europe, playing with FC Barcelona in 1982 (and winning the Spanish Cup in 1983) and then SSC Napoli (1984–91), where he enjoyed great success, raising the traditionally weak Naples side to the heights of Italian football. With Maradona the team won the league title and cup in 1987 and the league title again in 1990. Maradona’s stint with Napoli came to an end in 1991 when he was arrested in Argentina for cocaine possession and received a 15-month suspension from playing football. Next he played for Sevilla in Spain and Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. In 1995 he returned to Boca Juniors and played his last match on October 25, 1997. During his 21-year professional career, Maradona played 490 official club games, scoring 259 goals.
International career and life after retirement
Maradona played 91 games and scored 34 goals for the Argentine national team. He was left out of the 1978 World Cup-winning squad because it was felt that he was still too young.
FIFA World Cups
During the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal against England, Diego Maradona scored the infamous “hand of God” goal. Learn more about one of football’s most controversial moments.
Maradona represented Argentina at the 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994 FIFA World Cups. He dominated the 1986 competition in Mexico. In a 2–1 quarterfinal victory over England, he scored two of the most memorable goals in World Cup history. The first was infamously scored with his hand (the referee mistakenly thought that the ball had struck his head), a goal now remembered as the “hand of God” goal. The second, known as the “goal of the century,” occurred after Maradona gained possession of the ball at midfield and dribbled through a pack of English defenders and past the keeper before depositing the ball in the goal. Maradona captained the Argentine team to the final at the 1990 tournament. He did not finish the 1994 World Cup because he tested positive for the drug ephedrine and was again suspended.
Post-retirement and death
In 2008 Maradona was named head coach of the Argentine national team. Shortly after leading Argentina to the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, he and the country’s football governing body could not agree on a contract extension, and his tenure as the team’s head coach ended. In 2011 Maradona was hired to coach the United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl. However, the team struggled, and Maradona was fired the following year. He worked for several other clubs before becoming coach of Mexico’s Dorados de Sinaloa in 2018.
Maradona died in November 2020 in Buenos Aires province, three weeks after undergoing brain surgery. A few days later the Argentine government began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. The first trial regarding Maradona’s death, which began in March 2025, ended in a mistrial. In April 2026 a new trial began in a different court.
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