This week Goal.com announce that from an online vote, that the greatest player in the history of France, Zinedine Zidane and the best player ever from Brazil (and arguably the world) Pele, has been selected to be a part of their first Hall of Fame class. It should therefore be no shock that the most famous (and infamous player) from Soccer mad Argentina, has also been chosen.
Diego Maradona was raised in a Buenos Aries ghetto and like virtually all South American youngsters he gravitated toward soccer. Maradona would make his Senior cub debut with Argentinos Juniors, a few days before his 16th birthday. Scoring over 100 Goals over his five seasons there, Maradona would be transferred to Boca Juniors, his favorite club team and one of the elite programs in the Argentine League. He was only there for a season and a half, but it was with Boca that he secured his first league championship.
After the 1982 World Cup in which Diego starred for Argentina, he would be transferred to FC Barcelona in the Spain, where his winning ways continued. He would lead them to wins in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, though Europe was seeing what a hot head Maradona would be and the superstar ran afoul of FC Barcelona management.
Maradona would be transferred to Napoli in the Italian league where he would be viewed as the club’s savior, which essentially is what he would become. Not considered to a top player in Italy, Napoli would ascend to the top of the table and in 1987 would win their first ever Serie A title. They would win again in 1990, and in Naples, Diego Maradona was a God, which considering the year before he was involved with “The Hand of God” was a great label for him.
In 1986, Diego Maradona took Argentina to the World Cup and led the to victory. Maradona was the dominant force in the tournament, scoring five goals and assisting on five more. The most famous goal was the one he netted against England (whom the Argentines were at war with over the Falkland Islands) which replay clearly showed it was deflected off of his hand, hence the “Hand of God” goal. Four minutes later, he would put in another, in a brilliant play that was one of the most beautiful looking scores in the world stage.
On the pitch, there was brilliance on it, but turmoil off of it. Maradona developed a serious cocaine habit and was suspended for fifteen months. He was involved in a scandal over an illegitimate son, and for a few years was considered a disgrace.
Still as time healed his perception, and today Maradona is remembered for what he accomplished as opposed to what he threw away late in his career. We congratulate Diego Maradona for this latest accomplishment.
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