Star profile: Diego Maradona - Argentines greatest

Diego Armando Maradona (born in Lanús, Buenos Aires October 30, 1960), nicknamed El Diez, Pelusa and El Diego, is a former
Argentine football player. He is regarded as one of the best—and one of the most controversial—players in the history of the
game. 
      
Diego Armando Maradona was born in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown in the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, to a poor family
who had relocated from Corrientes Province. He was the first son after three girls. He has two younger brothers, Hugo (el
turco) and Eduardo (Lalo), both of whom were also professional footballers.

At age 10, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighborhood club Estrella Roja. He became a
staple of the cebollitas, the junior team of Buenos Aires side Argentinos Juniors. As a ball-boy in first division games, he
amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the halftime intermissions.

At age 15, Maradona made his debut with Argentinos Juniors, where he played between 1976 and 1981 before his transfer to the
club that he supported, Boca Juniors, where he played during the remainder of the 1981 season and 1982 and secured his first
league title. He debuted with the Argentina national football team ("la selección"), at age 16, against Hungary. At age 18,
he played the Football World Youth Championship for Argentina, and was the star of the tournament, shining in their 3–1 final
win over the USSR team.

In 1982, Maradona played his first World Cup tournament. In the first round, Argentina, as defending champions, lost to
Belgium 0-1. Although the team convincingly beat Hungary and El Salvador to progress to the second round, they were defeated
in the second round by Italy (1:2), the side which eventually won the cup, and Brazil (1:3), during which game Maradona was
sent off for kicking an opponent.

Later in the year, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona. In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona
won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid. However, Maradona had an unhappy tenure
in Barcelona: first a bout with hepatitis, and then an ill-timed tackle by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni Goikoetxea that put
Maradona's career on the line; Diego's physical strength and willpower made it possible for him to be back on the pitch after
only 14 weeks.

Barcelona's management was not satisfied with Maradona, and in 1984 transferred him to SSC Napoli, where he became an adored
star, lifting the team to its most successful era. Napoli won their only Italian Championships (1986/87 and 1989/1990), a
Coppa Italia (1987), a UEFA Cup (1989) and an Italian Supercup (1990). Napoli were also runners-up in the Italian
Championship twice.

Maradona led the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, the team winning 3–2 in the final against West
Germany. Throughout the 1986 World Cup, Maradona asserted his dominance and was widely regarded as the best player of the
tournament. However, it was the two goals he scored in the quarterfinal game against England which cemented his legend.
Action replay footage showed that the first goal was scored with the aid of his hand.

He later claimed it was the "Hand of God" and described it as "A little of the hand of God, and a little of the head of
Maradona," implying that God was ultimately responsible for the goal, because the referee had missed the handball offense.
However, on 22 August 2005 Maradona acknowledged on his new television talk show that he hit the ball with his hand purposely
and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. He recalled thinking right after the goal that "I was waiting for my
teammates to embrace me, and no one came . . . I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'"

In contrast, however, Maradona's second goal was an uncontroversial and impressive display of footballing skill. He ran half
the length of the pitch, passing five English players (Glenn Hoddle, Peter Reid, Kenny Sansom, Terry Butcher, and Terry
Fenwick) as well as goalkeeper Peter Shilton. This goal was voted Goal of the Century in a 2002 online poll conducted by
FIFA. Argentina went on to defeat England 2-1 in that game.

The two goals were ranked 6th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002.

Maradona also captained Argentina in the 1990 World Cup, leading his team to the final, where they lost 1–0 to West Germany.
He arrived at the 1994 World Cup and played two games (scoring one goal) before being sent home after failing a drug test for
ephedrine doping. On this matter, he has suggested that he had an agreement, on which FIFA later reneged, to allow him to use
the drug for weight loss before the competition in order to be able to play, so that the World Cup would not lose prestige
because of his absence. This allegation was never proved, and many attribute his comment ("they cut off my legs") to Diego's
anger at being suspended.

In Naples, where he is still beloved (having brought the local team their first scudetto), he also faced a scandal regarding
an illegitimate son and was the object of some suspicion over his friendship with the Camorra, the local mafia.

Maradona left Napoli in 1992, after serving a 15-month ban for failing the drug test for cocaine, and played for Sevilla FC
(1992–93), Newell's Old Boys (1993) and Boca Juniors (1995–97). He also attempted to work as a coach on two short stints,
leading Mandiyú of Corrientes (1994) and Racing Club (1995) without much success. He retired from football on October 30,
1997.

On January 26, 1997, Maradona discussed on live Ecuadorian TV with Ecuadorian president Abdalá Bucaram about playing in
Bucaram's Barcelona SC team, but nothing ever came out of this, as Bucaram was ousted by a coup d'état.

In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am El Diego"), which became an instant bestseller in his
home country. In the same year, Maradona was voted Player of the Century in an official FIFA poll conducted on the Internet,
garnering 53.6% of the votes. Then, in an unannounced move, FIFA appointed a "Football Family" committee, which voted to
elect Pelé alongside the Argentine. Maradona cried foul and left the awards ceremony as soon as his prize was awarded. (For
more on FIFA's handling of the issue, see this Sports Illustrated article.)

In 2001, the Argentine Football Association asked FIFA for authorization to retire jersey number 10 as a homage to Maradona.
Even though Argentine officials have claimed that FIFA hinted that it would grant the request, the authorization was denied.

Maradona has won other polls, including a 2002 FIFA poll in which his second goal against England was chosen as the best goal
ever scored in a World Cup; he also won the most votes in a poll to determine the All-Time Ultimate World Cup Team.

On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to Boca Juniors as a sports vice president in charge of managing
the First Division roster (after a disastrous 2004–05 season, which coincided with Boca's centenary). His contract began 1
August 2005, and one of his firsts reccomendations proved to be very effective: he was the one who decided to hire Alfio
Basile as the new coach. With Maradona staying very close to the players, Boca went on to win the 2005 Apertura title, the
Copa Sudamericana and the Recopa. Maradona remains aloof of day-to-day activities.

On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host of a talk-variety show on Argentine television, La Noche del 10 ("The
Night of the #10"). His main guest on opening night was Pelé; the two had a friendly chat, showing no signs of past
differences. In subsequent programs, he led the ratings with only one exception. Almost all guests were drawn from the worlds
of football and show business.

Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after she gave birth to their
daughters, Dalma Nerea (b. 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (b. 1989). In his autobiography, Maradona admits not always being
faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.

Diego and Claudia divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her
parents remained on friendly terms. Diego and Claudia traveled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005.

During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of Diego Sinagra (b. Naples, 1986), as was claimed by his
mother, Cristiana Sinagra. (The Italian justice had so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving
or disproving his paternity.) He met Diego for the first time in May 2003 after the 17 year old tricked his way onto a golf
course in Naples where Maradona was playing. Diego had spells on trial with the Blackburn Rovers and the Dunfermline
Athletic.

After the divorce, Claudia started a career as a theater producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed
her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles.

In marked contrast to the athleticism he showed during his years as a football player, since his retirement Maradona has been
plagued by a series of health problems.

Since the 1990s, Maradona has been battling a cocaine addiction, which included spells in Swiss and Cuban detox clinics.
Between 2002 and 2005, Maradona spent most of this time in Cuba.

On April 18, 2004, doctors reported that Maradona had suffered a major heart attack following a cocaine overdose; he was
admitted to intensive care in a Buenos Aires hospital. Scores of fans gathered around the clinic. Days after the heart
attack, a nurse was caught taking photos of Maradona with a cellular telephone and was promptly fired by the hospital
managers.

After he showed improvement, Maradona was taken off the respirator on April 23, and remained in intensive care for several
days before being discharged on April 29. He returned to Cuba in May.

Maradona has always had a tendency to put on weight, and has displayed a remarkable level of obesity since the late 1990s. On
March 6, 2005, it was announced that Maradona underwent gastric bypass surgery in a clinic in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
When Maradona resumed public appearances shortly afterwards, he displayed a notably thinner figure.

Short and stocky, Maradona had a very strong physique and could withstand physical pressure better than almost all players.
His strong legs and low center of gravity gave him additional advantage in short sprints. This is illustrated by his two
goals against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup.

He was also a wizard with the ball and could manage himself in limited spaces, attracting defenders only to quickly dash out
of the melee (as in the second goal against England), or pass to a free teammate who would take the ball and score, like
Burruchaga did to secure the 1986 World Cup.

Maradona could convert fragile possessions into goals. His goal against Italy in the 1986 World Cup demonstrated this. In
Maradona's time defenses became more athletic, so both dribbling and securing possession of the ball required additional
speed and the ability to think under stress.

One of Maradona's trademark moves was dribbling full-speed as a left wing, and on reaching the opponent's goal line,
delivering accurate passes to his teammates that many times proved lethal. Another trademark was the Rabona or reverse-cross
pass (shot behind the leg that holds all the weight), with which he gave several assists, such as the potent crossed pass for
Ramón Díaz head-goal in the 1984 friendly match against Switzerland.

Maradona's kicking had a mixture of precision and power that enabled him to score many free kicks. Since he seldom used his
right foot for any decisive action, defenders were confounded the few times he did.