The debate over who is better, Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, is common in football conversations. Here’s who is the god of football.
Know who is the God of football, know his history.
Well, needless to say, Diego Maradona was a legend. A legendary Argentine footballer. Every football fan know who he was.
His performance in many matches goes beyond any reasonable understanding. For instance, in a 1986 match against the United Kingdom, Diego Maradona singlehandedly scored two goals, both of which came into the history of football as the most effective.
For his famous goal, fans have given him names: “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century” respectively, as the first one was done by hand with no violation of the rules, and the second one… well, you just have to see it yourself – Maradona alone outplayed the half of the opposing team and scored an outstanding goal in the result.
His performance led Napoli to many huge victories not only in Serie A.
Diego Maradona
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award.
Maradona’s vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity allowing him to manoeuvre better than most other players.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Armando Maradona | ||
| Date of birth | 30 October 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Lanús, Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 25 November 2020 (aged 60) | ||
| Place of death | Dique Luján, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, second striker | ||
His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team’s general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition.
In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist.
In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
In the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons.
| Senior career* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1981 | Argentinos Juniors | 166 | (116) |
| 1981–1982 | Boca Juniors | 40 | (28) |
| 1982–1984 | Barcelona | 36 | (22) |
| 1984–1991 | Napoli | 188 | (81) |
| 1992–1993 | Sevilla | 26 | (5) |
| 1993–1994 | Newell’s Old Boys | 5 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Boca Juniors | 30 | (7) |
| Total | 491 | (259) | |
The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul known as the “Hand of God”, while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted “Goal of the Century” by FIFA.com voters in 2002.
Maradona became the coach of Argentina’s national football team in November 2008. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament.
He then coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season. In 2017, Maradona became the coach of Fujairah before leaving at the end of the season.
In May 2018, Maradona was announced as the new chairman of Belarusian club Dynamo Brest. He arrived in Brest and was presented by the club to start his duties in July.
From September 2018 to June 2019, Maradona was coach of Mexican club Dorados.
He was the coach of Argentine Primera División club Gimnasia de La Plata from September 2019 until his death in November 2020.