[ad_1]
Argentine legend Diego Maradona died at the age of 60 from a heart attack. Matias Morla, Maradona’s longtime agent, confirmed the news to EFE on Wednesday.
A statement from the Argentine Football Federation read: “The Argentine Football Federation, through its President Claudio Tapia, expresses its deepest sorrow at the death of our legend, Diego Armando Maradona. You will always be in our hearts . “
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez also confirmed three days of national mourning after the news. Retired Brazilian soccer star Pelé mourned Maradona’s death in a brief statement provided to Reuters by a representative.
“Definitely, one day we will kick a ball together in the sky above,” he said.
Maradona had recently struggled with health issues and had emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma several weeks ago. He suffered a heart attack at his home in the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Argentine media and acquaintances of the former player said.
Maradona was one of the greatest players in the game and also one of the most troubled. He was a beloved figure in his native Argentina.
Forever ?
Hi Diego pic.twitter.com/LzppqlBqLV– Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) November 25, 2020
He was born into a poor family in a slum on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and captained the national team until the 1986 World Cup title and the 1990 final. In 2000, FIFA chose Maradona and Pelé as the greatest players in history.
At the height of his club career, in Naples from 1984 to 1991, he helped the club win their only two Italian league titles and became a symbol for the poor of Italy in the south against the might of the rich industrial north centered in Milan and Turin.
Maradona had played for Barcelona between 1982 and 1984, but fell out with the club’s board of directors and joined the Italian league.
After her retirement, Maradona battled drug addiction, alcohol abuse and obesity. In an unlikely comeback, he was named national coach in 2008, where he had mixed results and failed to translate his playing skills into coaching expertise. Before becoming a coach of his home country in 2008, he coached Argentina’s first division clubs Deportivo Mandiyu in 1994 and Racing Club in 1995.
Born in 1960, Maradona started his domestic league playing career at the age of 15 and won his first international cap a year later, scoring his first senior international goal in a friendly against Scotland in 1979.
He was known as “The lawn,” literally “plush” in Spanish and a word used to describe poor street children. Then he was more often referred to as “El Pibe de Oro” – The Golden Boy – and his legendary rise from poverty to lead Argentina to World Cup glory still resonates in a country where the national ego is enveloped. in football performance on the world stage.
Some Argentinian journalists have likened him to the classic character of “picaro” of 16th century Spanish literature, the rascal who lives off his spirits and seeks all the advantages.
In a 2-1 quarter-final victory over England in the 1986 World Cup, Maradona scored a goal after using his outstretched left fist to kick the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The referee did not spot the ball with his hand and the goal was held.
It is arguably the most infamous goal in World Cup history. Later in the match, Maradona scored one of the best football goals of all time, passing five English players through a myriad of feints, dribbles and body strength, then beating Shilton.
The goal was voted the greatest of the 20th century, and Argentina stood firm to beat England 2-1 as they won the tournament.
When asked how to score with his hand, Maradona skillfully awarded the goal to “God’s hand” (God’s hand). In 2004, Maradona finally admitted that he had touched the ball with his hand.
“Scoring a goal with my hand was like stealing from a thief,” La Nacion sports editor Daniel Arcucci said, citing Maradona.
His worst moment of play came during the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He was sent off after the second group game against Nigeria, testing positive for what FIFA called a ‘cocktail’ of performance-enhancing drugs, including ephedrine.
He was banned for 15 months, but still returned home as a hero. Maradona had a long list of other controversies on and off the pitch and provocative incidents.
Among other things: Maradona has had tax problems in Italy, where his debts total $ 10 million from his time in Naples. He was suspended for 15 months in April 1991 for testing positive for cocaine while playing for Napoli.
In 1994, Maradona fired an air pistol at journalists and received a two-year suspended sentence. In 2014, he slapped a journalist and called him an “idiot” in front of a theater in Buenos Aires.
In 2009, he was banned by FIFA and fined more than $ 24,000 after an explosion at the end of a decisive World Cup qualification in Uruguay.
In 2011, Maradona was forced to apologize after kicking a fan of Al Dubai football club Al Wasl and he once charged into the stands to face off against Al Shabab fans who were laughed at his partner and the wives of several players.
He had feuds with several South American football stars, including Pelé and Juan Roman Riquelme. His tumultuous personal life has often been the target of local media in Argentina.
In the end, Maradona was a survivor who triumphed over near death on a ventilator in 2006 after suffering a heart attack attributed to a cocaine overdose.
He said he was clean after that, had a gastric bypass to lose weight, and in 2008 his Argentine talk show, “La Noche del 10” (The Night of No.10), achieved popularity. unexpected.
Maradona was a man who reacted spontaneously, rarely thinking about things to gauge what might be the effect of his actions or remarks, as was the case with his crass tirade which got him banned in 2009.
At a subsequent press conference in which he expressed his heartfelt remorse for his 2009 ban, Maradona said revealingly: “I am black or white, there is no gray in my life. “
He is survived by his longtime partner, Veronica Ojeda, two daughters, two sons, several grandchildren and his ex-wife, Claudia Villafane.
[ad_2]
Source link