The Argentine footballer Diego Maradona along with his controversies is arguably one of the most legendary football players of all time. From the 4 World Cups that he played for his country, he captained and led his team to victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Apart from his out of the world football skills, here are some of the most memorable milestones in Diego Maradona’s career :
Rivalries
What is Maradona if he doesn’t give back what he gets? His enmity with FIFA and Pele was known by the world and became distinct with his walkout after the declaration of the FIFA Player of The Century Award. FIFA had arranged for a poll for the audience and Maradona had won quite clearly with 53.6%. However, FIFA went out of its way to also declare another award that was to be decided by a football committee. Ironically, the award was given out to Pele, Maradona’s archenemy. Maradona famously walked out of the event after receiving his award and before Pele’s was given out.
Problems With the Paparazzi
In 2000, after being constantly stalked by the paparazzi, a fed-up Maradona responded by punching a reporter’s car window and breaking it. Years before that, in 1994, there had been an incident when Maradona fired a compressed-air rifle at the paparazzi outside his home as a response to the invasion of his privacy.
Pele vs. Maradona
The long-drawn rivalry between the two South Americans was some additional spice to add to the world of sports entertainment. In 2009, Pele made a statement where he declared Maradona as “a bad role model for the kids”, referring to his history with recreational drugs. Maradona spat back with angst when he pulled out the rumors of Pele losing his virginity to a man.
Iconic Goals
England versus Argentina was a historic world cup final that took place in 1986, the same year that Argentina lifted the cup. Argentina won by 2-1, both goals scored by one man – Diego Maradona. The first goal, infamously known as the “Hand of God” was scored only minutes before he went on the score the goal that even today is known as the “Goal of the Century”
The team went on to face West Germany in the semis where the score tied at 2-2. Maradona assisted Jorge Burruchaga to score the one goal that brought Argentina another step closer to victory.
Emotional Drive
Maradona has never been seen as someone with a complete grasp over his emotions. May it be his fiery comments or bold stances, he wasn’t the one to have it all together in critical conditions. This was evident in the 1990 World Cup final when West Germany’s Andreas Brehme converted the penalty. After a series of verbal wars with the referee, Maradona burst into tears with the final whistle of the match.
All in all, Diego Maradona may have not always been the star of the show, but he has never failed to be the talk of the crowd – even years after he retired from his football career.
