Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona (born October 30, 1960) is a former Argentine football player. He played in four World Cups and split with Pele the FIFA Player of the Century award, after being voted first in 2000 in an internet poll on the organisation's website to determine opinion on the best player of the 20th century.^[1][2]

Maradona won many trophies with Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli over the course of his career. During an international career that included 91 caps and 34 goals, he played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, leading the Argentina national team to its victory over West Germany in 1986 World Cup, in which he collected the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. He scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over England in the quarter-final of the '86 tournament. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal was a spectacular 60-metre weave through six England players, commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century" or, in Argentina, "The Cosmic Kite" (Spanish: El barrilete cósmico).

He is also considered one of the sport's most controversial figures. Maradona was suspended for 15 months in 1991 after a failed doping test for cocaine in Italy, and then again for ephedrine during the 1994 World Cup in USA.

After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997,^[3] he suffered ill health and weight gain, hardly helped by ongoing cocaine abuse. However, a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain. Since overcoming his cocaine addiction, he has become a TV host in Argentina

Honours

Club

• Boca Juniors
  • Primera División: 1981
• FC Barcelona
  • Copa del Rey: 1983
  • Copa de la Liga: 1983
  • Spanish Super Cup: 1983
• SSC Napoli
  • Serie A: 1987
  • Coppa Italia: 1987
  • Capocannoniere: 1988
  • UEFA Cup: 1989
  • Serie A: 1990
  • Italian Super Cup: 1990

Country

• Argentina
  • FIFA World Youth Championship: 1979
  • FIFA World Cup: 1986
  • 1990 FIFA World Cup: Runner-up
  • Artemio Franchi Trophy: 1993
  • 75th anniversary FIFA Cup: 1979

Individual

• Golden Ball for Best Player of the FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1979
• Argentine league Top Scorer: 1979, 1980, 1981
• Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year: 1979 — 1981, 1986
• South American Footballer of the Year (El Mundo, Caracas):1979, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992
• Argentine Sports Writers' Sportsman of the Year: 1986
• Golden Ball for Best Player of the FIFA World Cup: 1986
• Best Footballer in the World (Once): 1986 — 1987
• World Player of the Year (World Soccer Magazine): 1986
• Golden Ball for services to football (France Football): 1996
• Argentine Sports Writers' Sportsman of the Century: 1999
• "FIFA best football player of the century", people's choice: 2000
• "FIFA Goal of the Century" (1986 (2–1) v. England; second goal): 2002
• Argentine Senate "Domingo Faustino Sarmiento" recognition for lifetime achievement: 2005

Coaching career

• 1994 Mandiyú de Corrientes
• 1995 Racing Club de Avellaneda

He also won a cup with Racing Club de Avellaneda