FOOTBALL has produced few more divisive figures than Diego Maradona.
The Argentina great died on Wednesday at the age of 60, following a cardiac arrest and while opinions on his legacy may differ depending on where you live, his remarkable impression on the game is undoubted.
The abiding image of Maradona, most likely, stems from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England.
For so many in England, he will forever be remembered for arguably the most controversial goal in the history of football, which saw the diminutive Maradona somehow rise above the comparatively towering figure of Peter Shilton and divert a sliced clearance from Steve Hodge into the empty net with his hand.
But that act of what can at best be considered deceit did not take away from the majesty of his ultimately decisive second goal, dubbed the ‘Goal of the Century’, with the balletic grace with which he weaved past the helpless England defenders before rounding Shilton and slotting home the defining memory of Maradona for his adoring fans in his home country and scores of fans around the world.
That game perhaps encapsulated the man known as El Pibe de Oro (The Golden Boy). As England striker Gary Lineker, who scored the goal overshadowed by Maradona’s brace at Estadio Azteca, said in a tweet paying tribute following news of his death, the Albiceleste legend led a “blessed but troubled life”.
Raised in a poor family in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Maradona’s blessings were evident from an early age. At just eight years old, his promise was discovered by a scout, Francisco Cornejo, and he was signed to the youth team of Argentinos Juniors.
“He did things that I have never seen anyone else do,” Cornejo, who died in 2008, later said of Maradona.
Maradona made his Argentinos debut 10 days before turning 16 and marked it in fitting fashion by nutmegging an opponent within minutes of entering the pitch.
One hundred and sixteen goals in 166 games for Argentinos followed and resulted in Maradona receiving a dream move to Boca Juniors, though his spell at La Bombonera yielded only one league title and was marked by a difficult relationship with coach Silvio Marzolini before he moved to Barcelona in a world-record transfer in 1982.
Barca did not see Maradona at his best at the 1982 World Cup in Spain that preceded his debut for the Blaugrana, yet the impact he had on his cohorts at Camp Nou was stark.
“He had complete mastery of the ball,” former team-mate Lobo Carrasco remarked. “When Maradona ran with the ball or dribbled through the defence, he seemed to have the ball tied to his boots.”
His time in Catalonia delivered both brilliance and tumult in equal measure. Maradona became the first Barca player to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabeu in 1983, but sustained a career-threatening ankle injury against Athletic Bilbao and was then involved in a brawl against the same opposition in the 1984 Copa del Rey final that hastened his exit from the club.
It was perhaps no surprise that the pinnacle of his international career coincided with that of his club career at Napoli, for whom Maradona will forever be an icon.
After being named player-of-the-tournament at the ’86 World Cup, Maradona inspired Napoli to their first Serie A title and triumph in the Coppa Italia. UEFA Cup glory followed in 1989 prior to a second league title a year later.
Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo was the scene of glory for Argentina in a World Cup semi-final win over Italy, in which Maradona scored the ultimately decisive penalty in the shoot-out, though he could not ensure a successful title defence as West Germany prevailed in the final.
Italian football saw the best of Maradona, whom Franco Baresi described as his toughest opponent – “when he was on form, there was almost no way of stopping him,” the Milan legend said.
Yet it also saw significant off-field struggles and he left Napoli after serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine, battling his addiction to the drug and alcohol until 2004.
He returned to Argentina by signing for Newell’s Old Boys after a turbulent spell with Sevilla, with his international career ending in the wake of a positive test for ephedrine doping during the 1994 World Cup that resulted in his being sent home from the United States.
Retirement came on the back of a second two-year stint at Boca, but Maradona was rarely out of the spotlight even as he fought addiction and struggles with obesity, undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2005.
His post-playing career also saw a string of brief coaching tenures, which included leading Argentina to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup, where they were thumped 4-0 by Germany. Maradona made sure his departure was fittingly acrimonious, levelling accusations of betrayal at the national team’s hierarchy.
Maradona had seemingly found some stability in his coaching career at Gimnasia y Esgrima de la Plata when he was admitted to hospital this month having recently renewed his contract through the 2020-21 season.
“We live an unforgettable story,” Gimnasia posted in a tribute on Twitter.
Blessed but troubled, tempestuous yet utterly bewitching to watch! Gimnasia’s words struck the right chord.
His story was undeniably unforgettable and it is telling that, despite Lionel Messi’s other worldly exploits, it is Maradona who stands as the symbol of Argentinian football for so many.
As Messi wrote of Maradona on Instagram: “He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal.”
Whether it’s the Hand of God or the Goal of the Century, his presentation to hordes of Napoli fans or that goal celebration at the ’94 World Cup, Maradona was the artist behind so many of the game’s indelible images.
Football is mourning the premature passing of an all-time great, but his legacy and impact will endure for decades to come.
