Maradona's first professional touch was a nutmeg, ten days before turning 16
On 20 October 1976, a boy wearing number 16 came on for Argentinos Juniors and, within minutes, slipped the ball between an opponent's legs. Diego Maradona, the youngest player the Argentine top flight had ever fielded, said afterwards that he felt he had held the sky in his hands.
He was born on 30 October 1960 in Lanus and grew up poor in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown south of Buenos Aires, where his father worked in a chemicals factory. A football given to him at three became an obsession. At eight a scout spotted him at his local club, and in 1969 he joined Los Cebollitas, the Little Onions, the youth side of Argentinos Juniors. Its coach said the child played like a grown man. In 1973 and 1974 the team went 141 games unbeaten, and as a 12-year-old ball boy Diego juggled for crowds at half-time.
Small and low to the ground, he could turn faster than almost anyone, and his vision, passing, dribbling and free kicks made him the model number 10. Barcelona paid a world-record 5 million pounds for him in 1982; Napoli topped that at 6.9 million in 1984, making him the first player to be the subject of two record fees. In Naples he delivered the club's first Serie A title and a second three years later, though a cocaine ban eventually ended his time there.
The 1986 World Cup defined him. As captain he carried Argentina to the trophy and was named best player of the tournament. In the quarter-final against England he scored twice: first with an unpunished handball he called the Hand of God, then with a 60-metre run past five England players that FIFA.com voters in 2002 named the Goal of the Century. Across four World Cups he won 91 caps and scored 34 goals.
Later he coached Argentina from November 2008 until the 2010 World Cup, then clubs in the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Argentina, and briefly chaired Dynamo Brest in Belarus. He shared the FIFA Player of the Century award with Pele, and died on 25 November 2020.
Source: Diego Maradona
