Sports

Maradona: The First Barca Player To Be Applauded By R/Madrid Fans

Published

3 years ago

November 25, 2020

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By Ekene Dike

Football icon, Diego Maradona was snatched away by the cold hands of death following a heart attack on 25th November, 2020. It was a shocking news to the football world as he was aged at 60 years of age.

A large number of the football bandwagon dubbed him “the greatest footballer of all-time”.

He was a sublime talent who was a joy to behold during his career as a professional footballer. His notorious goal against England in the 1986 World Cup known as “the hand of god” remains one of the most talked about goals till date.

Born on 30 October 1960 in Lanùs, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Diego Armando Maradona Franco was discovered by a football scout at the age of eight while he was playing on the streets of Estrella Roja.

Eight years later, Maradona made his professional debut in the colors of Argentinos Juniors, ten days before his sixteenth birthday. Wearing a jersey number 16, he appeared as the youngest player to ever kick a ball in the rich history of the Argentine Primera Divisiòn.

At the end of his five years stint at Argentinos Juniors, 115 goals were scored by him in 167 appearances.

Boca Juniors was his next destination, and on his debut, he bagged a brace against Talleres de Còrdoba. He clinched the league title that season, however, it was his only trophy with Boca Juniors before he signed for Spanish giants FC Barcelona for a then world record fee of £5 million in 1982.

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The Catalan giants made a good investment by acquiring the services of the Argentine maestro as Barcelona defeated arch rivals Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey final in 1983.

Maradona also became the first player to be applauded by fans of Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu after a wonderful goal in the El Clasico on 26 June 1983. Till date, only Ronaldinho and Andres Iniesta have been given a standing ovation by the passionate Real Madrid supporters.

Apart from his heroics with Barcelona, he was on the spotlight for the wrong reasons when he got into a physical combat with players of Atletico Bilbao in the 1983/1984 season. The outburst snowballed into an exit from the club after two seasons which were blighted by injuries. On the other hand, he bagged 38 goals in 58 appearances.

Napoli came knocking at the door for the superstar for another £6.9 million world record fee. He joined the Italian Serie A side on 5 July 1984. In Naples, he was unveiled to 75,000 fans at the Stadio Don Paolo. They took him as a messiah where he hit the ground running.

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Plying his trade at Napoli turned him into a fans favorite. He spearheaded them to winning their first ever Serie A title in the 1986/1987 season. He later went to on to win the Serie A title again in the 1989/1990 season, Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana.

When leaving the club, he was the club’s all-time highest goalscorer with 115 goals and his number 10 jersey was officially retired to acknowledge his immense impact on the club.

Cocaine addiction was a major problem for Maradona and it was culpable for his exit from the club in 1992. In the latter stages of his career, he went back to play for Boca Juniors after stints at Sevilla and Newell’s old boys.

Internationally, Diego Maradona had a blissful career. At the young age of 16, he made his debut for the Argentine senior team. He also went on to star in the 1979 FIFA U-20 World Cup and scored six goals in six appearances. A well deserved Golden ball was awarded to him at the end of the tournament.

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Diego Maradona made his first World Cup appearance in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Argentina got eliminated by Brazil in the second round. He found the back of the net twice in Argentina’s five games. Four years later, Diego Maradona wore the captain armband to lead Argentina to conquer the world in Mexico against West Germany in the final. He scored five goals and five assists in the tournament. He shined bright and was the cynosure of all eyes.

England will never forget how Diego Maradona’s two goals kicked them in the quarterfinal. His first goal which is regarded as the “hand of god” was scored with his hand. While the second goal was simply top-notch and regarded among the best goals of the last century.

Maradona dribbled past five players and dribbled past the goalkeeper to dispatch it in spectacular fashion.

In the 1990 World Cup, Argentina got to the final with Diego Maradona being indispensable to the team’s style of play. West Germany’s heartbreak in the last World Cup was alleviated by defeating Argentina in the final.

USA hosting the World Cup in 1994 exposed Maradona’s incessant usage of drugs. He failed a drug test at the World Cup and played his last game against Nigeria in a 2-1 win where he delivered two assists. Argentina were knocked out by Romania in the second round. An international career of 17 years saw him win the FIFA World Cup once and reaching the final once in four attempts.

Nevertheless, Diego Maradona is regarded as a sporting hero all over the world. His comparisons to current world best player Lionel Messi is largely owed to their similar methods of playing football. The duo are the only players to win the Golden ball award in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.

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As a manager, Diego Maradona got Argentina to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2010 at South Africa. He was soundly beaten at his own attacking game by Germany by four goals to nil. He also managed Textil Mandiyú, Racing Club, Al-Wasl, Deportivo Riestra, Fujairah, Dorados de Sinaloa, Gimnasia de La Plata.

Abuse of drugs culminated to psychological problems for Diego Maradona after he retired from football. He was hospitalized a couple of times before he gave up the ghost as a result of a heart attack. Till the end of time, he will continue to be remembered as a footballing heavyweight and sporting hero.

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors