Football Genius: Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona was born 30 October 1960. He is an Argentine football coach as well as a manager and former player. Many experts, football critics, former players, current players and football fans in general consider Maradona to be the greatest football player of all time. He was joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century with Pelé. Maradona was born in Lanús, but raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province. He was the first son after three daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo and Raúl, both of whom were also professional football players. Maradona has Italian, and indigenous ancestry. At age 10, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighborhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of Los Cebollitas, the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors. As a 12-year-old ball boy, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the halftime intermissions of first division games.

He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 tournament, where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarterfinal round, he scored both goals in a 2:1 victory over England that entered football history, though for two different reasons. The first goal was via an unpenalized handball known as the «Hand of God», while the second goal followed a 60 m dribble past five England players, voted «The Goal of the Century» by FIFA.com voters in 2002.

He is the only footballer to set world-record contract fees twice, firstly when transferring to Barcelona for a then world record £5m, and secondly, when transferred to Napoli for another record fee £6.9m. During his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys. At club level, he is most famous for his career in Napoli where he won numerous accolades. In his international career, playing form Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals.

Maradona is considered one of the sport's most controversial and newsworthy figures. He was suspended from football for 15 months in 1991 after failing a drug test, for cocaine, in Italy, and he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA after testing positive for ephedrine. In 2005, he lost the weight and he overcame his cocaine addiction. His outspoken manners have sometimes put him at odds with journalists and sport executives but his honesty is admirable. Although he had little managerial experience, he became head coach of the Argentina national team in November 2008, and held the job for eighteen months, until his contract expired after the 2010 World Cup.

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors, ten days before his sixteenth birthday. He played there between 1976 and 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his £1m transfer to Boca Juniors. Having joined the Boca squad midway through the 1981 season, Maradona played through 1982 earning his first league championship medal. Whilst playing for Argentinos Juniors, English club Sheffield United put in an offer of £180,000 for his services but the bid was rejected.

After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona in Spain for a then world record £5m. In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Athletic Bilbao. However, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona. First a bout with hepatitis, then a broken ankle caused by an ill-timed tackle by Athletic's Andoni Goikoetxea threatened with jeopardizing Maradona's career, but after treatment and therapy it was possible for him to soon be back on the pitch. During his time in Italy, Maradona's personal problems increased. His cocaine use continued, and he received US $70,000 in fines from his club for missing games and practices, ostensibly because of 'stress'. He faced a scandal there regarding an illegitimate son, and he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra.

His parents are Diego Maradona Snr and Dalma Salvadore Franco. His father is of Native American origin. Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on 7 November 1984 in Buenos Aires, and they had two daughters, Dalma Nerea and Giannina Dinorah, by whom he became a grandfather in 2009. In his autobiography, Maradona admits he was not always faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life. At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career. He quickly became an adored star among the club's fans, and in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their only Serie A Italian Championships in 1986/87 and 1989/1990, placing second in the league twice, in 1987/88 and 1988/89. Other honors during the Maradona era at Napoli included the Coppa Italia in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1989 and the Italian Supercup in 1990. Maradona was the top scorer in Serie A in 1987/88.

Maradona and Villafañe divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her parents remained on friendly terms. They travelled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on many other occasions, including the Argentina matches during 2006 FIFA World Cup. During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on 20 September 1986). The Italian courts had already so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity. Diego Jr. met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Italy where Maradona was playing. Diego Sinagra is now a footballer playing in Italy.

His younger daughter, Giannina, is currently married to Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero, with whom she has a son, Benjamin, born in Madrid on 19 February 2009. After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma was seeking an acting career; she had expressed her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles. His Mother, Dalma, died on 19 November 2011. Over the years following his retirement his health seriously deteriorated. On 4 January 2000, while vacationing in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Maradona had to be rushed to the emergency room of a local clinic. In a press conference, doctors stated that it was detected heart muscle damage due to "an underlying health issue". It was later known that traces of cocaine were found in his blood and Maradona had to explain the circumstances to the police. After this he left Argentina and went to Cuba in order to follow a drug rehab plan. Diego was in Dubai at the time, and desperately tried to fly back in time to see her, but was too late. She was 81 years old. From the mid-1980s until 2004 Diego Maradona was addicted to cocaine. He allegedly began using the drug in Barcelona in 1983. By the time he was playing for Napoli he had a regular addiction, which began to interfere with his ability to play football.