Diego Armando Maradona was born in the Argentine city of Buenos Aires on October 30, 1960. Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 games for Argentina and was a four-time World Cup winner. He came from a poor background. After three daughters, he was also the first son, and he had two younger brothers. At the age of 15, Maradona made his professional debut. Maradona made his debut for Argentinos Junior on October 20, 1976. Maradona was also a member of Argentina's youth team that won a World Cup in Japan in 1979. He went on to hold the record of playing the most World Cup matches as a captain. Maradona was the captain of Argentina in 16 World Cup matches and had appeared in a total of 21 World Cup matches. The passing of Diego Armando Maradona, one of the greatest players in football ever, had left fans all over the world distraught. The Golden Boy was one-of-a-kind, and he will continue to inspire countless people from all backgrounds.
Here we look at some unknown facts of Diego Maradona:
1) During his lifetime, Maradona won numerous awards. He was named the FIFA Under 20 World Cup's Best Player also with the Golden Ball Award. In the years 1979, 1980, and 1981, Maradona received the Argentina League Top Scorer Award.
2) From 1980 to 2004, Maradona battled drug addiction, which hampered his capacity to play football. Once they were caught, they were also banned for 15 months. In 1991, Maradona was charged with doping after allegedly taking a controlled substance. He was banned from the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for Ephedrine.
3) Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are the only footballers to have won the FIFA Under-20 and Golden Ball titles in the FIFA World Cup.
Diego Maradona still holds the World Cup record for most fouls with 53. He had made the record in his name during the 1986 World Cup. Not only that, but he set a World Cup record with 23 fouls in a match against Italy in 1982.
4) On August 15, 2005, Maradona premiered a chat show called "The Night of the Number 10," which featured football stars such as Zidane, Ronaldo, and Hernan Crespo, as well as Pelé as the program’s first guest.
5) On 26 December 2003, Argentina’s sports club “Argentinos Junior” named its stadium after Maradona.
6) In 2006, Diego Maradona was named the Intergovernmental Institution for the Use of Micro-Algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition's Goodwill Ambassador.
7) Maradona had a minor role in the Argentine comic book "El Sajdor de Aventuras," after the book was over, the same author began a new comic book named "El Die," in which Maradona has been the main character.
8) Maradona is Argentina's 5th highest goalscorer of all time, with 34 goals in 90 games for the national team, behind only Messi, Batistuta, Sergio Aguero, and Crespo.
9) Maradona joined Barcelona from Boca Juniors for £5 million, a world record transfer fee at the time. Two years later, he joined Napoli for a fee of £6.9 million, smashing the transfer record once again.
10) Only league winners from each nation were qualified to play in the European Cup, as it was known at the time. Maradona led Napoli to their only two Scudetto titles and only appeared in the competition twice during his time there.
11) The Argentinian was good friends with Castro and has a tattoo of him on his left leg. Maradona cites Che Guevara as an inspiration, saying, “I carry him on my arm and in my heart. I learned his story, I learned to love him. I think I know the truth about him.”
