Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈðjeɣo maɾaˈðona]; born 30 October 1960) is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time.[1] Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli,Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting world-record contract fees. In hisinternational career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals.
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 victoryoverEngland 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 (66 yd) dribble through six England players, voted "The Goal of the Century".
Maradona is considered one of the sport's most controversial and newsworthy figures. He was suspended from football for 15 months in1991 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. After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997,[2] he gained weight, suffered ill health and the effects of cocaine use. In 2005, a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain, and he overcame his cocaine addiction. Hisoutspoken manners have sometimes put him at odds with journalists and sport executives. 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.

1986 World Cup
Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup,winning the final in Mexico against West Germany. Throughout the 1986 World Cup Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the tournament. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scored 5 goals and made 5 assists. After scoring two goals in the 2–1 quarter-final win against England his legend was cemented.
This match was played with the background of the FalklandsWar between Argentina and the United Kingdom and emotions were still lingering in the air throughout the entire match. Replays showed that the firstgoal was scored by striking the ball with his hand. Maradona was coyly evasive, describing it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." It became known as the "Hand of God". Ultimately, on 22 August 2005 Maradona acknowledgedon his television show that he had hit the ball with his hand purposely, and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. The goal stood, much to the wrath of the English players.

-------------------------------------------------
Retirement and honours

Hounded for years by the press, Maradona once fired a compressed-air rifle at reporters who he claimed were invading his privacy.This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarizes the feelings of many:
He is someone many people want to emulate, a controversial figure, loved, hated, who stirs great upheaval, especially in Argentina... Stressing his personal life is a mistake. Maradona has no peers inside the pitch, but he has turned his life into a show, and is now living a personal ordeal that should not beimitated. [21]
In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am The Diego"), which became an instant bestseller[22] in his home country. Two years later, Maradona donated the Cuban royalties of his book to "the Cuban people and Fidel."[23]
FIFA conducted a fan poll on the Internet in 2000, to elect the FIFA Player of the Century. Maradona finished top of the poll with 53.6% of the...