Soccer legend Diego Maradona was an Argentinian football player who was considered as one of the greatest players of all time and led Argentina to triumph in the 1986 World Cup. He managed club teams to championships in Argentina and Spain. However, his career was somewhat tarnished, due to his battle with alcohol and drugs, which evidently led to early retirement. 

Maradona was born on October 30, 1960, in Argentina. He was introduced to the game of football at the age of three, where he received one as a birthday present. At age 11, he joined the youth team of Los Cebollitas that was one of the best clubs at that time. Because of his extraordinary abilities, he led the team to a 130 unbeatable streak. After a year, he made his professional appearance for the superior team.

The courageous midfielder was famous for his skills to produce scoring opportunities for himself and the team. The zenith of his profession came as a part of the Argentinean national club that won the 1986 World Cup. His achievement there added two significant goals in a quarter-final triumph over England. The goal that made him famous as the hand of God was the first one that was illegal as he used his palm to assist him. He was known for his supernatural talent to dribble through all defenders to find the back of the net. Altogether, he participated in four World Cups and scored an extraordinary 30 goals in 90 appearances. Despite his brilliant performance for the team, he achieved fame for his skills and highly dubious figure. The decision that led to his retirement was his addiction to cocaine while playing in Spain that led him into a year suspension in 1990. Due to this suspension, he spent most of the time in his home country, which then led to his injuries and skills declining. He published his retirement on his birthday in 1997.

The problems that faced Maradona during his career followed him into his retirement. And as he was diagnosed with heart problems in 2001, this meant that he would have to go through multiple surgeries in hopes of fixing him. The federation of football marked him as the best player of the era. In 2008, he was appointed as a coach of the Argentinian national team. He managed to gather the best squad with talented players like Lionel Messi, perhaps the best player in the world. But they suffered a huge loss to Germany in the 2010 World Cup that led to the end of Maradona’s contract as a coach.

He was recuperating from brain surgery in his home country where he passed away from a heart attack on November 25, 2020. Despite the public distress, he will continue to be loved and worshipped in Argentina and regarded as the best footballer of all time. 

-Kshitij Gupta