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"Maradona" redirects here. For other uses, see Maradona (disambiguation) Diego Armando Maradona (Spanish: [ˈdjeɣo maɾaˈðona]; 30 October 1960 – 25 November 💸 2024) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history 💸 of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. An 💸 advanced playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position, Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined 💸 with his small stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity and allowed him to manoeuvre better than most 💸 other players. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he 💸 would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal 💸 and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de 💸 Oro ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career. Maradona was the first player to set the 💸 world record transfer fee twice: in 1982 when he transferred to Barcelona for £5 million, and in 1984 when he 💸 moved to Napoli for a fee of £6.9 million. He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, and 💸 Newell's Old Boys during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli where he won numerous 💸 accolades and led the club to Serie A title wins twice. Maradona also had a troubled off-field life and his 💸 time with Napoli ended after he was banned for taking cocaine. In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps 💸 and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he 💸 captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the 💸 tournament's best player. In the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England 💸 that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul known as the "Hand 💸 of God", while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted "Goal of 💸 the Century" by FIFA voters in 2002. |