The great soccer player Diego Maradona dies at 60

Diego Maradona has passed away at the age of 60.

Clarín, Argentina’s largest newspaper, broke the news and his agent Matías Morla would later confirm that Maradona had died.

The 60-year-old man recently underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma, a blood clot in the brain, and was released from the hospital in early November.

However, the former Argentine player and coach died in Tigre after a cardiorespiratory arrest.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández announced three days of national mourning after the news of Maradona’s death.

“You took us to the top of the world. You made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of all,” Fernandez said.

Maradona played 91 games for Argentina, scored 34 goals and represented The Albiceleste in four World Cups, leading a team coached by Carlos Bilardo to their second title in 1986.

In 1990, he led Argentina to another World Cup final, beating host Italy in the last four, but lost to West Germany after an Andreas Brehme penalty in the 85th minute. His fourth World Cup appearance, USA 1994, came to a premature end after failing a drug test for ephedrine.

At the club level, Maradona will always be inextricably linked to Napoli, from which he passed in 1984 after two unhappy years at Barcelona. There he won two Serie A titles, in 1987 and 1990.

However, he would struggle with cocaine addiction for much of his career, and was banned for 15 months in 1991 for testing positive for the drug.

After prohibition, Maradona would move to Seville but could not replicate the way of yesteryear and moves to Newell’s Old Boys (1993) and Boca Juniors (1995) would offer flashes of brilliance before retiring in 1997.

After retirement, Maradona’s vices would spiral out of control and he nearly died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000. However, after his recovery, he will lead the national team, from 2008 to 2010, and since then he has been in Middle East and Mexico before taking the reins of Gymnastics in the Argentine First Division in 2019.