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FILE PHOTO: Soccer – Argentina v Nigeria 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa – Group B – Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa – 12/6/10 Argentina’s coach Diego Maradona prior to the match. Action Pictures / Carl Recine / MANDATORY CREDIT / File Photo
BUENOS AIRES – Diego Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time before drug and alcohol addiction spoiled his career, died Wednesday at his home in Argentina after suffering a heart attack, his lawyer said. . He was 60 years old.
Loved in his homeland after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and adored in Italy for leading Napoli to two Serie A titles, Maradona was a player with a unique talent who emerged from the tough streets. from Buenos Aires to reach the top of their sport.
He died four years after one of his political heroes, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and 15 years after another troubled but talented popular soccer hero, George Best, whom Maradona cited as one of his childhood inspirations.
Maradona had recently battled health issues and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma several weeks ago.
He suffered a heart attack at his home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, acquaintances of the former player said. His death was confirmed by his lawyer.
In Buenos Aires, people began to take to the streets to mourn the nation’s favorite son, gathering in the San Andrés neighborhood where he lived, in Boca, the sandy neighborhood where he first became a star, and in the nearby city of La Plata where lately he had been technical director of the local team Gimnasia y Esgrima.
The Argentine government has declared three days of mourning. President Alberto Fernández tweeted: “They took us to the highest point in the world and made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of all. Thanks for being with us, Diego. We will miss you for a lifetime. “
A wake would be held at the Casa Rosada presidential palace from Thursday through Saturday, a government spokesman said.
Pope Francis, Argentine and soccer fan, remembered Maradona in his prayers, the Vatican said.
In Buenos Aires metro stations, digital billboards replaced messages about trains with the words: “Thank you Diego.”
In the suburb of Villa Crespo, the song “La Mano de Dios” by the folk singer Rodrigo Bueno sounded from a balcony, alluding to a goal that Maradona scored with his hand against England in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In Argentina, Maradona has been worshiped for a long time as ‘The God’ – The God.
While that goal, and his depiction of it as divine intervention, was Maradona’s most controversial, the second in that game, where he raced through the England team to score an impressive solo goal, showed off his extraordinary dribbling and control. that many consider unmatched.
UPS AND DOWNS
In addition to many match-winning performances, Maradona wowed the world with ball juggling skills that he first displayed when he was a 12-year-old ball boy.
But the other side of Maradona came to light at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, when he was sent home after failing a doping test.
His last goal for Argentina came in that tournament against Greece in Boston and he celebrated it by shouting angrily at a television camera.
Pelé, the Brazilian footballer considered one of the only players who came close to Maradona’s skill level, was quick to pay tribute to the Argentine.
“Certainly one day we will kick a ball together in the sky,” he said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “What Diego has done for football, to make us fall in love with this beautiful game, is unique. Diego deserves our eternal gratitude for that ”.
At club level, Maradona burst onto the scene with Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires before playing in Spain with Barcelona. He was idolized in Italy after leading Napoli to their first Italian league title in 1987.
Naples Mayor Luigi de Magistris asked that the team’s stadium be renamed with the player’s name.
“Diego made our people dream, he redeemed Napoli with his genius. In 2017 he became our honorary citizen, Diego, Neapolitan and Argentine, you gave us joy and happiness! Naples loves you! wrote on Twitter.
The Maradona-inspired street art and graffiti in the Italian city have long been tourist attractions, but then he faced tax problems in the country and in 2009 police seized his earrings in an effort to recover unpaid taxes while he was in a health clinic in northern Italy.
Maradona ended his playing career in Argentina, returning to Boca. He had a brief and controversial stint as coach of the Argentine national team from 2008 to 2010 before coaching clubs in the Middle East and Mexico.
He had five children recognized from relationships with various women, but others have also claimed that he was their father. His daughter Giannina was married for four years to Argentine player Sergio Agüero, who is a forward for Manchester City in the English Premier League.
Maradona became friends with Castro while receiving medical treatment in Cuba and had tattoos of the Cuban leader and his former partner Che Guevara. He was also a supporter of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez.
Years of drug use, binge eating and alcoholism cut short his stellar career and altered his appearance from an agile athlete who could effortlessly slalom in teams to a bloated addict who nearly died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000.
Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius. One of the best of all time. An incomparable magician. He’s leaving too soon, but he leaves behind a limitless legacy and a void that will never be filled. Rest in peace as well. You will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/WTS21uxmdL
– Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 25, 2020
But at his peak he was, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo said, a “magician like no other.”
“Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius,” he said.
“One of the best of all time. An incomparable magician. He’s leaving too soon, but he leaves behind a limitless legacy and a void that will never be filled. Rest in peace as well. You will never be forgotten. “
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