The Cult of Diego Maradona: How did the soccer player inspire millions around the world?

October 30 is the birthday of a man whose name is familiar to all of us. An icon of soccer, an ambiguous personality, a millionaire from the slums – Diego is called differently, but the essence is the same – he is a legend who inspired millions of people around the world.

We tell you about the life path of the footballer, recall his advice to aspiring athletes and advice to drug addicts.

About soccer genius

Diego Armando Maradona was born in the slums of Buenos Aires. There they are called “vijas miseria”, literally translated from Spanish – “villas of poverty”, which he managed to avoid, becoming a superstar of world soccer. Many experts are sure that he surpasses even Pele: during his career Maradona scored 259 goals in 491 matches.

Maradona was a prodigy from childhood. Playing for the Los Cebollitas junior team, he helped win 136 consecutive matches, and he made his international debut as an independent athlete at the age of 16.

“My mom always tells me I’m the best. And I’m not used to arguing with my mom.”

From the very beginning, no one believed in him: a stocky young man with a height of only about 165 cm was not a standard build for a soccer player. But Maradona proved the opposite: his jewelry skill, speed, ability to observe the situation on the field, to possess the ball and pass accurate passes compensated for weight problems.

In 91 matches for the Argentine national team he scored 34 goals, in 1986 in Mexico he led his team to victory at the World Cup, and four years later – in the finals.

“Football is a game for fun and joy and the players here should not be stressed. Stress is for those who spend their whole lives behind a desk.”

Maradona’s scandalous game is legendary. In a match between Argentina and England in the 52nd minute, when the score was 0-0, being in the penalty area of the opponent, Maradona jumped up at the same time as the goalkeeper of England Peter Shilton and with his fist threw the ball into the goal. Diego said afterward that the ball was scored “partly by Maradona’s head and partly by the hand of God.”

Four minutes later, Maradona scored everyone’s famous “goal of the century.” Taking the ball in his own half of the field, Diego began to move towards the enemy’s goal. Leaving behind five players of the English national team, he bypassed the goalkeeper and scored the ball into the gate.

About imperfection

After Argentina’s loss to Germany in the World Cup final in 1990 Maradona failed a drug test. He was suspended from the game for 15 months. In 1994, he returned to the field in the same championship, but quickly surprised spectators with his strange behavior. Running up to the camera after another goal, he stuck his face in the lens, and after the first half in his tests found a banned substance – ephedrine. For this reason, he was forced to leave the game.

After that, Diego Maradona was often treated in psychiatric clinics because of drug addiction, which negatively affected all areas of the legend’s life. Diego himself noted that, taking banned substances, did a favor to opponents on the field. And in one of the interviews the footballer stated that he was ashamed of this questionable part of his life in front of his children.

“When you try drugs for the first time, you quickly realize: this is something you’ll soon have to battle with on a daily basis. They give you a euphoric feeling – like you’ve just won a championship. And then you think: who cares what happens tomorrow, because today I’m the champion.”

On the last years of his life

In 1997, Diego tried to rejoin the national team, but after three positive drug tests, he decided it was time to quit professional sports. But the addiction wasn’t going away. He became addicted to alcohol and cocaine, because of which he went to prison (once he shot at journalists with an air rifle), recovered to 128 pounds and was in intensive care with a heart attack.

In 2008 came a white streak in the life of Maradona: he was appointed head coach of the Argentine national team. During his coaching career, he led the team to the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup. Also during this period, he recognized children born out of wedlock and took an active part in their upbringing.

In 2018, he took a strong interest in religion, which he actively demonstrated at the matches of the Argentine national team. At the World Cup in St. Petersburg, he unfurled a banner with his portrait, danced with a fan of the Nigerian national team and prayed for victory before Argentina’s game.

“If I die, I want to be born again and I want to be a soccer player. And I want to be Diego Armando Maradona again. I am a player who gives people joy.”