Diego Maradona (60) is dead – VG

The Argentine football legend is said to have had a heart attack in his home in the city of Tigre, writes Clarin. It happens shortly after he underwent a head operation. Spain’s largest newspaper MARCA also writes that Maradona is dead.

Maradona is considered one of, if not the very best football player of all time. He won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, and ravaged for several years for Barcelona and especially Napoli in European top football.

– It’s sad to hear when people die. I am so old that I have seen and admired Maradona for several years. I have also met and greeted him and I had a lot to do with him, Norway’s former national team manager Egil “Drillo” Olsen tells VG.

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This is how he has treated everyone for 60 years

He also tells about when Maradona was in Norway in 2006 where he visited the Argentine legend in the hotel room. Drillo tells of both a nice person, but who had a hotel room that could also describe the life of a football legend, untidy.

– He is among the very very greatest. He comes from poor backgrounds, and so have other legends. In that way, he reminds me a bit of Garincha, even though he was a different type of player. Maradona was complete, he knew everything. He had cutting-edge expertise in many areas, Drillo recalls.

Diego Armando Maradona grew up in an extremely poor environment in Villa Fiorito in the province of Buenos Aires. He got his first professional contract with the club Argentinos Juniors in 1976. In the movie “Diego Maradona” he says that he bought a house for the first money, which the whole family moved into.

He became a star of the club, which has renamed the home ground with Maradona’s name, Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.

He was not allowed to participate in the World Cup at home in 1978 because the coach thought he was too young to cope with the pressure.

In 1981, a big dream came true when he signed for the favorite team Boca Juniors, one of the two big giants in Argentine football.

In 1982, he was finally allowed to participate in the World Cup with Argentina, after many felt they had been cheated on a big star four years earlier. However, the 1982 World Cup was not a great success for the little magician. Many defenders were looking to stop the attacking player a whole world talked about, and against rival Brazil the frustration became too great. Maradona was sent off after kicking an opponent in the stomach. Argentina was out of the World Cup after five matches.

He did not stay long in the favorite club Boca Juniors. After the World Cup, he signed with the Spanish big club Barcelona, ​​where he remained until 1984. The stay was not a success, Maradona did not like and was often provoked while playing for the giants.

In 1984, he surprised many when he signed for Napoli from southern Italy, which until then had never won the series in his home country. There were more titles after Maradona’s arrival. The Argentine is still the biggest hero in the city, where you can see large murals of Maradona in several places. With Maradona as the clear boss, Napoli won Serie A in 1986-87 and in the 1989-90 season. The UEFA Cup won “little” Naples in the 1988-89 season, and the city exploded in scenes of joy.

For the rest of the football world, it is still 1986 that is best remembered. Argentina won one of the most memorable World Cups ever, and Maradona did things that had never been done on a football pitch before. There was also great controversy when he scored with his hand against England in the quarterfinals. But just as much attention was given to the second goal he made in the match where he dribbled through “the whole” of England and led the ball into goal. Many still consider this score to be the very best of all time.

Argentina reached the final four years later, but lost in the final to Germany. It was a very special World Cup for Diego Maradona since it was played in his new home country Italy. And as if that were not enough, Argentina was set up against Italy in the semifinals in the “hometown” Naples where he was a great hero. Here he had to see his new city children – as it should be – cheering on Italy. Argentina won on penalties after 1-1 at full time.

After many personal problems, and a rather unsuccessful club stay in Seville, Spain, Maradona made a comeback to the World Cup in the USA in 1994.

The football world was waiting in excitement for the championship and what kind of form the football god should be in. Unfortunately, he only got two games, but many are still warm-hearted when they think of the collaboration between Maradona and long-haired Claudio Caniggia. Maradona was taken out for doping tests, tested positive and was sent home from the championship.

Maradona’s international career was over, but it still never got boring in the World Cup when Maradona appeared to cheer on his home country. He stole the attention most recently after the dramatic advancement of Argentina against Nigeria during the World Cup in 2018.

Rumor had it that he was sent to hospital after the match, but he himself later denied it.

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