Gabriel Hernández
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The Argentinian Football Association announced on Wednesday evening that he had tragically passed away.
One of the greatest players in football history, his death will be mourned far beyond his homeland, where he enjoyed god-like status.
A short and tenacious playmaker renowned for his incredible dribbling skills and ability to create something out of nothing for himself and his teammates, Maradona helped win titles at every club he played for in Argentina, Italy and Spain.
He played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico where he captained his nation to victory and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
No match encapsulates both his genius and madness as perfectly as the quarter-final against England.
Maradona showed the world he possessed those traits in both of his goals – arguably two of the most famous goals in football history.
His first came after he punched the ball over the despairing leap of Peter Shilton and into the back of the net.
Later declaring the goal as the ‘Hand of God’, Maradona even had the audacity and arrogance to celebrate goal in front of the same linesman who failed to see the infringement.
His second was a work of art, rightly described as ‘The Goal of the Century’ as he slalomed through the English defence before slotting home.
While his genius with a ball was unquestionable, Maradona’s career was blighted by controversies on and off the field.
His international playing career ended in shame when he failed a drugs test at the 1994 World Cup in the United States and he was notorious for a wayward lifestyle throughout his life.
He was also banned from football in 1991 after testing positive for cocaine while playing for Napoli.
However, he remained a revered figure at the Italian club, where he won two Serie A titles.
He also played for Barcelona, Sevilla, Boca Juniors and Newell’s Old Boys and was most recently manager of Gimnasia y Esgrima in La Plata, Argentina.
Gary Lineker, who played in the England side in that 1986 quarter-final defeat, tweeted: “Reports from Argentina that Diego Armando Maradona has died.
“By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time.
“After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RipDiego”