[297] In addition to the minute of silence in Italy's Serie A an image of Maradona was projected on stadium screens in the 10th minute of play. "[315] In leading his nation to the 1986 World Cup, and in particular his performance and two goals in the quarter-final against England, Guillem Balagué writes: "That Sunday in Mexico City, the world saw one man single-handedly – in more than one sense of the phrase – lift the mood of a depressed and downtrodden nation into the stratosphere. After winning his first three matches as the coach of the national team, he oversaw a 6–1 defeat to Bolivia, equalling the team's worst ever margin of defeat. [312], On 30 November, after Boca Juniors opened the scoring against Newell's Old Boys at La Bombonera, the club's players paid an emotional tribute by laying a Maradona jersey in front of his private suite where his daughter Dalma was present.[313]. In the 1990 World Cup second-round tie against Brazil, he used his right foot to set up the winning goal for Claudio Caniggia due to two Brazilian markers forcing him into a position that made use of his left foot less practical.[163]. He said, "They wanted me to continue, but seven of my staff should not go on, if he told me that, it meant he did not want me to keep working. Lionel Messi has won more trophies. Maradona was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17. "Great Sporting Scandals". Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. [40] After receiving another hard tackle by Goikoetxea, as well as being taunted with racist insults related to his father's Native American ancestry throughout the match by Bilbao fans, and being provoked by Bilbao's Miguel Sola at full time after Barcelona lost 1–0, Maradona snapped. [209], By 1982, Maradona had become one of the biggest sports stars in the world and had endorsements with many companies, including Puma and Coca-Cola, earning him an additional $1.5 million per year on top of his club salary. [82], —Bryon Butler's BBC Radio commentary on Maradona's second goal against England[83], Maradona's second goal, just four minutes after the hotly disputed hand-goal, was later voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup. My Disease) was dedicated to him. We all thought ourselves privileged to be witnesses of his genius. [144][145][146] Regarded as one of the best dead-ball specialists of all time,[147][148][149][150] his free kick technique, which often saw him raise his knee at a high angle when striking the ball, thus enabling him to lift it high over the wall, allowed him to score free kicks even from close range, within 22 to 17 yards (20 to 16 metres) from the goal, or even just outside the penalty area. After the closing of it, the authors started a new short-lived comic book titled El Die, using Maradona as the main character. WC 1990 MENU; Italy '90 story; Match schedule; Squads; Statistics; Picture gallery; Qualifying rounds Argentina's World Cup squad 1990. There's also no question he’s a wonderful athlete and has maintained a friendship with Cuba to no material gain of his own. [171][174][175][176], In a 2019 documentary film on his life, Diego Maradona, Maradona confessed that his weekly regime consisted of "playing a game on Sunday, going out until Wednesday, then hitting the gym on Thursday." [314], In Argentina, Maradona is considered an icon. 'I’m different to anyone else so I need to train at what I’m good at and what I’m weak at.' [22] After the game, Maradona said, "That day I felt I had held the sky in my hands. [211] On 17 August 2015, Maradona visited Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian referee of the Argentina–England quarter-final match at the 1986 World Cup where Maradona scored his Hand of God, and paid tribute to him by giving him a signed Argentine jersey. The 25 best World Cup players EVER”, "Diego Maradona: The Extremes of Footballing Morality & the Greatest of All Time", "Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Zlatan Ibrahimovic: The best players never to win Champions League 25–1", "ICON: When Diego Maradona fought an exhibition boxing match for charity back in 1996 and jokingly attacked the referee", Maradona donates royalties from Cuban edition of his book, "The ten greatest World Cup playersbr No 1 Diego Maradona Argentina", "Roberto Durán estuvo con Diego Maradona", "Maradona Rejects Role With Argentina Team", "Interreligious Match for Peace: 1/9/2014", "Il Papa a Maradona: "Ti aspettavo". [294][295] Boca Juniors' game was postponed in respect to Maradona. When Italy took on Argentina at the 1990 World Cup, Diego Maradona urged Neapolitans to support the Albiceleste. 1, by, This page was last edited on 21 December 2020, at 13:56. Instead, they focused on defending at all costs, knowing they would have the advantage if they managed to reach the penalty shoot-out, as they had already advanced twice in the tournament by this means. ", "Pelé or Diego Maradona: Who is the Greatest Soccer Player of All Time? From this point, Barcelona and Bilbao players brawled on the field with Maradona in the centre of the action, kicking and punching anyone in a Bilbao shirt. "Bianchi: "Messi? "[42] Maradona got into frequent disputes with FC Barcelona executives, particularly club president Josep Lluís Núñez, culminating with a demand to be transferred out of Camp Nou in 1984. [41] Maradona then headbutted Sola, elbowed another Bilbao player in the face and kneed another player in the head, knocking him out cold. I'd never felt like that before, but it's true... and not just because it was such an important game. [92][119][120] He had a compact physique, and with his strong legs, low center of gravity, and resulting balance, he could withstand physical pressure well while running with the ball, despite his small stature,[95][121][122] while his acceleration, quick feet, and agility, combined with his dribbling skills and close control at speed, allowed him to change direction quickly, making him difficult for opponents to defend against. France, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1990_FIFA_World_Cup_Final&oldid=994836807, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 December 2020, at 20:02. [291][300][301] Celebrities and other sports people outside football also paid tribute to Maradona. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. Even in 1990 when Argentina took on hosts Italy in front of a hostile crowd at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples, Maradona was honoured with applause and banners. [316] In Argentina, Maradona is often talked about in terms reserved for legends. [104] His failed drug test at the 1994 World Cup signalled the end of his international career, which lasted 17 years and yielded 34 goals from 91 games, including one winner's medal and one runners-up medal in the World Cup. [12] He was the coach of Argentine Primera División club Gimnasia de La Plata from September 2019 until his death in November 2020. Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on 7 November 1989 in Buenos Aires,[237] and they had two daughters, Dalma Nerea (born 2 April 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (born 16 May 1989), by whom he became a grandfather in 2009. With Maradona fostering a close relationship with the players, Boca won the 2005 Apertura, the 2006 Clausura, the 2005 Copa Sudamericana, and the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana. [147][148][149][150] A precocious talent in his youth,[5] in addition to his playing ability, Maradona also drew praise from his former manager Menotti for his dedication, determination, and the work-ethic he demonstrated in order to improve the technical aspect of his game in training, despite his natural gifts, with the manager noting: "I'm always cautious about using the word 'genius'. [40], The mass brawl was played out in front of the Spanish King Juan Carlos and an audience of 100,000 fans inside the stadium, and more than half of Spain watching on television. [65] In 1993, he played for Newell's Old Boys and in 1995 returned to Boca Juniors for a two-year stint. [15] He was the first son after four daughters. [45] Other honours during the Maradona era at Napoli included the Coppa Italia in 1987 (as well as a second-place finish in the Coppa Italia in 1989), the UEFA Cup in 1989, and the Italian Supercup in 1990. "[236], Born to a Roman Catholic family, his parents were Diego Maradona Senior and Dalma Salvadora Franco. ", "I mille colori di Maradona in bianco e nero", "Napoli, Carnevale racconta: "Maradona una volta si presentò un'ora prima di giocare, "Bianchi, passione e rigore di un vincente". p. 227. Concerning the idolatry that exists in his country, former teammate Jorge Valdano said, "At the time that Maradona retired from active football, he left Argentina traumatized. [251] In the midst of his drug crisis in 1991, Maradona was asked by journalists if the hit song Mi enfermedad (lit. [154] Some critics view his controversial "Hand of God" goal at the 1986 World Cup as a clever manoeuvre, with one of the opposition players, Glenn Hoddle, admitting that Maradona had disguised it by flicking his head at the same time as palming the ball. [302][303][304][305][306], On 27 November 2020, the Aditya School of Sports in Barasat, Kolkata, India named their cricket stadium after Maradona. He has two younger brothers, Hugo (el Turco) and Raúl (Lalo), both of whom were also professional football players. [3][4] Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity allowing him to manoeuvre better than most other players. Football statistics … [239], During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted that he was the father of Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on 20 September 1986). Although the team convincingly beat both Hungary and El Salvador in Alicante to progress to the second round, there were internal tensions within the team, with the younger, less experienced players at odds with the older, more experienced players. [74], Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982 in his new country of residence, Spain. He was treated for hepatitis and effects of alcohol abuse and was released on 11 April, but readmitted two days later. [16][17][18] At the time, the 1990 final was the lowest-scoring final in the history of the competition—although this record was broken four years later, when Brazil beat Italy on penalties after 120 goalless minutes. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in front of 115,000 fans at the Azteca with Maradona lifting the World Cup as captain. That was the kind of influence he exercised on the team. ", "I asked myself, 'Who is this man? In the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. [88][89] By the end of the World Cup, Maradona went on to win the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament by unanimous vote and was widely regarded to have won the World Cup virtually single-handedly, something that he later stated he did not entirely agree with.