Diego Armando Maradona, arguably one of the best football players of all time sadly passed away on the 25th November 2020, aged just 60, after suffering a heart attack. This was after receiving brain surgery just a month before.
Controversy has surfaced since the news of Maradona’s passing away, including the fact that the ambulance took over 30 minutes to arrive at the destination where Maradona was situated, a house just outside Buenos Aires. Additionally, since Maradona’s death, an investigation has gone into whether Maradona’s doctor, Leopoldo Luque holds any responsibility in his death. He has since denied all claims, saying that “there was no medical error.” There is no shying away from the fact that over the course of his life, Maradona has upheld serious addictions to drugs and alcohol that undoubtedly led to his heart failure.
Maradona’s life and how it influenced others He was born in 1960, in the Buenos Aires province and grew up in a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. After receiving a football for the first time, he fell in love with the game. At the age of 8 he was scouted for the first time and at just 15 he made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors becoming the youngest player in the history of the Argentine Primera División. He stayed at Argentinos Juniors for five years until he left for his dream club, Boca Juniors for $4 million where he scored 115 goals in 167 appearances. After his brilliant performance in the 1982 World Cup, Maradona set the record for the highest ever transfer fee when he signed for FC Barcelona for $7.6 million. He was famously the first person in history to receive a standing ovation by the opposition fans in the El Classico, a derby match against Real Madrid, after scoring a brilliant goal. This was the point where Maradona started to be widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. After, two years he made the move to the club most associated with him, Napoli. When he signed for Napoli, he became the most expensive transfer ever for the second time, smashing the previous record. He arrived at a relegation stricken club with almost no future. Soon that would change. He instantly became an idol. Winning two league titles in his first 5 years he was considered a god in Naples.
While most people would think that being loved in that way would be a dream, it caused many problems for Maradona. He was largely unable to travel anywhere or enjoy himself within the town without a bombardment of people chasing after him. To add to this he also often had hoards of people outside his house and this caused many psychological effects. Maradona became submerged in a world of drugs and alcohol. He became known to play the weekly game for Napoli and take 3 to 4 days off training recovering from his post-match parties.
The love he received from the Argentine football fans did not need to explained after he single-handedly carried Argentina to winning the World Cup in 1986. However, it was the same competition, 4 years later which eventually led to his demise in Naples. After scoring in a penalty shootout which knocked Italy out of the World Cup. There was an uproar against Maradona in Naples and subsequently the previous leniency during drug tests disappeared and he was given a 15 month ban from football after testing positive for cocaine. Just one month later, he was prosecuted for possession of drugs and distribution of drugs and was given a 14-month suspended sentence. He left Naples in 1992.
Maradona’s abrupt death has really changed the world. Argentina has seen countless sites of mourning and in Naples the same. Many regard Maradona as the best player ever to grace our planet and he has been with them in their thoughts over the past few days. We must remember him, not just for what he contributed to football, but also how he changed many lives for the better.
