Diego Maradona: One of Soccer’s Greatest Players
“Every morning that I get up, I should light a candle to the soccer ball.';
-Diego Maradona
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and one of the most popular soccer player’s in the world is Diego Maradona, star of the Argentina national team and a professional who has led his team to many championships in Argentina, Italy, and Spain. During the 1986 World Cup tournament, won by Argentina, Maradona gave what was perhaps the greatest performance in all of World Cup History. While a national hero in Argentina, Maradona has also earned a reputation for being outspoken and controversial. In what is probably his last international competition, he led Argentina into the World Cup Tournament in the United States.
Diego Armando Maradona was born on October 30, 1960. He lived in Lanus, Argentina, a suburb of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. He was one of eight children raised in the poor area of Villa Fiorito, one of the roughest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. His father, also named Diego, was a factory worker. His mom, Dalma Franco, was a housewife. Though the family was very poor, there was always food on their table. Maradona received his first soccer ball from his father at the age of three. His father encouraged him to play soccer. Diego practiced all day and slept with the ball all night.
Maradona was soon playing for Argentina’s best youth team, Los Cebollitos (the Little Onions). His team was able to win 140 straight games and Maradona was given jersey number 10, the same number worn by the Brazilian star Pele. At the age of ten, Maradona put on a spectacular exhibition during the half-time of a professional game. “He walked onto the field and proceeded to juggle his soccer ball for the entire intermission, keeping it in the air by bouncing it off his feet, knees, chest, ankles, head, and shoulder as if it were balloon and his body a spring breeze.';
When Maradona was only 15 he signed his first contract with the Argentinos Juniors for $400 a month. Two years later he became the youngest-ever member of the Argentine soccer team. At the time that they were preparing for being host for the 1978 World Cup. Just before the tour...
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...e was very emotional, because he had played on the Italian team before, but he still worked his magic. In the end Maradona ran out of magic and was defeated by West Germany, losing the World Cup.
Maradona has become a star because of his great all-around game. Only 5 foot 5 he is able to avoid defenders with quick bursts of speed. He is often compared to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Throughout his career he has made many mistakes. In April 1991 he tested positive for cocaine after an Italian League game and was suspended for 15 months. He was also arrested for trying to buy cocaine a month later.
In the summer of 1993, Maradona announced his retirement. The Argentine team did not miss him much, but when the team was facing elimination from the World Cup, Maradona got in shape and returned to bring the Argentine team to the World Cup. But they were knocked out by Bulgaria.
Off the field Maradona lives with his wife, Claudia Villafane, and three daughters in Buenos Aires. Maradona hopes to coach the Argentine soccer team one day when he is retired from soccer.
He has set just about every record in the NHL, or gave the holder a good fight, and has skills in every aspect of the game, not just those of a forward. Wayne has received countless amounts of awards from most goals scored in a season, to the most gentlemanly player award, which no other player has even come close to obtaining, and he has won more championships and Stanley Cups than anyone has ever needed to. He is, and always will be, "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky.
in games against other teams his age. The team he played on was called the
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Soccer has a important place in the history of several countries. It is the most popular sport in the world. I will be exploring soccer’s place in American history and how it has been growing in America throughout the years. I will explore how soccer got to America and how it has spread across the nation. These questions and more will be answered as I explore soccer in America.
Gallo, DJ. "20 Amazing Soccer Facts Most American Sports Fans Don’t Know." SportsPickle RSS. SportsPickle, 14 Aug. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
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