Football Legend Diego Maradona turns 50 on Saturday
He is arguably the greatest and most adored footballer ever, at his pomp he was a dazzling site on the field weaving his magic and leading his country to the ultimate prize in the game, the glittering gold football World Cup trophy.
At the peak of his prowess, the stocky built Maradona was the star of the tournament as his team prevailed over West Germany by a score line of 3-2 in the 1986 finals in Mexico. Pundits of the game say no one has ever dominated a World Cup the way the mid-fielder
dominated the 1986 event.
Maradona was born on 30th October 1960 to a factory worker; he was the fifth of eight children. He was handed over his first football when he was still an infant and legend has it that he slept with it under his arm.
Before no time he was weaving magic on the football pitch and made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors at the age of 15. A super star was in the making when he first played for Argentina in 1977, he made an impression straight away and moved to
leading Argentine club Boca Juniors in 1981.
He helped them win the national title the following year and from there he was played for Barcelona. He moved to the Spanish club for a then record 3 million U.S. dollars. As soon as he gathered fame and fortune, the acclaimed Maradona lost his direction
and during a decade at the top of his sport, he was blinded by the sheer power and aura that he exuded and was embroiled in vice and corruption scandals.
He battled drug addiction, obesity and alcoholism for years even after calling it a day in mid-nineties. Given his turbulent history, Maradona's comeback as Argentina coach in 2008 was a remarkable personal achievement, especially as he had very little
experience as a manager.
His life was an ultimate rags-to-riches story in the soccer-mad country where he was hailed as a national icon; he was extremely amiable with fans and was often seen blowing kisses at them which only helped him in soaring to dizzy heights. Yet just like
his ascent his decline was sudden and swift, soon after leading his team to a shattering 1-0 defeat to Germany in the 1990 final he failed a doping test in Italy in 1991.
He was handed over a 15 months besides being investigated in what was alleged to have been Mafia ties.
It was only a case of going from bad to worse for him as he was later arrested in Argentina for cocaine possession. His final appearance for his national team was in the World Cup of 1994, where he was suspended from the tournament after another episode
of drug abuse.
He made an emotional comeback for Boca Juniors in 1995 but yet again his stint was cut short due to another drug test two failure, finally better sense prevailed and he ended his career on his 37th birthday.
His next ambition was to coach, yet in his first stint for two different clubs, he produced a mere three wins from 23 games. His health also deteriorated in the meanwhile, and he was hospitalized in Uruguay in 2000 with heart problems and tests revealed
cocaine use. In 2004, he spent 10 days in intensive care in his hometown with heart and breathing problems. Later he underwent a stomach-stapling operation; he launched a successful TV talk show in Argentina in 2005 that lasted for one season.
He took over as the coach of Argentina in November 2008; his real test was the 2010 World Cup finals where the South Americans struggled to qualify. Once the tournament started, his team started brilliantly spearheaded by the man hailed as the next Maradona
the brilliant Lionel Messi. Maradona, who had claimed that he would parade naked in Buenos Aires if his team won the tournament, had his dream shattered by a young German team in quarter-finals of the event.
Subsequently he was sacked two years since his headline-grabbing appointment. He would complete 50 years this weekend, we all know that they have been nothing less than a roller coaster ride. Let us see what more he can chalk out in the remainder of his
life, one thing is guaranteed there would be action aplenty.
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