Football Special Report: Fifty facts about Diego Maradona- The Argentinean Legend (Part 2)
Article Continued from Part 1.
22. Diego Maradona made his managerial debut for his country on the nineteenth of November 2008. On that same day, his team played against Scotland at Hampden Park and triumphed with a one to nil victory.
23. On the twenty second of June 2010, Maradona commented on the Jabulani ball by saying that he asks all FIFA Directors to stop discussing him and start working on providing them with a proper football as the Jabulani was almost impossible to control.
24. In a press conference before the first knockout round in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Diego Maradona literally jumped over the fence to embrace his former Napoli team mate Salvatore Bagni, who is currently a football pundit. Following the greeting,
the ex-Napoli player commented on the matter by saying that even though he has known Maradona all these years, that man never seizes to amaze you.
25. Diego Maradona defended the goalless Lionel Messi with a lot of forcefulness in expression on the second of July 2010, when he commented on the matter by saying that anyone who believes that Lionel Messi did not have a great World Cup is an idiot.
26. In 2006 Diego Maradona’s former team mate Jorge Valdano commented on him by saying that Maradona is a man that most people want to imitate as he is both loved and hated, he is a controversial figure, who stirs up the masses in Argentina. He continued by
saying that Maradona has made his personal life into a show that no one should try to copy.
27. The Argentine Football Association once sent a request to FIFA asking them to retire the number ten shirt in the Honour of Diego Maradona but this proposition was later denied.
28. The Argentinos Juniors that were Diego Maradona’s first team renamed their stadium after El Diego and now call it ‘Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.’
29. Diego Maradona after beating the Three Lions in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final commented on the matter by saying that it felt like they had beaten a country not only their football team.
30. Maradona commented in 1996 that he was, is and will remain a drug addict as any man that gets involves with drugs has to fight his disease on a daily basis.
31. In 2000 for the new millennium FIFA decided to do a one off Player of the Century award and eventually arrived at the decision that both Maradona and Pele would have to share the award. Pele commented on the matter by saying that if Maradona believes that
he is the best player of the centaury then that is Maradona’s problem.
32. Carlos Bilardo who was the Argentinean manager in 1990 was once asked about his starting eleven line up of the team and he replied by saying “Maradona and ten others.”
33. Diego Maradona was also once appointed the sports vice president for the Boca Juniors in 2005 but he sadly resigned from that job a year later.
34. Emir Kusturica, a Serbian filmmaker made a documentary on Maradona, which was premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
35. The Sir Bobby Robson the former Three Lions manager famously commented on Maradona in 1986 by saying that if the Gunners had Maradona then they would have won the World Cup.
36. In 1978 Phil Neal an ex-England defender once commented on the eighteen year old Maradona by saying that "The kid is just unbelievable - he is the best I have ever seen."
Article Continued in Part 3.
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