Diago Armado Maradona

Diego Armado Maradona was born on the 30th of October, 1960 in Villa Fiorto, a poor suburb in Buenos Aires.

Maradona started playing soccer when he was only nine years old. His first club was Cebollitas, the youth team of Argentinous Juniors. He was soon nicknamed "Pide de oro", meaning the "Golden child", due to his remarkable skill at such a young age. On his 16th birthday he moved to the professional league for the Argentinous Juniors. A few moths later he debuted in the national team of Argentina and become the youngest player to ever enter the team.

No matter his talent he was considered too young by his coach and was rejected from playing in the 1978 World Cup.

In the years to come Maradona dominated his country's league and easily entered the Argentine squad for Spain n 1982.

In the next few games to come his frustration got him sent off a few times and he was unable to unleash his full potential. Although the potential he showed did not go un-noticed and he was soon picked to play for Barcelona.

By 1984 he had established himself in Barcelona and was picked to play for Napoli.

In 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Maradona showed so much skill and captivated many fans. He basically earned the World Cup for his nation. His influence carried through out the team and lead them into many victories, including the UEFA Cup in 1988/1999.

In 1990 his reputation began to drop. In the semi-final match in Napoli, between Argentina and Italy, Maradona's own fans booed at him during the match, as he scored the penalty and eliminated Italy. However Argentine was defeated by West-Germany and since the loss, Maradona's career went down hill.

In March 1991 he tested positive for a drug test and was banned from playing for Napoli for 15 months. In 1992, after the incident, he refused to return to play for Napoli and moved to play for Sevilla. Although that career only lasted a year and he was back again in Argentina to play with the Newell's Old Boys team.

In 1993 Maradona was picked to play for Argentina in the World Cup. He reached a record braking 21 goals, through out his games played in the world Cup, and was once again top of his performance. Just as everything seemed to be coming back to him, Maradona failed yet another drug test