BUENOS AIRES: Diego Armando Maradona was born in Lanus, Buenos Aires, on October 30, 1960. He made his league debut aged only 15 for Argentinos Juniors in 1976. Then:
1977 – Made his international debut at 16 for Argentina in a friendly against Hungary
1980 – Sold to Boca Juniors for £1 million, a record for a teenager
1982 – Sold to Barcelona for another world record £3 million, then out of the game for four months after a reckless tackle by Bilbao’s notorious defender Andoni Goicotxea
1984 – Sold to Napoli for a third world record, now £5 million
1986 – Inspired Argentina to victory at the World Cup finals in Mexico: was unanimous choice as Player of the Tournament
1987 – Led Napoli to their first-ever Italian league title plus victory in the Italian cup
1988 – Won his only European prize as Napoli beat Stuttgart in the UEFA Cup Final
1990 – Despite a collection of injuries, Maradona won another Serie A title with Napoli and led Argentina back to the World Cup Final, where they were defeated 1-0 by West Germany
1991 – Failed a dope test after playing a Serie A match for Napoli and was banned for 15 months
1992 – Made the first of his brief comebacks with Sevilla in Spain then another the following year back in Argentina with Newell’s Old Boys of Rosario.
1994 – Banned again, for 15 months, after a positive drugs test during the World Cup. Returned for one season with Boca Juniors before retiring definitively in 1997
2000 – Underwent detoxification treatment in Cuba
2008 – After club coaching appointments in Argentina, Maradona was named as national team coach and led the team to the quarter0finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
2019 – Appointed coach of Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata
2020 – Died on November 25 from heart failure at his home in Tigre, Buenos Aires, while recovering from brain surgery.
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