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78-687: It was given its name in 2004 in honour of former Argentinos player Diego Maradona (1960–2020) who made his professional debut here in 1976, following the refurbishment of the ground, and to celebrate the club's centenary year. The first field of Argentinos Juniors was located on Gaona and Añasco streets, moving to Villa Ballester in 1906 although the team only remained one year there, returning to their original neighborhood but in another field located on Luis Viale and Parral streets. In 1913 Argentinos Juniors set their field on Fraga and Estomba in Villa Ortúzar , which would be also used by clubs Colegiales in

156-574: A 2009 article for CBC Sports , John Molinaro described the goal as "the greatest ever scored in the tournament – and, maybe, in soccer." In a 2018 article for Sportsnet , he added: "No other player, not even Pel[é] in 1958 nor Paolo Rossi in 1982, had dominated a single competition the way Maradona did in Mexico." He also went on to say of Maradona's performance: "The brilliant Argentine artist single-handedly delivered his country its second World Cup." Regarding his two memorable goals against England in

234-473: A Bilbao shirt. The mass brawl was played out in front of the Spanish King Juan Carlos and an audience of 100,000 fans inside the stadium, and more than half of Spain watching on television. After fans began throwing solid objects on the field at the players, coaches and even photographers, sixty people were injured, with the incident effectively sealing Maradona's transfer out of the club in what

312-537: A Latin American tour, in the midst of which they participated in a festival organized by various social organizations, demanding justice for Mariano Ferreyra . In November 2013, Airbag released their fifth studio album, Libertad . It spawned the singles "Por mil noches" and "Libertad". For this release, the band received two Grammy nominations and won an MTV Europe award for Best Latin Artist. Ricardo Mollo played guitar on

390-473: A chance. He made the nutmeg and when I turned around, he was far away from me." Maradona scored his first goal as a professional against Marplatense team San Lorenzo on 14 November 1976, two weeks after turning 16, and added another goal in the match as well. Maradona made 11 appearances that season, with the two goals scored on his debut being the only ones he scored. In the 1977 season, Maradona played 49 matches and scored 19 goals, and started to get on

468-449: A chemicals factory, was of Guaraní (Indigenous) and Galician ( Spanish ) descent, and his mother Dalma Salvadora Franco, "Doña Tota" (1930–2011), was of Italian and Croatian descent. When Diego came to Argentinos Juniors for trials, I was really struck by his talent and couldn't believe he was only eight years old. In fact, we asked him for his ID card so we could check it, but he told us he didn't have it on him. We were sure he

546-470: A contract with Boca Juniors on 20 February 1981. He made his debut two days later against Talleres de Córdoba , scoring twice in the club's 4–1 win. On 10 April, Maradona played his first Superclásico against River Plate at La Bombonera stadium. Boca defeated River 3–0 with Maradona scoring a goal after dribbling past Alberto Tarantini and Fillol. Despite the distrustful relationship between Maradona and Boca Juniors manager, Silvio Marzolini , Boca had

624-432: A double that year, when they won the 1987 Coppa Italia final on aggregate against Atalanta. Maradona had been one of the key players of the campaign, scoring seven goals in ten matches, including a brace in the team's first group game against SPAL . The following season, the team's prolific attacking trio, formed by Maradona, Bruno Giordano , and Careca , was later dubbed the "Ma-Gi-Ca" ( magical ) front-line. Despite

702-429: A gift at age three and quickly became devoted to the game. At age eight, he was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his local club Estrella Roja. In March 1969 he was recommended to Los Cebollitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos Juniors by his close friend and football rival Gregorio Carrizo who had already been picked by coach Francis Gregorio Cornejo. Maradona became

780-445: A low centre of gravity and allowed him to manoeuvre better than most other players. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de Oro ("The Golden Boy"),

858-472: A name that stuck with him throughout his career. Maradona was the first player to set the world record transfer fee twice: in 1982 when he transferred to Barcelona for £5 million, and in 1984 when he moved to Napoli for a fee of £6.9 million. He played for Argentinos Juniors , Boca Juniors , Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli where he won numerous accolades and led

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936-466: A penalty, and Napoli eventually qualified to the next round after extra time. During the first leg of the finals, Maradona scored from a penalty in a 2–1 home victory and later assisted Careca's match-winning goal, while in the second leg on 17 May—a 3–3 away draw—he assisted Ciro Ferrara 's goal with a header. Napoli would win their second league title in 1989–90 , and later won the 1990 Italian Supercup , beating rivals Juventus 5–1. When asked who

1014-454: A period when north–south tensions in Italy were at a peak due to a variety of issues, notably the economic differences between the two. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their first ever Serie A Championship in 1986–87 . Regarding the celebrations, Goldblatt wrote, "The celebrations were tumultuous. A rolling series of impromptu street parties and festivities broke out contagiously across the city in

1092-531: A poll on Il Mattino , 54% of fans voted to keep the shirt retired, and the change ultimate did not occur. On 4 December 2020, nine days after Maradona's death, Napoli's home stadium was renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. After serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine, Maradona left Napoli in disgrace in 1992. Despite interest from Real Madrid and Marseille , he signed for Sevilla , where he stayed for one year. In 1993, he played for Newell's Old Boys and in 1995 returned to Boca Juniors for

1170-641: A reckless tackle by Athletic Bilbao's Andoni Goikoetxea —nicknamed "the Butcher of Bilbao"—threatened to jeopardize Maradona's career, but with treatment and rehabilitation, it was possible for him to return to the pitch after a three-month recovery period. Maradona was directly involved in a violent fight during the 1984 Copa del Rey Final in Madrid against Athletic Bilbao. After receiving another hard tackle by Goikoetxea, as well as being taunted with racist insults related to his father's Native American ancestry throughout

1248-401: A round-the-clock carnival which ran for over a week. The world was turned upside down. The Neapolitans held mock funerals for Juventus and Milan, burning their coffins, their death notices announcing 'May 1987, the other Italy has been defeated. A new empire is born.'" Murals of Maradona were painted on the city's ancient buildings, and newborn children were named in his honour. Napoli completed

1326-588: A scandal there regarding an illegitimate son , and he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra crime syndicate. He also faced intense backlash and harassment from some local fans after the 1990 World Cup, in which he and Argentina beat Italy in a semi-final match at the San Paolo stadium. In 2000, the number 10 jersey of Napoli was officially retired , but in 2011, Maradona stated that he wanted Ezequiel Lavezzi to use it. In

1404-462: A star for the Cebollitas, and as a 12-year-old ball boy he amused spectators by showing his ball skills during the halftime breaks of Argentinos Juniors' first division games. During 1973 and 1974, Maradona led Cebollitas to two Evita Tournament wins and 141 undefeated games in a row, playing alongside players like Adrian Domenech and Claudio Rodríguez , in what is regarded as the best youth team in

1482-619: A successful season, winning the league title after securing a point against Racing Club . That would be the only title won by Maradona in the Argentine domestic league. "He had complete mastery of the ball. When Maradona ran with the ball or dribbled through the defence, he seemed to have the ball tied to his boots. I remember our early training sessions with him: the rest of the team were so amazed that they just stood and watched him. We all thought ourselves privileged to be witnesses of his genius." —Barcelona teammate Lobo Carrasco After

1560-639: A team that also included such players as Mario Kempes , Osvaldo Ardiles , Ramón Díaz , Daniel Bertoni , Alberto Tarantini , Ubaldo Fillol and Daniel Passarella , the Argentine side was defeated in the second round by Brazil and by eventual winners Italy . The Italian match is renowned for Maradona being aggressively man-marked by Claudio Gentile , as Italy beat Argentina at the Sarrià Stadium in Barcelona, 2–1. Maradona played in all five matches without being substituted, scoring twice against Hungary. He

1638-539: A two-year stint. Maradona also appeared for Tottenham Hotspur in a testimonial match for Osvaldo Ardiles against Internazionale, shortly before the 1986 World Cup . In 1996, he played in a friendly match alongside his brother Raul for Toronto Italia against the Canadian National Soccer League All-Stars. In 2000, he captained Bayern Munich in a friendly against the German national team in

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1716-628: Is an Argentine hard rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1999, consisting of three brothers: Patricio Sardelli (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Gastón Sardelli (bass, backing vocals), and Guido Sardelli (drums, rhythm guitar, vocals). They have released seven studio albums and one live album, and tour mostly around Latin America. Originally from Don Torcuato town in Buenos Aires Province , Airbag started by playing covers of songs by Deep Purple ,

1794-460: The Los Angeles Times called it "one of the greatest individual performances in tournament history," with Steven Goff of The Washington Post dubbing his performance as "one of the finest in tournament annals." In 2002, Russell Thomas of The Guardian described Maradona's second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals as "arguably the greatest individual goal ever." In

1872-529: The 1982 World Cup , Maradona was transferred to Barcelona for a then world record fee of £5 million ($ 7.6 million). In the 1982–83 season , under coach César Luis Menotti , Barcelona and Maradona won two trophies, the Copa del Rey and Copa de la Liga , both of them coming against Real Madrid. On 26 June 1983, in the 1st leg of the Copa de la Liga finals at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Maradona scored and became

1950-564: The 1986 World Cup in Mexico, winning the final in Mexico City against West Germany . Throughout the tournament, Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the competition. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scoring five goals and making five assists; three of the assists came in the opening match against South Korea at the Olímpico Universitario Stadium in Mexico City . His first goal of

2028-577: The Santiago Bernabéu . Three days later, Barcelona won the second leg 2–1, with Maradona scoring a penalty and helping his club win another title against their archrivals . Due to illness and injury as well as controversial incidents on the field, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona. First a bout of hepatitis , then a broken ankle in a La Liga game at the Camp Nou in September 1983 caused by

2106-751: The Vélez Sarfield Stadium . In February 2018, Airbag played at the Cosquín Rock festival in Córdoba, and in March, they performed at Vive Latino , in Mexico. In 2019, Airbag opened for Muse at the Palermo Hippodrome in Buenos Aires. In 2020, they again appeared at Cosquín Rock and were subsequently invited to play at Lollapalooza . That year, the band planned to release their new album, but due to

2184-651: The " Hand of God ". Ultimately, on 22 August 2005, Maradona acknowledged on his television show that he had hit the ball with his hand purposely, and no contact with his head was made, and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. This became known as an international fiasco in World Cup history. The goal stood, much to the wrath of the English players. "Maradona, turns like a little eel and comes away from trouble, little squat man... comes inside Butcher and leaves him for dead, outside Fenwick and leaves him for dead, and puts

2262-515: The 1930s and Almagro in the 1940s. The club played their home matches there until 1924. Between 1925 and 1937 Argentinos Juniors built and used a stadium on a land owned by Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway . The venue was located on Av. San Martìn and Punta Arenas in La Paternal neighborhood. Nevertheless the BA&;P Railway evicted Argentinos Juniors from the land after the club had a large debt with

2340-651: The 1984 team, that won the first national championship for the club versus the team that won the second division tournament in 1997, and another one between the Argentinean U-20 national team and a mix of some of the best players born in the club's youth divisions such as Juan Pablo Sorín , Esteban Cambiasso , Diego Placente , Carlos Mac Allister , Claudio Borghi , Fabricio Coloccini , Leonel Gancedo and Sergio Batista together with some other remarkable footballers that played in Argentinos, such as Ubaldo Fillol . At

2418-536: The 1986 World Cup as a 14-year-old, stated Maradona "was on another level". In a tribute to him, Azteca Stadium authorities built a statue of him scoring the "Goal of the Century" and placed it at the entrance of the stadium. Regarding Maradona's performance at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, in 2014, Roger Bennett of ESPN FC described it as "the most virtuoso performance a World Cup has ever witnessed," while Kevin Baxter of

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2496-625: The Beatles , Guns N' Roses , Chuck Berry , Green Day , and Blink 182 . In 2003, they signed with Warner Music for the release of their self-titled debut album. Recorded at ION studios in Buenos Aires, Airbag was certified Gold and Platinum in Argentina. After completing a South American tour, Airbag played two shows at the Gran Rex in Buenos Aires. At the beginning of 2006, Airbag traveled to Spain to record their second album, Blanco y Negro , which

2574-460: The British company. The club moved to Médanos and Boyacá streets and built a new stadium with the structures previously dismantled. The new stadium was opened on 27 April 1940 when Argentinos Juniors defeated Barracas Central 2–1. Since it was small and unsafe, the stadium was left apart in the early 1980s, and the football team moved its basis to the nearer Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri stadium , in

2652-599: The Century " by FIFA.com voters in 2002. Maradona also had a career in management. He became the coach of Argentina's national football team in November 2008. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. He then coached Dubai -based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season. In 2017, Maradona became the coach of Fujairah before leaving at

2730-571: The French newspaper L'Équipe describing Maradona as "half-angel, half-devil". This match was played with the background of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Replays showed that the first goal was scored by striking the ball with his hand. Maradona was coyly evasive, describing it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". It became known as

2808-633: The Policlínico (Polyclinic) Evita Hospital in Lanús , Buenos Aires Province , to a poor family that had moved from Corrientes Province ; he was raised in Villa Fiorito , a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires , Argentina. He was the first son after four daughters. He has two younger brothers, Hugo ( el Turco ) and Raúl (Lalo), both of whom were also professional football players. His father Diego Maradona "Chitoro" (1927–2015), who worked at

2886-484: The assist for the winning goal in the final, ensuring that he would be remembered as one of the greatest names in football history. By the end of the World Cup, Maradona went on to win the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament by unanimous vote and was widely regarded to have won the World Cup virtually single-handedly, something that he later stated he did not entirely agree with. Zinedine Zidane , watching

2964-424: The ball away... and that is why Maradona is the greatest player in the world." —Bryon Butler's BBC Radio commentary on Maradona's second goal against England. Maradona's second goal, just four minutes after the hotly disputed hand-goal, was later voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup. He received the ball in his own half, swivelled around and with 11 touches ran more than half

3042-499: The band released independently. Vorágine was published on 20 September 2011 and officially presented at the Gran Rex Theater on 7 December, to a full house. The show was the first to be recorded for the band's upcoming live release, Samsara , which came out in 2012. In August 2012, Airbag released a video for the song "Cae el Sol", directed by Patricio Sardelli and Gabriel Grieco . In October, they traveled to Chile to begin

3120-906: The club and identified with it. Lionel Messi made his debut with the Argentina U20 national team in this stadium and scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Paraguay on 29 June 2004. In September 2022, the stadium host a concert of rock band Airbag , which was also the first show performed in an outdoor stadium for the band. In October that same year, Wos performed at Diego Armando Maradona stadium. 34°36′21.7″S 58°28′21.3″W  /  34.606028°S 58.472583°W  / -34.606028; -58.472583 Diego Maradona Argentine professional footballer Eponyms and public art Films Media Family Related Diego Armando Maradona Franco ( Spanish: [ˈdjeɣo maɾaˈðona] ; 30 October 1960 – 25 November 2020)

3198-404: The club to Serie A title wins twice. Maradona also had a troubled off-field life and his time with Napoli ended after he was banned for taking cocaine. In his international career with Argentina , he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups , including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany in

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3276-422: The end of 2003 works concluded, after several interruptions for economic reasons, since the stadium was built with genuine money paid into the club and not by companies or donations, as some versions wanted to indicate, reopening with a great party on December 26 of that year, with 30,000 people in the stands to watch how a team of Argentinos Juniors' former players of the 1985 Copa Libertadores winning team against

3354-423: The end of the season. From May to September 2018, he was the chairman of Dynamo Brest. From September 2018 to June 2019, Maradona was coach of Mexican club Dorados , and was the coach of Argentine Primera División club Gimnasia de La Plata from September 2019 until his death in 2020. He was ranked as the third best all time football player by FourFourTwo . Diego Armando Maradona was born on 30 October 1960, at

3432-400: The face and kneed another player in the head, knocking him out cold. The Bilbao squad surrounded Maradona to exact some retribution, with Goikoetxea connecting with a high kick to his chest, before the rest of the Barcelona squad joined in to help Maradona. From this point, Barcelona and Bilbao players brawled on the field with Maradona in the centre of the action, kicking and punching anyone in

3510-408: The farewell game of Lothar Matthäus . Maradona was himself given a testimonial match on 10 November 2001, played between an all-star World XI and the Argentina national team, scoring two penalty kicks in a 6–3 win at La Bombonera. Maradona made his full international debut at age 16, against Hungary , on 27 February 1977, only four months after his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors. He

3588-456: The final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. In the 1986 World Cup quarter final , he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul known as the " Hand of God ", while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted " Goal of

3666-590: The first Barcelona player to be applauded by arch-rival Real Madrid fans. Maradona dribbled past Madrid goalkeeper Agustín , and as he approached the empty goal, he stopped just as Madrid defender Juan José came sliding in an attempt to block the shot. José ended up crashing into the post, before Maradona slotted the ball into the net. With the manner in which the goal was scored resulting in applause from opposition fans, only Ronaldinho (in November 2005) and Andrés Iniesta (in November 2015) have since been granted such an ovation as Barcelona players from Madrid fans at

3744-593: The first concerts they performed in promotion of their new album was at the ALAS solidarity festival with Shakira , Alejandro Sanz , and Calle 13 . In 2008, Airbag was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song. After completing the trial of their ex-manager and breaking away from Warner, Airbag got down to work on new material. In an interview with Clarín ' s Yes! magazine, Patricio explained that they had composed close to 100 songs, of which twelve were selected for their next album, which

3822-402: The history of Argentine football. Maradona named Brazilian playmaker Rivellino and Manchester United winger George Best among his inspirations growing up. On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors , 10 days before his 16th birthday, versus Talleres de Córdoba . He entered to the pitch wearing the number 16 jersey, and became the youngest player in

3900-491: The history of the Argentine Primera División . A few minutes into his debut, Maradona kicked the ball through the legs of Juan Domingo Cabrera , a nutmeg that would become symbolic of his talent. After the game, Maradona said: "That day I felt I had held the sky in my hands." Thirty years later, Cabrera remembered Maradona's debut: "I was on the right side of the field and went to press him, but he didn't give me

3978-457: The impact of Maradona's performances in 1979, FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated, "Everyone has an opinion on Diego Armando Maradona, and that's been the case since his playing days. My most vivid recollection is of this incredibly gifted kid at the second FIFA U-20 World Cup in Japan in 1979. He left everyone open-mouthed every time he got on the ball." Maradona and his compatriot Lionel Messi are

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4056-469: The length of the field, dribbling past five English outfield players ( Peter Beardsley , Steve Hodge , Peter Reid , Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick ) before he left goalkeeper Peter Shilton on his backside with a feint , and slotted the ball into the net. This goal was voted " Goal of the Century " in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA. A 2002 Channel 4 poll in the UK saw his performance ranked number 6 in

4134-485: The list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments . Maradona followed this with two more goals in a semi-final match against Belgium at the Azteca, including another virtuoso dribbling display for the second goal. In the final match, West Germany attempted to contain him by double-marking him, but in the 84th minute he nevertheless found space past West German player Lothar Matthäus to give the final pass to Jorge Burruchaga for

4212-448: The match by Bilbao fans, and being provoked by Bilbao's Miguel Sola at full time after Barcelona lost 1–0, Maradona snapped. He aggressively got up, stood inches from Sola's face and the two exchanged words. This started a chain reaction of emotional reactions from both teams. Using expletives, Sola mimicked a gesture from the crowd towards Maradona by using a xenophobic term. Maradona then headbutted Sola, elbowed another Bilbao player in

4290-492: The neighbourhood of Caballito. The idea was to build a modern and bigger stadium with the 5,800,000 dollars that the club received from the transfer of Diego Armando Maradona to the FC Barcelona but finally that money was invested in constructing other venues at the multisport complex Las Malvinas , owned by the same club, and in bringing some first level footballers in order to succeed at the national championship. The project of

4368-512: The new stadium had to wait until the next decade. In 1995, the old stadium was demolished, but at the same time a deep economic crisis hit the club and continued for a long time, delaying the works for eight years. Finally, in 2003, the new stadium was finished, and opened on December 26. Six months later, the team returned to the Argentinean First Division, where it is now based. The opening ceremony included two football games between

4446-600: The only players to win the Golden Ball at both the FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup . Maradona did so in 1979 and 1986 , which Messi emulated in 2005 and 2014 (and again in 2022 ). Maradona appeared at the 1979 Copa América , where Argentina had a poor performance, being knocked out in the first round. Maradona exited the tournament having scored once in a 3-0 victory against Bolivia. Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982 in his new country of residence, Spain. Argentina played Belgium in

4524-566: The opening game of the 1982 Cup at the Camp Nou in Barcelona . Maradona did not perform to expectations, as Argentina, the defending champions, lost 1–0. Although the team convincingly beat both Hungary and El Salvador in Alicante to progress to the second round, there were internal tensions within the team, with the younger, less experienced players at odds with the older, more experienced players. With

4602-560: The quarter-finals by Torino, with Maradona's two goals in the second leg not enough to prevent the elimination. In the 1988–89 season, Napoli finished runner-up in the league and in the Coppa Italia, losing to Sampdoria in the final . However the team avenged these runner-up finishes with the UEFA Cup title, won over two legs in the final against Stuttgart . During the second leg of the quarterfinals against rivals Juventus, Maradona scored

4680-442: The quarter-finals, he commented: "Yes, it was Maradona's hand, and not God's, that was responsible for the first goal against England. But while the ' Hand of God ' goal remains one of the most contentious moments in World Cup history, there can be no disputing that his second goal against England ranks as the greatest ever scored in the tournament. It transcended mere sports – his goal was pure art." Airbag (band) Airbag

4758-526: The radar ofother South American clubs. In the 1978 season, Maradona scored 26 goals in 35 matches, and had the 1978 World Cup in his sights. However, when the squads were released on 19 May, he was not selected by coach Cesar Luis Menotti to the surprise of many. Two days after being left out, he scored a brace in a victory against his Chacarita Juniors. In 1979, Maradona scored 26 goals in 26 games, and finished top scorer in both Metropolian and Nacional tournamets. in 1980, he scored 43 goals in 45 appearances and

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4836-511: The song "Fugitivo". The same year, Airbag contributed the song "Naturaleza Muerta" to the soundtrack of the film Still Life , which included a few appearances by Patricio. In 2016, Airbag published a new album, titled Mentira la Verdad . The first single was "Vivamos El Momento". That year, they opened for Guns N' Roses during two shows the American band played at the River Plate Stadium . A year later, they opened for Bon Jovi at

4914-484: The squad that achieved promotion to Primera División in 1997, plus a match between the U20 Argentinos Juniors vs a combined of past club legends from the youth academy including Esteban Cambiasso , Juan Pablo Sorín and Claudio Borghi . The aforementioned teams were managed, respectively, by Roberto Saporiti , Osvaldo Chiche Sosa , José Pekerman , and Hugo Tocalli , all of them former players or coaches of

4992-547: The star of the tournament, shining in Argentina's 3–1 final win over the Soviet Union , scoring a total of six goals in six appearances in the tournament. On 2 June 1979, Maradona scored his first senior international goal in a 3–1 win against Scotland at Hampden Park . He went on to play for Argentina in two 1979 Copa América ties during August 1979, a 2–1 loss against Brazil and a 3–0 win over Bolivia in which he scored his side's third goal. Speaking thirty years later on

5070-476: The team failing to defend their league title, losing out to AC Milan after a collapse in the final four matches, Maradona was the Serie A top scorer in the 1987–88 season with 15 goals, and was the all-time leading goalscorer for Napoli , with 115 goals, until his record was broken by Marek Hamšík in 2017. He was also the top scorer for that season's Coppa Italia, scoring six goals, despite being eliminated in

5148-613: The tournament came against Italy in the second group game in Puebla . Argentina eliminated Uruguay in the first knockout round in Puebla, setting up a match against England at the Azteca Stadium , also in Mexico City. After scoring two contrasting goals in the 2–1 quarter-final win against England, his legend was cemented. The majesty of his second goal and the notoriety of his first led to

5226-475: The winning goal. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in front of 115,000 fans at the Azteca with Maradona lifting the World Cup as captain. During the tournament, Maradona attempted or created more than half of Argentina's shots, attempted a tournament-best 90 dribbles—three times more than any other player—and was fouled a record 53 times, winning his team twice as many free kicks as any player. Maradona scored or assisted ten of Argentina's 14 goals (71%), including

5304-486: Was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award, alongside Pelé . An advanced playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position , Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, which gave him

5382-462: Was dominated by teams from the north and centre of the country, such as AC Milan , Juventus , Inter Milan and Roma , and no team in the south of the Italian Peninsula had ever won a league title. This was perhaps the perfect scenario for Maradona and his working-class-sympathetic image, as he joined a once-great team that was facing relegation at the end of the 1983–84 Serie A season, in what

5460-471: Was fouled repeatedly in all five games and particularly in the last one against Brazil at the Sarrià, a game that was blighted by poor officiating and violent fouls. With Argentina already down 3–0 to Brazil, Maradona's temper eventually got the better of him and he was sent off with five minutes remaining for a serious retaliatory foul against Batista . Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in

5538-504: Was having us on because, although he had the physique of a child, he played like an adult. When we discovered he'd been telling us the truth, we decided to devote ourselves purely to him. Maradona's parents were both born and brought up in the town of Esquina in the north-east province of Corrientes on the banks of the Corriente River . In the 1950s, they left Esquina and settled in Buenos Aires. Maradona received his first football as

5616-677: Was his last game in a Barcelona shirt. One Barcelona executive stated: "When I saw those scenes of Maradona fighting and the chaos that followed I realized we couldn't go any further with him." Maradona got into frequent disputes with Barcelona executives, particularly club president Josep Lluís Núñez , culminating with a demand to be transferred out of the Camp Nou in 1984. During his two injury-hit seasons at Barcelona, Maradona scored 38 goals in 58 games. Maradona transferred to Napoli in Italy's Serie A for another world record fee, £6.9 million ($ 10.48 million). Maradona arrived in Naples and

5694-483: Was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17. On 3 November 1978, just a few days after turning 18, Maradona played for the U20 Argentina team in a friendly match against Franz Beckenbauer 's New York Cosmos , scoring twice in a 2–1 win. At age 18, Maradona played the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship in Japan and emerged as

5772-484: Was presented at the Luna Park Stadium to a full house. The same year, they contributed the song "A Whole Life Waiting for You" to the soundtrack of the television series Alma Pirata . At the end of 2007, Airbag began work on their third studio album, Una Hora a Tokyo . During this time, they entered into a legal conflict with their former manager and decided to break with their record label, Warner. One of

5850-523: Was presented to the world media as a Napoli player on 5 July 1984, where he was welcomed by 75,000 fans at his presentation at the Stadio San Paolo . Sports writer David Goldblatt commented, "They [the fans] were convinced that the saviour had arrived." A local newspaper stated that despite the lack of a "mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona". Prior to Maradona's arrival, Italian football

5928-565: Was the top scorer again for the last four consecutive tournaments. Maradona spent five years at Argentinos Juniors , from 1976 to 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his US$ 4 million transfer to Boca Juniors in February 1981. Maradona received offers to join other clubs, including River Plate who offered to make him the club's best paid player. However, River decided to drop its bid due to its large payroll in keeping Daniel Passarella and Ubaldo Fillol . Maradona signed

6006-451: Was the toughest and most highly regarded football league in Europe. At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career: he soon inherited the captain 's armband from Napoli veteran defender Giuseppe Bruscolotti and quickly became an adored star among the club's fans; in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history. Maradona played for Napoli at

6084-419: Was the toughest player he ever faced, AC Milan central defender Franco Baresi stated it was Maradona, a view shared by his Milan teammate Paolo Maldini . Although Maradona was successful on the field during his time in Italy, his personal problems increased. His cocaine use continued, and he received US$ 70,000 in fines from his club for missing games and practices, ostensibly because of "stress". He faced

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