Life Stories
Diego Maradona
Beginnings
Diego Armando Maradona was born in Buenos Aires in 1960. He grew up with a poor family in Villa Fiorito, a shanty town on the edge of the city. It was soon obvious Diego was an exceptional talent. He started with Argentinos Juniors aged 16. He joined Boca Juniors in 1981 and was a star for Argentina at the 1982 World Cup. This led to a move to Spain, to play for Barcelona.
Adopted Son of Naples
At Barcelona, Maradona played well and the team won trophies, but his volatile temperament caused problems. In 1984 at a match against Bilbao watched by the King of Spain, Maradona started a fight that led to a mass brawl. Barcelona sold him to Napoli. Maradona had found it hard to fit in with a different culture at Barcelona, but Naples was different. Napoli fans adored him, he was happy, the team won two league titles, the first ever by a team from Italy’s South. Maradona’s time as “Saviour” of Naples coincided with his leading Argentina to win the World Cup in 1986.
Legacy
Trouble always followed Diego Maradona. There were violent incidents, fines for missing training, problems with his weight, and his use of cocaine. He was banned for a year for failing a drug test. He left Naples in 1992. He managed clubs in Argentina, as well as the national team. Controversy followed him. He fired an air rifle at reporters. He had financial problems. Most people prefer to remember the legendary player, not how his later life turned out.
Thinking points
Diego Maradona began life in a poor district on the edge of Buenos Aires. His origins helped to make him a natural genius on a football field, but did not equip him for a life in the limelight of celebrity. Maradona achieved both fame and fortune but did not find it easy to live with either. Migration to another country and culture can be difficult. Maradona had very different experiences in Barcelona and Naples.
Educators could look at the life story of Diego Maradona and work with young people to consider how the story of Maradona is intertwined with the globalisation of football, as well as the emergence of “rock and roll” lifestyles. What is the relation to migration?
Find out more
A lot has been said and written about Diego Maradona. Iconic moments in his career can be found on the official FIFA YouTube channel. Various well narrated accounts of his career and life can be read on These Football Times.
Life Story
80
LIFE STORIES To discover now
Molly Seaton: Forgotten Heroine of Belfast
Playing with strength, forgotten and rediscovered as a pioneer.
Do you wanna know more?
HISTORY CAN BE EXPLORED THROUGH THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS
Stories
Browse our collection of stories about football history and inclusion. With the history of football being made up of millions of stories, of individuals and communities, of movements and processes, we offer stories that can inspire our cultural conversations today.
Videos
Get to know untold stories where individuals are making history with football. When faced with insurmountable challenges, individuals past and present can use football as a cultural force to foster positive change in society. We honour these individuals and tell their ‘untold’ stories in short videos.
Educational Resources
Explore our innovative educational resources that use football’s history, heritage and legacy to engage young people. The resources include ready-made lesson plans and historical source collections for school history education as well as toolkit with activities for non-formal settings.
Trending Stories
Refugees
In the wake of the 2015 migration peak, activists and volunteers across Europe have been involved in supporting refugees, sometimes with the simple act of offering space and friendship to participate in football through grassroots clubs to help newcomers integrate.
The Match when Tito Died
On May 4th 1980 Yugoslav communist leader and lifelong president Marshal Tito passed away while the country was watching the game between Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade. Ten years later, another game siding a Croatian club against a Serbian club on May 13th 1990, had the country on the brink of collapse.
LATEST POST You may also be interested in
A long journey
Retelling the history of the women’s football in Northern Ireland offers us a view on how the game came, went and is here to stay.
Let the students decide!
History uses Football Makes History is the classroom to teach about equality and let’s students decide!
April in Football
What moments in football history have we highlighted in the last month? How do they provide us with historical mirrors to the present?
The Blitz and the Oval
During WWII Nazi Germany attacked the harbors of Belfast, destroying with them most of the stadium of Glentoran F.C.
Class war on the football pitch
Football StoriesOn this day, International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day or May Day, is celebrated in many countries around the world to honour and remember the struggle and fight for rights for the working class and workers. During the latter half of the...
My boyfriend, my husband, and my lover
Football was never a boys’ club: the story of a trailblazing woman in the stands.
