Argentine Football Legend Diego Maradona Dies at 60

SPORTS DESK: Diego Maradona, the Argentine football legend and captain of the 1986 World Cup winning team for his team has died at the age of 60.

Earlier this month, Diego Maradona was treated for a blood clot in his brain, after which he was resting at home.

The former midfielder and manager of Buenos Aires suffered a heart attack at his home on Wednesday evening.

Maradona is considered the greatest player in the history of football. Born in Buenos Aires in 1960, the player made his international debut in 1977.

He was not selected for the 1978 World Cup because of his young age but the Argentine team won that event, and he was always regretting on it that he was not part of the winning team.

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However, five years later, he became a permanent part of national team and then represented the country in four consecutive World Cup events. In three of which he was the captain of the team.

During his 91-match international career, he scored 34 goals for Argentina, besides that he helped his teammates to score many goals.

In the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, he scored a controversial goal against England, which was later known as the “Hand of God”.

Thanks to his goal, the team made it to the semi-final and then to the final and finally he joined the list of trophy-winning captains.

Four years later, under his captaincy, Argentina reached the final, but they lost against Germany.

In his book, Touched by God, Maradona wrote that despite winning the runners-up position, his daughter was angry with him and threw the same medal he had won.

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In his book, he also said that during his 17-year international career, he sometimes defeated injury and played a match and sometimes participated in a series of international and league matches.

He has accused his former captain and manager, Daniel Passarella, of failing to properly prepare for the 1986 World Cup but his resignation before the event united the team in such a way that they managed to win the trophy.

He tested positive for dope during the 1994 World Cup, after which he was disqualified from the event.

This was the last World Cup of his career as a player and the last assignment for his country.

Sixteen years later, he coached Argentina in the 2010 World Cup, which ended in a knockout round, but he managed to lead the team to the quarterfinals.

Maradona’s career was successful and simultaneously controversial. He became addicted to drugs in the 90’s, which led to several bans on him.

In 1997, he got retirement from his professional career and started coaching.

He coached football clubs in Argentina as well as the United Arab Emirates and Mexico.

At the time of his death, he was associated with the local Argentine team Gymnasia Esgrama.

Maradona, who won the Footballer of the Century award in 2000, has won numerous awards during his career.

Following his death, the President of Argentina has declared three days of mourning in the country.

“One day we will be kicking the ball together in the sky,” said another great Brazilian footballer, Pele, after Maradona’s death.