WHO IS DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH BOCA JUNIORS

2005-11-18T16:53:00.001-08:00

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH BOCA JUNIORS

1. Maradona entering the "Bombonera" in 1981
2. Diego celebrates a goal
3. "La 12", with the fanatic supporters of Boca, goes crazy after a goal
4. A banner in Bs. Aires: "On Oct.30 1960 God was born, today he is 37"
5. Maradona converts a penalty
6. In the Bombonera: "Diego, thank you, thank you. Thank you forever."
7. Diego training in 1997, before his comeback to Boca
8. A historic moment: Maradona signs the contract with Boca in 1981
9. Maradona's happiness in 1981, when he won the title with Boca Juniors
10. Diego shouts for joy after a goal
11. Diego enters the Bombonera with the ball in his hand
12. Maradona celebrates with his teammates
13. Diego and Caniggia crying for joy after the 4-1 win against River Plate
14. The giant flag of the fans of Boca
15. A wallpaper for Windows (800x600) about Maradona in Boca Juniors
16. A kite dedicated to Diego

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS video

2005-11-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS

Here is a list of some movies available for you to download.
Relive with your computer the best moments of Maradona's fantastic football career!

Note: Some links are not working at the moment, because videos require high data transfer and this generates problems on the server. Sorry for this inconvenience, we are trying to restore the service as soon as possible.

	Goal	Year	Format	File Size	Description
1	Argentina-Italy 1-1	1986	.mpg	331 kb	Diego's soft touch past the goalkeeper Galli
2	Argentina-England 2-1	1986	.mpg	629 kb	A movie of the "Hand of God"
3	Argentina-England 2-1	1986	.mpg	819 kb	The best goal of soccer history!
4	Argentina-England 2-1	1986	GIF animata	118 kb	Animated GIF of the greatest goal ever
5	Argentina-Belgium 2-0	1986	Real Video	140 kb	Nice touch from inside the penalty area
6	Argentina-Belgium 2-0	1986	.mov	1314 kb	Fantastic solo action and goal
7	Brazil-Argentina 0-1	1990	GIF animata	441 kb	Caniggia scores on a wonderful assist by Diego
8	Argentina-Greece 4-0	1994	.avi	963 kb	Great shot... and what a goal!
9	Boca-Platense 4-0	1981	Real Video	302 kb	Nice touch inside the penalty area
10	Boca-Col�n 3-0	1981	Real Video	522 kb	Shot from just outside the penalty area after a solo run
11	Boca-River 3-0	1981	Real Video	661 kb	A great goal against River Plate
12	Little Maradona juggler	1970's	.mpg	974 kb	Black & White video of a young juggling Diego
13	Boca-Newell's 2-0	1997	.avi	293 kb	Free kick
14	Maradona warm-up	1989	DivX	24175 kb	Famous warm-up session before the UEFA semifinal vs Bayern Munich. Maradona dances with the rhythm of "Live is life" song by Opus
15	Inter-Napoli 1-1	1985/86	.mov	97 kb	Great control and shot
16	Napoli-Verona 5-0	1985/86	Real Video	616 kb	Extraordinary goal directly from midfield
17	Napoli-Sampdoria 1-1	1986/87	Real Video	192 kb	Wonderful diving header!
18	Napoli-Milan 2-3	1987/88	Real Video	159 kb	Great free-kick to the far corner of the net
19	Napoli-Milan 3-0	1989/90	Real Video	1997 kb	Lob over the goalkeeper
20	Gol in a training session	1987	.mov	129 kb	Diego scores from behind the goal-kick line!
21	Trailer: the movie "Tifosi"	1999	Real Video	355 kb	Maradona plays soccer in this movie

SONGS AND SOUNDS ABOUT MARADONA WITH ARGENTINA AND BOCA JUNIORS

2005-11-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Like the Neapolitans, also the people from Argentina dedicated many songs to Maradona to express their love and support for him.
In this page, besides many fantastic songs, you can also find some spectacular commentaries to Diego's goals. Enjoy and VIVA DIEGO!

	Sound title	Extension	Author
1	Diego's fantastic goal in Argentina-England 2-1 (Mexico 86)	RealAudio	Victor Hugo Morales
2	Maradona's goal in Argentina-Greece 4-0 (USA 94)	RealAudio	Marcelo Araujo
3	Diego's fantastic goal in Argentina-England 2-1 (Mexico 86)	RealAudio	English commentator
4	Vamos, vamos, Argentina	RealAudio	Diego Maradona & the Argentine team
5	Argentina campe�n del mundo!	RealAudio	Jos� Mar�a Mu�oz
6	El sue�o del pibe	RealAudio	Performed by Diego Maradona
7	Marad�	RealAudio	Los Piojos
8	La Mano de Dios	RealAudio	Rodrigo
9	La Mano de Dios	MIDI+Karaoke	Rodrigo
10	Dale Diez	RealAudio	Julio Lacarra
11	Mis sue�os son dos...	RealAudio	Words by Diego Maradona
12	The "Hand of God"	RealAudio	Commentary by the French tv
13	2nd goal against England (Mexico 86)	RealAudio	Commentary by the French tv
14	Ven�, ven�, canta conmigo...	RealAudio	The fans of Boca Juniors
15	Baila la Boca	RealAudio	The fans of Boca Juniors
16	Hay que alentar a Maradooo...	RealAudio	The fans of Boca Juniors
17	Vale 10 palos verdes...	RealAudio	The fans of Boca Juniors
18	Brasilero, Brasilero...	RealAudio	The fans of Boca Juniors
19	Mam� yo quiero, oh oh	RealAudio	The fans of Boca Juniors
20	Diego querido	Flash	Willy Polvor�n
21	Samba de Enredo	RealAudio	Tradici�n (Carnival of Paso de Los Libres)

Many more songs dedicated to Maradona have been released in Argentina.
Among them, the song "Para Siempre Diego" performed by Los Ratones Paranoicos, which was the official anthem of the Maradona tribute match in Buenos Aires, the song "Made in Argentina" by the group Mala Fama, which expresses the pride to belong to the people of Argentina and to be born 'in the same country as Diego'. Other themes in honor of Maradona include "Capit�n Pelusa" by Los Cafres, "Y dale alegr�a a mi coraz�n" by Fito P�ez, "Yo te sigo" by Los Calzones, "La cumbia del 10" by Tambo Tambo, "Maradona" by Andr�s Calamaro, "El baile de Maradona" by Riki Maravilla, "Maradona Blues" by Charly Garc�a, "La Cueca de Maradona" by Guillermo Guido. Maradona himself perfomed in the songs "Querida Amiga" with the group Pimpinela and in "Hacer el tonto" with his friend Andr�s Calamaro.

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH ARGENTINA

2005-11-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH ARGENTINA

1. (Mexico 1986) Diego Maradona receives the World Cup
2. (Mexico 1986) Diego kisses the cup: now he is the King of soccer
3. (Mexico 1986) The triumph for Maradona, the world champion
4. (Mexico 1986) Another picture of Maradona's triumph
5. (Mexico 1986) The famous "Hand of God" against England
6. (Mexico 1986) Another picture of the "Hand of God"
7. (Mexico 1986) A picture of the second fantastic goal against England
8. (Mexico 1986) Diego celebrates after his wonderful goal against England
9. (Mexico 1986) A stamp by the Maldives representing Maradona
10. (Mexico 1986) The stamps of Argentina for the victory of the world cup
11. (Mexico 1986) Diego against the German defenders in the world cup final
12. (Mexico 1986) Diego in action against South Korea
13. (Mexico 1986) Another picture of Maradona against South Korea
14. (Mexico 1986) Maradona's goal against Italy
15. (Mexico 1986) El Gr�fico 1986: "Don't cry for me, England"
16. (Mexico 1986) El Gr�fico 1986: "We destroyed Belgium"
17. (Mexico 1986) El Gr�fico 1986: "World champions!"
18. (Mexico 1986) A beautiful photo of Maradona, the magician of soccer
19. (Espa�a 1982) Maradona alone against six players of Belgium
20. (Italia 1990) Diego's historical assist to Caniggia in Brazil v Argentina 0-1
21. (Italia 1990) Maradona against the Italian player Schillaci
22. (Italia 1990) Semifinal vs Italy: Diego scores the penalty against Zenga
23. (USA 1994) Maradona's happiness after his goal against Greece
24. (USA 1994) The Greek players can stop Maradona only with fouls...
25. (USA 1994) ... and the same happens to the Nigerians!
26. (USA 1994) Maradona celebrates after scoring his goal against Greece
27. (USA 1994) Happiness after the second goal of Argentina against Nigeria
28. (USA 1994) Diego playing against Nigeria
29. (USA 1994) A training session of the greatest player ever
30. (USA 1994) Ghana celebrates USA94 with a stamp in honor of Diego
31. (USA 1994) Maradona will be forever the captain of Argentina
32. (USA 1994) The front page of El Gr�fico after the victory against Greece
33. (Youth World Cup, Japan 1979) Diego wins the Youth World Cup in Japan
34. (Youth World Cup, Japan 1979) Diego lifts the Youth World Cup
35. (Wembley, 1980) Diego playing at Wembley against England in 1980
36. (Mordillo) In a drawing by Mordillo there are some fans of Maradona

YOUR COMMENTS abour maradona

2005-11-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

YOUR COMMENTS

Are you a fan of Diego Maradona? Are you a fan of Napoli or of the other teams where Maradona played?
I would be very happy to hear from you to know what you think about this tribute to Maradona!
write your suggestions, information, pictures or whatever else could be helpful for this site, if you want to tell a story about Diego Maradona, if you have things about the greatest player ever, or if you just want to leave your opinion.
Please post a message if you want to interchange things about Maradona with others , for example VHS videos...

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS video

2005-11-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS

Here is a list of some movies available for you to download.
Relive with your computer the best moments of Maradona's fantastic football career!

Note: Some links are not working at the moment, because videos require high data transfer and this generates problems on the server. Sorry for this inconvenience, we are trying to restore the service as soon as possible.

	Goal	Year	Format	File Size	Description
1	Argentina-Italy 1-1	1986	.mpg	331 kb	Diego's soft touch past the goalkeeper Galli
2	Argentina-England 2-1	1986	.mpg	629 kb	A movie of the "Hand of God"
3	Argentina-England 2-1	1986	.mpg	819 kb	The best goal of soccer history!
4	Argentina-England 2-1	1986	GIF animata	118 kb	Animated GIF of the greatest goal ever
5	Argentina-Belgium 2-0	1986	Real Video	140 kb	Nice touch from inside the penalty area
6	Argentina-Belgium 2-0	1986	.mov	1314 kb	Fantastic solo action and goal
7	Brazil-Argentina 0-1	1990	GIF animata	441 kb	Caniggia scores on a wonderful assist by Diego
8	Argentina-Greece 4-0	1994	.avi	963 kb	Great shot... and what a goal!
9	Boca-Platense 4-0	1981	Real Video	302 kb	Nice touch inside the penalty area
10	Boca-Col�n 3-0	1981	Real Video	522 kb	Shot from just outside the penalty area after a solo run
11	Boca-River 3-0	1981	Real Video	661 kb	A great goal against River Plate
12	Little Maradona juggler	1970's	.mpg	974 kb	Black & White video of a young juggling Diego
13	Boca-Newell's 2-0	1997	.avi	293 kb	Free kick
14	Maradona warm-up	1989	DivX	24175 kb	Famous warm-up session before the UEFA semifinal vs Bayern Munich. Maradona dances with the rhythm of "Live is life" song by Opus
15	Inter-Napoli 1-1	1985/86	.mov	97 kb	Great control and shot
16	Napoli-Verona 5-0	1985/86	Real Video	616 kb	Extraordinary goal directly from midfield
17	Napoli-Sampdoria 1-1	1986/87	Real Video	192 kb	Wonderful diving header!
18	Napoli-Milan 2-3	1987/88	Real Video	159 kb	Great free-kick to the far corner of the net
19	Napoli-Milan 3-0	1989/90	Real Video	1997 kb	Lob over the goalkeeper
20	Gol in a training session	1987	.mov	129 kb	Diego scores from behind the goal-kick line!
21	Trailer: the movie "Tifosi"	1999	Real Video	355 kb	Maradona plays soccer in this movie

A brief history of S.S.C.Napoli

2005-11-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

What is Napoli?

Napoli is an Italian football team and its history is glorious because the BEST football player in the world ever, Diego Armando Maradona, played here in his best years. His 8 years in Naples will always be remembered in the hearts of the Napoli supporters.

A brief history of Napoli

Napoli was founded in 1926 and its first years have been not so easy until the ADVENT of Diego Armando Maradona, the best football player in the world ever, in 1984. All the years from the foundation to the arrival of Maradona were not that good and Napoli only won twice the Coppa Italia, that is the Italian League Cup, in 1962 and 1976, and reached the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1977. With the advent of "God" Diego, Napoli became one of the most powerful teams in Italy and in Europe. The tournaments before his arrival were not so great and sometimes Napoli went very close to relegation to the Serie B. Since 1984 to 1991, thanks to Diego, Napoli was with no doubt one of the best teams in the world: in 1986 earned a UEFA cup place, ranking third; in 1987, probably the most important season in the history of Napoli, ranked FIRST in the Serie A, winning the first Scudetto of its history. The following season, 1987-88, was probably the best season of the whole history of Napoli, when almost every opponent was defeated with a lot of goals, but unfortunately it was not enough to win the tournament again and Napoli ranked as runners-up behind AC Milan, while the adventure in the European Champions' Cup finished in the first round after a defeat to Real Madrid 2-0 in Spain and a draw in Naples 1-1; 1989 was a very good season too as Napoli won the UEFA cup in Stuttgart, Germany, winning the first match in Naples 2-1 and drawing in the Neckarstadion 3-3, Napoli ranked second in Serie A once again as Inter Milan won the championship; 1990 was the year of the revenge against AC Milan which had won in 1988 the championship in the last matches: after a beautiful head-to-head Napoli won the second Scudetto. 1991 was not a good season, as Naoli early left the first places in Serie A and in European Champions' Cup was defeated at the penalties shoot-out in Moscow against Spartak Moscow after a double draw 0-0 in Naples and in Russia. 1991 was also the year in which Diego was found "positive" and he was disqualified for more than a year. Diego Maradona's history in Naples came to an end and Napoli's one too as in the last few years the team has not been able to win anything. Napoli just reached twice a UEFA cup place, but unfortunately the adventure did not last too much as they were defeated by Paris St.Germain and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively.
Up to now Napoli has won:
2 "Scudetti" Italian Championships (1986-87, 1989-90)
3 Coppa Italia (1961-62, 1975-76, 1986-87)
1 Supercoppa Italiana (1990-91)
1 UEFA Cup (1988-89)

Glory days

A beautiful song by Bruce Springsteen says "Glory days, well they'll pass you by glory days..."! One thing is sure: Napoli's glory days were really GLORY DAYS. From 1984 to 1991 the team was almost unbeatable. Diego Maradona, his superb skill, his left foot were the perfect ingredients for a great team. The advent of Diego in Naples was really difficult and it lasted all the summer 1984. All the people in Naples followed with great attention all the difficulties Napoli met to get Diego from Barcelona: at last Diego signed for Napoli and more than 60000 supporters went to the San Paolo stadium to see the presentation of the new idol to the fans. What some incredible moments. The first two seasons (1984-85 and 1985-86) were quite good, but not excellent and people expected the first victory of the Scudetto. It was the season after, 1986-87, when Napoli finally won the title. A tournament where Napoli deserved to win as it was almost always in the lead: this is the UNFORGETTABLE season for the supporters of Napoli, as the club also won the Coppa Italia defeating Atalanta in the final winning all the 13 matches of the competition. Diego Maradona, Bruno Giordano, Salvatore Bagni, Moreno Ferrario, Claudio Garella, Andrea Carnevale (who scored the goal which gave Napoli the victory of the championship on 10th May 1987, Napoli-Fiorentina 1-1) are still in the heart of all the Neapolitans. In the city, people are really huge fans of Napoli and as the team won the championship all over the city there was a fantastic party. In the streets, in the houses, all night long and days to come there was a sort of a "Carnival of Naples". The season after, 1987-88, is the season every fan wants to forget as Napoli played a fantastic tournament until 8 matches from the end, but some problems in the team among the players began to incide on the results of Napoli which lost the championship even though they were 5 points above the second in the table just few matches from the end: AC Milan won the title, where Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard played a great match in Naples as they defeated Napoli 3-2 two weeks from the end of the tournament; in 1988-89 Inter Milan was really unstoppable as they earned more points than any team had ever done in a Serie A, Napoli ranked second again; but in 1988-89 Napoli won the first international trophy, the UEFA Cup, going through defeating PAOK (1-0, 1-1), Lokomotiv Leipzig (1-1, 2-0), Bordeaux (1-0, 0-0), Juventus Turin (0-2, 3-0 a.e.t.- goal by Renica on the 119th minute with a header- simply unbelievable), Bayern Munich (2-0, 2-2) and Stuttgart (2-1, 3-3). A memorable cup won thanks to Diego Maradona, thanks to the great Brazilian striker Antonio Careca, thanks to Ricardo Alemao...; 1989-90 marked the victory of the second Scudetto. Napoli played a great championship, especially at home, where the club made 33 points out of 34 (16 victories, 1 draw, 0 defeats); the head-to-head battle against AC Milan until the last week is unforgettable: both teams had the same points two weeks before the end and Napoli won in Bologna 2-4 when AC Milan lost to the relegated Verona 2-1 after an incredible match. Last week Napoli easily won against Lazio with a header by Marco Baroni that was enough to score the 1-0 which allowed Napoli to win the title. Glory days finished in Moscow, as Napoli lost on penalties against Spartak Moscow in the second round of Champions' Cup of 1991, after going through defeating the Hungarian team of Ujpest Dozsa (3-0, 2-0). Since then such years did not come back anymore and Napoli history has been going worse and worse. Let's hope for the future.

"El pibe de oro", Diego Armando Maradona

If there is a player who is the symbol of S.S.C.Napoli, this is of course Diego Armando Maradona. Since his arrival in Naples everybody began to love him like a son, because he was able to give the city of Naples a worldwide renown taking the team to the very top of European football. His first season, 1984-85, was not such a great season, but in the second part of the championship he showed his class scoring a memorable hattrick against Lazio as Napoli won 4-0 and Diego scored one goal directly from the corner kick and another one with an unbelievable lob from outside the penalty area! The season after, 1985-86, Diego scored the goal which gave Napoli the first victory against Juventus Turin after many years (1-0 with a magic free-kick); he missed the penalty in Toulouse as Napoli went out of the UEFA Cup, but in Serie A 1986-87 he showed all his class leading the team to the victory (two unforgettable goals are the one against Sampdoria as he scored with a diving header very close to the grass and another one as he made a magic slalom against all the AC Milan defenders when Napoli won 2-1): he had just come back from the World Cup of 1986 in Mexico when he had led Argentina to the final victory scoring the famous goal with the "hand of god" against England, but also scoring the 'best goal ever' dribbling 6 English players and the goalkeeper; the idol of Naples was the author of such some victories as he led the team to the victory of the UEFA Cup in 1988-89; in 1989-90 his extraordinary goals and assists allowed Napoli to win the second Scudetto; the history of Diego Maradona in Naples came to an end in 1991, when he was disqualified as he was found "positive" after the match Napoli-Bari. Diego had to go away from Naples and he did not come back here anymore. He went to Spain where he played for Sevilla, but his adventure was not so lucky, then he began to concentrate on the USA World Cup of 1994 and he, at 34 years of age, began to play a great tournament scoring a memorable goal against Greece but some "ephedrine" was found and he was then disqualified by FIFA so that he could not finish his tournament and Argentina was defeated by Romania. Before his retirement in 1997, he had played for Boca Juniors in Argentina, but in Naples everybody is waiting for him to come back, to greet all his fans, to play a friendly match in the city that loved him more than any other one in the world, that is waiting for him ...someday....

Latest years

Unfortunately, the latest years, from 1991 to 2004, have been worse and worse for Napoli as the team never ranked in the top positions. In 1992 Napoli ranked fourth and qualified for the UEFA Cup, but the European dreams vanished against Paris St.Germain, though the club had already beaten Valencia 6-1 on aggregate (1-5 in Spain) with 6 goals by the Uruguayan striker Daniel Fonseca. The year after the team did not qualify for the UEFA Cup playing an anonymous tournament. In 1994 Napoli qualified for the UEFA Cup in the last match winning 0-1 in Foggia with a goal by Paolo Di Canio, who led the team to the seventh place; in 1995 the UEFA Cup position was lost in the injury time of the last match when Inter Milan won 2-1 against Padova; 1995-96 was a poor season as Napoli scored less goals than any team in the league, but ranked tenth especilly thanks to the goalkeeper Taglialatela who ranked as the best goalkeeper of the Serie A.
In 1996/97 Napoli avoided relegation on the last but one matchday, reaching the Italian Cup final. But the following season, 1997/98, was terrible as Napoli was relegated in Serie B after 33 consecutive years in the top division and after Maradona's magic years.
1998/99 also was a disaster because the club missed the promotion and played a very bad tournament in the Serie B.
In the season 1999/2000 Napoli was promoted back to Serie A thanks to the goals by Stefan Schwoch and the coaching of Novellino, but the following year 2001 the team was relegated again to Serie B on the last matchday. Next season 2001/02, Napoli ranked 5th in the Serie B, that was not enough to get back to the Serie A; 2002/03 was even worse as the team avoided the relegation to Serie C1 in the very last match.The last season 2003/04 has been the worse of Napoli history: because of financial problems the team was officially relegated to Serie C1, even though ranked in a safe position in the Serie B. At the moment Napoli is playing some difficult matches of Serie C1. The worst point of Napoli history has just been reached.
Who knows how the future will be? With the new club management, hopefully Napoli will be able to climb back, passing quickly through Serie B and then to Serie A, the place where it belongs. And then wait for another Diego Armando Maradona to start dreaming again...

STATISTICS ABOUT MARADONA IN NAPLES

2005-11-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

"Maradona is better than Pel�"eh oh eh oh ale ah oh,
eh oh eh oh ale ah oh
Chi s'ha accattato a chist',
chi s'ha accattato a chill',
chist' e' nu diavulillo,
e ce ne vonn ciento p' 'o ferma'...
Maradona e' meglio 'e Pele',
ci hanno fatto 'o mazz' tant pe 'll ave'!
Maradona facce sunna',
nu scudetto puortancill' 'a parte 'e cca'...
Maradona 'o ttene e t' 'o dda',
te scamazza te mbriaca e va a signa'
Maradona si' Napule gia',
tu si' 'a chiave 'e ll'acqua pe ce fa campa'.
eh oh eh oh ale ah oh,
eh oh eh oh ale ah oh
Maradona, mo' ca stai cca',
levancillo 'o scuorno 'a faccia a sta citta'
Maradona, nun puo' sbaglia',
tu pe nnuje si frat', pate e si' mamma'...
Maradona piensace tu,
si mo' nun succere nun succere cchiu'...
l'Argentina toja sta cca',
nun putimme cchiu' aspetta',
finalmente ce putimmo vendica'...
eh oh eh oh ale ah oh,
eh oh eh oh ale ah oh
Maradona piensace tu,
si mo' nun succere nun succere cchiu'...
l'Argentina toja sta cca',
nun putimme cchiu' aspetta',
finalmente ce putimmo vendica'...

NAPOLI, 1984-85

1984-85 was the first season for Diego in Naples. He played a good tournament, but the people expected much more from him. Napoli went close to relegation in the first half of the tournament, but then lost only one match (1-2 in Milan against AC Milan) in the second half.
Maradona was the star and he enchanted the fans when he scored a hat-trick against Lazio when Napoli won 4-0. In that match, he scored one goal directly from the corner kick and another one with a beautiful lob from just outside the penalty area!

He played 30 matches and scored 14 goals. He was the top goalscorer of the team, and led Napoli to the 8th position in Serie A as Verona won the title.

Here is the full list of the goals scored by Maradona:

Italian Championship (14 goals)

23/09/1984 07/10/1984
14/10/1984
06/01/1985
13/01/1985
10/02/1985
17/02/1985
24/02/1985
31/03/1985
12/05/1985

Napoli-Sampdoria 1-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Como 3-0
Lazio-Napoli 1-1
Napoli-Udinese 4-3 (2 penalties)
Fiorentina-Napoli 0-1
Napoli-Torino 2-1 (pen.)
Como-Napoli 1-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Lazio 4-0 (3 goals)
Napoli-Ascoli 1-1
Udinese-Napoli 2-2 (2 goals)

Coppa Italia (3 goals)

22/08/1984 26/08/1984 02/09/1984

Napoli-Arezzo 4-1
Casertana-Napoli 0-3 (pen.)
Pescara-Napoli 0-3

NAPOLI, 1985-86

1985-86 was the second season for Diego in Naples. He was now the idol of the whole city. This tournament was better than the previous one and Napoli was now one of the best teams in Italy and Europe.
Maradona played a good tournament together with the striker Bruno Giordano: they scored 21 goals for Napoli as Napoli ranked third in Serie A.
The most important goal by Diego was the one on a fabulous free-kick against Juventus in Naples as Napoli won 1-0. Napoli won a match against Juventus after 13 years and the whole city celebrated the victory!

In 1985-86 Maradona led Napoli to the third position and scored 11 goals in 29 matches. Juventus won the title.

Here is the list of the goals scored by Maradona that season:

Italian Championship (11 goals)

29/09/1985 20/10/1985
27/10/1985
03/11/1985
10/11/1985
24/11/1985
05/01/1986
23/02/1986
16/03/1986
13/04/1986

Napoli-Roma 1-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Verona 5-0
Torino-Napoli 2-1
Napoli-Juventus 1-0
Inter-Napoli 1-1
Napoli-Udinese 1-1
Como-Napoli 1-1 (pen.)
Verona-Napoli 2-2 (1 + 1 pen.)
Napoli-Inter 1-0 (pen.)
Milan-Napoli 1-2

Coppa Italia (2 goals)

01/09/1985

Salernitana-Napoli 1-3 (1 + 1 pen.)

NAPOLI, 1986-87

1986-87 was the best season in the whole history of Napoli: it was the season of the first Scudetto. Maradona had just come back from Mexico where he had captained Argentina to win the World Cup.
That season Maradona became the true hero for the city of Naples: he was the man who finally took the team to win its first Italian League title. Napoli defeated the richer teams from Northern Italy and for the first time in the history of Italian soccer a Southern team won the Scudetto. It was a real event in Naples and everywhere in the city there were banners, pictures, flags, whatever you can imagine for a big party.

Diego scored many beautiful goals, such as the one against Sampdoria with a diving header, or the one against AC Milan when he dribbled two defenders scoring from the goal kick line! Maradona scored 10 times in 29 matches and he was the top goalscorer of Napoli. Andrea Carnevale scored 8 goals.
NAPOLI WON THE TITLE!
Napoli won the COPPA ITALIA as well and made a fantastic double!!
In the Coppa Italia, Napoli won 13 out of the 13 matches in the competition. No team has ever achieved such a result.

Here is the list of the goals scored by Maradona:

Italian Championship (10 goals)

14/09/1986 12/10/1986
19/10/1986
26/10/1986
23/11/1986
04/01/1987
01/02/1987
01/03/1987
26/04/1987

Brescia-Napoli 0-1
Sampdoria-Napoli 1-2 (pen.)
Napoli-Atalanta 2-2 (pen.)
Roma-Napoli 0-1
Napoli-Empoli 4-0
Fiorentina-Napoli 3-1
Udinese-Napoli 0-3 (1 + 1 pen.)
Napoli-Sampdoria 1-1
Napoli-Milan 2-1

Coppa Italia (7 goals)

24/08/1986 27/08/1986
07/09/1986
04/01/1987
18/03/1987
29/04/1987
06/05/1987

Spal-Napoli 0-2
Lazio-Napoli 0-2
Napoli-Cesena 3-1
Napoli-Brescia 3-0
Cagliari-Napoli 0-1
Napoli-Bologna 3-0
Bologna-Napoli 2-4 (pen.)

NAPOLI, 1987-88

1987-88 was a sad season for Napoli. Though the team played probably the best championship ever, it was not enough to win, since in the last few matches Napoli lost the five-points lead on AC Milan. It was a real d�bacle, and the team in the last weeks got really few points before being defeated by AC Milan in the decisive match at the San Paolo stadium on May 1, 1988.
Anyway, in the first half of the tournament and in some matches of the second half, Maradona played an impressive soccer. He played together with Careca, the great Brazilian striker, but the "MaGiCa" attack (it means Maradona, Giordano, Careca) was not enough to win the second title.

In this tournament Napoli ranked second in the league, and AC Milan won the title.

Maradona was the best goalscorer of the whole Serie A.
Here is the full list of the goals scored by Diego:

Italian Championship (15 goals)

18/10/1987 01/11/1987
22/11/1987
13/12/1987
20/12/1987
10/01/1988
17/01/1988
24/01/1988
31/01/1988
07/02/1988
14/02/1988
10/04/1988
24/04/1988
01/05/1988

Napoli-Pescara 6-0 (pen.)
Napoli-Empoli 2-1 (1 + 1 pen.)
Napoli-Torino 3-1
Napoli-Juventus 2-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Verona 4-1
Napoli-Fiorentina 4-0
Sampdoria-Napoli 0-1
Napoli-Cesena 2-0
Ascoli-Napoli 1-3 (pen.)
Napoli-Pisa 2-1
Napoli-Avellino 4-0
Napoli-Inter 1-0
Verona-Napoli 1-1
Napoli-Milan 2-3

Coppa Italia (6 goals)

23/08/1987
30/08/1987
06/09/1987
13/09/1987
18/11/1987

Napoli-Modena 4-0
Udinese-Napoli 0-2
Napoli-Fiorentina 2-1 (pen.)
Fiorentina-Napoli 3-2 (pen.)
Torino-Napoli 3-2 (2 goals)

NAPOLI, 1988-89

Even though Napoli played a top-class soccer, this was meant to be the season of Inter Milan, whose run from the beginning to the end of the tournament was almost unstoppable. They got the highest number of points in a Serie A season ever. Inter had German players such as Andreas Brehme or Lothar Matth�us, who were able to lead their team to the final victory.
Napoli was second once again, but this time there is nothing to complain for. Inter won a lot of matches away, and deserved to win the title.
But this season will always be remembered since it marked the first European triumph. Napoli won the UEFA Cup going through defeating PAOK, Lokomotiv Leipzig, Bordeaux, Juventus (0-2, 3-0 on 119th minute!!), Bayern Munich, and Stuttgart. Maradona was the leader of this team once again.

Here is the list of Maradona's goals:

Italian Championship (9 goals)

16/10/1988
23/10/1988
27/11/1988
04/12/1988
18/12/1988
29/01/1989
19/02/1989

Pisa-Napoli 0-2
Napoli-Pescara 8-2 (2 goals)
Napoli-Milan 4-1
Napoli-Fiorentina 2-0 (pen.)
Napoli-Bologna 3-1 (2 goals)
Napoli-Ascoli 4-1 (2 goals)
Atalanta-Napoli 1-1

Coppa Italia (7 goals)

23/08/1988
30/08/1988
14/09/1988
21/09/1988
28/09/1988
01/02/1989

Napoli-Barletta 3-0
Napoli-Bologna 1-0
Lecce-Napoli 1-1
Napoli-Cesena 2-0
Modena-Napoli 0-4 (1 + 1 pen.)
Pisa-Napoli 0-2

UEFA Cup (3 goals)

07/09/1988
15/03/1989
03/05/1989

1st round    Napoli-PAOK 1-0 (pen.)
1/4 finals    Napoli-Juventus 3-0 (pen.)
Final (1st leg)   Napoli-Stuttgart 2-1 (pen.)

NAPOLI, 1989-90

THE SECOND SCUDETTO! It was a memorable season for Napoli which ranked first, after an incredible head-to-head with AC Milan. Two weeks from the end Napoli and Milan had the same points and Napoli won in Bologna 4-2 when Milan lost 1-2 to the relegated Verona. This was the day that almost marked the final victory, as the last match in Naples it was an easy victory against Lazio 1-0 with a header by the defender Marco Baroni.

MARADONA: he was once again the leader. The whole city went crazy when Napoli won the second title. The most remarkable thing is that the club got the revenge against AC Milan which had taken the title from Napoli's hands in 1987-88.

Here is the list of the goals scored by Maradona this season:

Italian Championship (16 goals)

24/09/1989
01/10/1989
07/10/1989
22/10/1989
29/10/1989
19/11/1989
14/01/1990
31/01/1990
21/01/1990
18/02/1990
25/03/1990
15/04/1990
22/05/1990

Cremonese-Napoli 1-1
Napoli-Milan 3-0
Roma-Napoli 1-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Inter 2-0
Genoa-Napoli 1-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Sampdoria 1-1 (pen.)
Udinese-Napoli 2-2 (pen.)
Napoli-Verona 2-0
Napoli-Cremonese 3-0 (2 goals)
Napoli-Roma 3-1 (2 penalties)
Napoli-Juventus 3-1 (2 goals)
Napoli-Bari 3-0 (pen.)
Bologna-Napoli 2-4

Coppa Italia (2 goals)

24/01/1990
14/02/1990

Fiorentina-Napoli 1-1
Napoli-Milan 1-3 (pen.)

NAPOLI, 1990-91

This championship was Maradona's last season in Naples. He began not to play the top-class soccer he had showed in the years before, he was 30 and probably he was no longer the champion the whole world had seen. In Serie A he scored only 6 goals (all on penalties). Though he scored some important goals, he was then banned after failing a dope test in March 1991. He had to go away from Italy, and the ban kept him away from the soccer fields for two years.
It was a sad finish for such a great champion. Napoli played an anonymous tournament, and did not even qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Anyway, Maradona scored two important goals in the Champions' Cup against the Hungarian team Ujpest Dozsa (scoring a magnificent one with a bicycle kick), but that was not enough to lead the team to the final victory as it was defeated on penalties in Russia against Spartak Moscow in the second round.

Here is the list of Maradona's goals this season:

Italian Championship (6 goals)

30/09/1990
21/10/1990
02/12/1990
10/02/1991
24/03/1991

Napoli-Pisa 2-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Milan 1-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Torino 2-1 (pen.)
Napoli-Parma 4-2 (2 pen.)
Sampdoria-Napoli 4-1 (pen.)

Champions' Cup (2 goals)

19/09/1990

Napoli-Ujpest Dozsa 3-0 (2 goals)

Coppa Italia (2 goals)

12/09/1990
14/03/1991

Napoli-Cosenza 3-0 (pen.)
Napoli-Sampdoria 1-0

PICTURES OF MARADONA IN NAPLES

2005-11-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

More than 60,000 people greet Diego at his arrival in the "San Paolo"
2. "Maradona forever in our hearts"
3. Maradona is the leader of Napoli
4. Diego goes around the defenders of Milan and scores a fantastic goal
5. Maradona's happiness
6. Diego dances tango after his second goal against Bologna
7. Maradona celebrating after a goal
8. "History prescribed a day: 10/5/1987" - the first Scudetto for Napoli
9. The two captains Diego Maradona and Franco Baresi in Napoli-Milan
10. Maradona kisses Carmando, the Napoli massager, before a match
11. Maradona converts the penalty in the UEFA Cup final against Stuttgart
12. Maradona's fantastic backheel
13. Maradona with the Supercoppa Italiana
14. A fantastic goal by Diego with a diving header against Sampdoria
15. Diego against his brother Hugo in Napoli-Ascoli 2-1 of 1987
16. "Naples has three beautiful things: the bay, the Vesuvius and Maradona"
17. A banner of the Vesuvius with the names of the Napoli players of 1987
18. A caricatural mural representing Maradona and Platini
19. A mural with St. Gennaro, patron of Naples, with Diego between his arms
20. A mural painting of Diego Maradona in a street of Naples
21. A photo of the "San Paolo" stadium, on the day of the first Scudetto
22. Diego with the team of the first Scudetto in 1986-87
23. The team of the second Scudetto (1989-90)
24. Maradona 10
25. The "MaGiCa" with MAradona, GIordano, CAreca
26. Maradona, the king, with the Royal Palace of Naples in the background
27. Diego celebrates the first Scudetto at the end of Napoli-Fiorentina 1-1
28. Italian and foreign newspapers celebrate the victory of the first Scudetto
29. A sculpture representing Maradona by Lello Esposito
30. Lello Esposito working with the Maradona sculptures
31. In Naples football is a religion: here is St. GennArmando
32. A free-kick by Diego against Pescara on a Japanese phone card
33. Diego with the Napoli jersey on a Japanese phone card
34. Another Japanese telephone card with Maradona in Napoli
35. A street of Naples after the victory (1987) of the first Scudetto
36. Guerin Sportivo magazine of the Scudetto of 1987
37. The Argentine magazine "El Gr�fico" of the first Scudetto for Napoli
38. The fans of Napoli celebrate Diego's return to Italy in 1998
39. A poster of Maradona playing with Napoli
40. In the stadium of Naples: "Diego, you are the Carlos Gardel of football"
41. Maradona celebrates with his teammates after Careca's goal in Stuttgart

"El pibe de oro", Diego Armando Maradona

2005-11-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

"El pibe de oro", Diego Armando Maradona

Latest years

WHO IS DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA?

2005-11-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

WHO IS DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA?

Diego Armando Maradona has been the greatest football player ever!
To prove this, just think that the most beautiful goal in the history of football was scored by Maradona in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico against England, when he dribbled 6 English players and the goalkeeper scoring an amazing goal... just few minutes after his world-famous "Hand of God" goal, when he scored with his hand and the referee did not notice that.
Born on October 30, 1960 in the poor slums of Villa Fiorito in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Diego grew up with soccer. In the halftime of the Argentinos Juniors matches, a young boy from the youth team entertained the audience playing and juggling with the ball. "�Que se quede!, �que se quede!" (=let him stay!) the fans in the stadium said. His quick football career started in Argentinos Juniors where he made his debut in the Argentina first division at 15 years of age. He then joined Boca Juniors and led the Argentina youth team to win the world cup in 1979. After the 1982 world cup in Spain, when he was already an idol, he joined Barcelona and played in Spain for two seasons. In 1984 the dreams of millions of Napoli fans throughout the world became reality: he joined the team where he would win two Italian Championships in 1986/87 and 1989/90, one Coppa Italia (1987), one UEFA cup (1989) and one Supercoppa Italiana (1990). In the meantime, he became the hero of Argentina's triumph in Mexico 1986 World Cup where he almost single-handedly led the team to the final victory. Unfortunately, after failing a dope test in 1991 he was banned from the soccer fields. After the suspension, he went to Spain to play for Sevilla and then back to Argentina with Newell's Old Boys. Then, after a pair of coachings in Argentina for Deportivo Mandiy� and Racing de Avellaneda, he came back to play for Boca Juniors.
In the World Cup of 1994 in the USA, Maradona was tested after the match against Nigeria and was found to have used "ephedrine", not permitted by FIFA. He was suspended from playing soccer for more than a year as punishment. Although Argentina came in with a strong team in the 1994 World Cup, everything went downhill and, without their captain, they were soon defeated.
After the suspension, he started playing again for Boca Juniors until 1997: on October 30, 1997, day of his 37th birthday, he retired from football.
Nobody can judge somebody else's life. Even less can anyone judge such a difficult life as the one of a world-famous personality. But we must all judge Maradona for what he showed on the football fields all over the world, and we will certainly all agree that the spectacle he brought to the world of sports is something really unique and unforgettable. Thanks for everything, DIEGO.

world cup MEXICO 1986

2005-11-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

MEXICO 1986

Mexico 1986 was certainly the best World Cup for Maradona. He was the star, the most known player in the world, everybody was waiting for him to express his game and delight the world. And he did it. What he showed in Mexico 86 is something incredible. He was the number one in the world, there is no doubt about it.

The first match for Argentina was against South Korea and Argentina easily won 3-1 with goals by Valdano (6. and 46.) and Ruggeri (18.). The second match was against Italy, the World Cup holders. Italy scored a penalty with Altobelli (7.), but Maradona equalized (34.) with a sly touch past the Italian goalkeeper Galli. Argentina was already qualified, but deserved to win the last group match against Bulgaria 2-0 with goals by Valdano (4.) and Burruchaga (72.). Argentina qualified for the 2nd round and they had to face Uruguay.

The 2nd round match against Uruguay was a tough one: 1-0 for Argentina, with a goal by Pasculli (41.), and Argentina was in quarter-finals.

June 22, 1986 is a date that will always be remembered for soccer fans: Argentina vs. England. It was 0-0 at half time, but what happened in the first ten minutes in the second half is something memorable. It was the 50. minute when a ball in the area was touched by Diego with a hand (the "Hand of God") -photo : he jumped high and touched with the fist. The ball went into the net, the referee didn't notice this and confirmed the goal! I will never forget this scene. The "Hand of God" goal is memorable. But I also will never forget the second goal against England: it was the 54. minute when Maradona scored the best goal in the history of soccer : He started from midfield, passed 5 English players and then the goalkeeper and rolled it into the net! This was an incredible goal, really. Argentina was 2-0 and that was enough to win though Lineker scored a goal for England in 81. minute. Argentina was in semifinals!

In semifinals Argentina played against Belgium. Argentina won 2-0 with two goals by Diego Maradona (51. and 63. minute), who rolled twice the ball past Pfaff, the Belgian goalkeeper. Maradona was the man of the tournament and Argentina was in the World Cup final!

In the other semifinal West Germany won against France 2-0 and then on June 29 there was the final! Argentina vs. West Germany! It was a beautiful match: Argentine defender Brown scored the first goal (32.) and at half time it was 1-0; Valdano scored the 2-0 (56.), but West Germany scored 1-2 with Rummenigge (73.) and then equalized with V�ller (82.). Everybody thought: now there will be extra time. But Diego gave an incredible ball through to Burruchaga who scored the 3-2 sliding it past the keeper (84.)! Argentina was World Champion!

Who can forget Maradona kissing the World Cup and rising it to the sky? He deserved it. What he had showed in the tournament is something difficult to explain. He was really the number one in the world!

MARADONA's LIFE ,Awards received by Maradona

2005-11-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

A SUMMARY OF MARADONA's LIFE

Oct.30, 1960: Diego Armando Maradona was born in Lan�s, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He is the fifth of the eight children of Diego Maradona and Dalma Salvadora Franco.

Dec.5, 1970: Starts playing with the Cebollitas, the youth team of Argentinos Juniors

Oct.20, 1976: Plays his first match in the Argentine top division with Argentinos Juniors against Talleres de C�rdoba, ten days before his 16th birthday, replacing Giacobetti at the beginning of the second half and wearing the shirt number 16.

Nov.14, 1976: Scores his first goal against Lucangioli, goalkeeper of San Lorenzo de Mar del Plata.

Feb.27, 1977: Plays his first match with the Argentina national team against Hungary.

May 1978: Cesar Menotti, the coach of Argentina, does not include him in the list of the 22 players for the world cup saying that Diego is too young to handle pressures.

Jun.2, 1979: Scores his first goal with Argentina, in Glasgow against Scotland

Sep.7, 1979: Leads Argentina to win the youth world cup in Japan scoring a goal on free kick as well in the final won 3-1 against USSR.

Feb.19, 1981: Joins Boca Juniors.

Feb.22, 1981: Makes his debut with Boca winning 4-1 against Talleres de C�rdoba and scoring two goals.

Aug.16, 1981: Wins the Argentine championship with Boca Juniors.

Jun.4, 1982: Joins Barcelona .

Sep.24, 1983: Suffers the worst injury of his career when Andoni Goicoechea, defender of Athletic Bilbao, breaks his left ankle and the ligament.

Jun.30, 1984: Joins Napoli

Jul.5, 1984: Introduction to the Napoli fans -photo!- with an unforgettable party

Jun.22-29, 1986: Scores the famous goal with the "Hand of God" and then scores a magnificent second goal winning 2-1 against England in the quarter-finals of the world cup in Mexico. Leads Argentina to the triumph defeating West Germany 3-2 in the final.

May 10, 1987: Leads Napoli to win the first Scudetto of the history of the club.
May 17, 1989: Wins the UEFA Cup with Napoli, that gets the first victory ever in an international competition.

Aug.-Sep. 1989:Spends two months in Argentina, failing to come back before the start of the tournament.

Apr.29, 1990: Wins the second Scudetto with Napoli.

Jul.8, 1990: Leads Argentina to the final of the world cup in Rome and loses 1-0 against West Germany with a very discussed penalty.

Mar.17, 1991: Found positive in a dope test, is banned from football for 15 months.

1992: Refuses to come back to Napoli after the ban and asks a transfer. Joins Sevilla.

Oct.4, 1992: Makes his debut with Sevilla, losing 2-1 against Athletic Bilbao.

Oct.10, 1993: Leaves Sevilla and joins Newell's Old Boys in Argentina. Loses the first match 3-1 against Independiente.

Oct.31, 1993: Comes back to the national team, playing in Sydney against Australia in the playoffs to qualify for the USA 1994 world cup. Draws 1-1 and the Argentine goal is due to a great play by Diego.

Nov.17, 1993: Argentina, captained by Maradona, wins 1-0 against Australia and qualifies for the world cup.

Dec.2, 1993: Plays his last match with Newell's against Hurac�n.

Jun. 1994: Plays two matches in the world cup and scores a great goal against Greece, before receiving a ban for using ephedrine, substance not allowed by FIFA.

Oct.3, 1994: First time as a coach: with Deportivo Mandiy� of Corrientes. Two months later he resigns.

May6, 1995: Second time as a coach: now with Racing. Four months later he resigns.

Oct.7, 1995: Comes back to play for Boca Juniors in the match Boca-Col�n 1-0. The fans of Boca prepare for him a special party with fireworks and big celebrations in the stadium of the "Bombonera".

1996: Keeps playing with Boca Juniors.

Aug.24, 1997: Starts the new season with Boca in great shape, scoring a penalty in the match won 4-2 against Argentinos Juniors. He is found positive again, though it may have been a plot.

Oct.25, 1997: Plays his last match with Boca, winning 1-2 away against River Plate.

Oct.30, 1997: Decides to retire from football on the day of his 37th birthday.

1998: Does not play the world cup, but travels to France to comment the match for an Argentine tv channel.

Nov. 1998: Comes back to Italy after more than 7 years.

1999: Agrees to a movie about his life and takes part in the Italian movie "Tifosi"

Awards received by Maradona in his career

* 1978: Top Goalscorer of the Campeonato Metropolitano.
* 1979: Top Goalscorer of the Campeonato Metropolitano.
* 1979: Top Goalscorer of the Campeonato Nacional.
* 1979: World Champion with Argentina in the Youth World Cup.
* 1979: "Olimpia de Oro" to the Best Argentine Footballer of the year.
* 1979: Chosen by FIFA as the Best Player of the year in South America.
* 1979: Receives the Gold Ball as the best player of the moment.
* 1980: Top Goalscorer of the Campeonato Metropolitano.
* 1980: Top Goalscorer of the Campeonato Nacional.
* 1980: Chosen by FIFA as the Best Player of the year in South America.
* 1981: Top Goalscorer of the Campeonato Nacional.
* 1981: Receives the Trofeo Gandulla as Best Footballer of the year.
* 1981: Champion of Argentina with Boca Juniors.
* 1983: Wins the Copa del Rey with Barcelona.
* 1985: Named Ambassador of the UNICEF.
* 1986: World Champion with Argentina.
* 1986: Wins his second "Olimpia de Oro" to the Best Argentine Footballer of the year.
* 1986: Named "Distinguished Citizen" by the City of Buenos Aires.
* 1986: Receives the Golden Shoe assigned by Adidas to the Best Footballer of the year.
* 1986: Gets the Golden Pen as Best Player in Europe.
* 1987: Italian Serie A Champion with Napoli.
* 1987: Wins the Italian Cup with Napoli.
* 1988: Top goalscorer of the Serie A with Napoli.
* 1989: Wins the UEFA Cup with Napoli.
* 1990: Italian Serie A Champion with Napoli.
* 1990: Receives the Premio Konex di Brillante for his sport skill.
* 1990: Second place in the World Cup.
* 1990: Named "Ambassador of Sport" by the President of Argentina.
* 1990: Wins the Supercoppa Italiana with Napoli.
* 1993: Awarded as Best Argentine Footballer of all time.
* 1993: Wins the Artemio Franchi Cup with Argentina.
* 1995: Receives the Golden Ball for his career.
* 1995: Awarded as "Master Inspirer of Dreams" by the University of Oxford.
* 1999: "Olimpia de Platino" as Best Footballer of the century.
* 1999: Receives from the AFA the award as best sportsman of the century in Argentina.
* 1999: His goal of 1986 against England is chosen as the best goal ever in the history of football.
* 2000: Elected "FIFA best football player of the century" in a gala ceremony in Rome after a worldwide poll on the internet.
The numbers of the number 10

- Argentinos Juniors (76/80). 166 matches (116 goals).
- Boca Juniors (81, 95/97). 71 matches (35 goals).
- Barcelona (82/83). 58 matches (38 goals).
- Napoli (84/91). 259 matches (115 goals).
- Sevilla (92/93). 29 matches (7 goals).
- Newell's Old Boys (93). 5 matches.

History with the Argentina national team:

- Youth Argentina team (77/79). 23 matches (11 goals).
- Argentina (77/94). 91 matches (34 goals).

Titles won: 10.

- World Youth Championship 1979 (Argentina)
- Campeonato Metropolitano 1981 (Boca Juniors)
- Copa del Rey 1983 (Barcelona)
- World Cup 1986 (Argentina)
- Italian League 1986/87 (Napoli)
- Italian Cup 1987 (Napoli)
- UEFA Cup 1989 (Napoli)
- Italian League 1989/90 (Napoli)
- Italian Supercup 1990 (Napoli)
- Copa Artemio Franchi 1993 (Argentina)

History as coach (with Carlos Fren):

- Mandiy� of Corrientes (1994). 12 matches (1 won, 6 draws, 5 losses)
- Racing Club (1995). 11 matches (2 won, 6 draws, 3 losses)

world cup U.S.A. 1994

2005-11-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

U.S.A. 1994

The 1994 World Cup was for Maradona the last chance to show his skill to the world and to lead Argentina to win their third world cup. His years from 1990 to 1994 were not so beautiful: he was banned for drugs in the Italian Championship after the match Napoli-Bari in March 1991. Then he played in Sevilla (Spain) and in Argentina, but he was preparing the World Cup. His thought always went to that tournament: he wanted to finish his extraordinary career with some "fireworks", he wanted to lead Argentina to win the title.

Argentina was in group D with Bulgaria, Nigeria and Greece. The first match was against Greece: Argentina won 4-0 and Diego scored a beautiful goal, shooting from just outside the penalty area scoring under the cross bar. His goal was a joy for every fan of soccer: he deserved it, and everybody in Naples was really happy for his goal. Who can ever forget his run towards the camera, his scream to the whole world, like to say "Here I am! I'm still the number one!". Well, his match against Greece was incredible: it seemed as he was still the best Maradona.

The second match of hist team was against Nigeria, a very strong team which had defeated in the first match Hristo Stoichkov's Bulgaria 3-0 with an impressive soccer. Argentina played against Nigeria and won 2-1: after the goal by Siasia for Nigeria, Argentina equalized and won the match with Claudio Caniggia and Diego was the "man of the match" with Caniggia. He made an incredible assist for Argentina's goal, passing the ball to a teammate instead of shooting straight to the net. He was 34 now, but his skill was still pure. He was the leader of the team: Argentina won two straight matches and "El pibe de oro" was the prime actor in both the matches. Now Argentina was one of the favourite teams for the final victory.

But suddenly things got worse. Maradona was found "positive" after a drug test and he was banned by FIFA: some "ephedrine" was found and Diego was suspended from the tournament. This was a sad day for Maradona and, most of all, for the world of soccer. Such a great champion finished his extraordinary career with a bad end: I can never forget the tears from Diego's eyes. This was the worst day in his life. I can't say if he's innocent or guilty, but one thing is sure, ephedrine is not a real drug. Somebody said that FIFA wanted him in World Cup to attract people and the world's interest on the tournament, which for the USA didn't mean anything at all, but then they disqualified him from the World Cup, because FIFA never liked Diego too much.

It's a sad finish for the best player in the world ever, and his team, after this event, lost 0-2 to Bulgaria. Argentina qualified to the 2nd round, but then lost 2-3 to Romania, under Maradona's eyes. The whole Argentine team was shocked by Maradona's suspension and then was not able to focus on the match, since their thoughts always went back to Diego.

However, he played 21 matches in 4 World Cups. He was the world's number one for many years, but Argentina-Nigeria was the last time he played as a great champion.
But in my eyes there will always be Maradona's face when he kisses the World Cup in 1986, his "Hand of God" goal against England and the wonderful slalom among 5 opponents and the goalkeeper in the same match. Thank you, Diego: you are the best.

WHO IS DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH BOCA JUNIORS

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH BOCA JUNIORS

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS video

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS

Here is a list of some movies available for you to download.Relive with your computer the best moments of Maradona's fantastic football career!

Note: Some links are not working at the moment, because videos require high data transfer and this generates problems on the server. Sorry for this inconvenience, we are trying to restore the service as soon as possible.

SONGS AND SOUNDS ABOUT MARADONA WITH ARGENTINA AND BOCA JUNIORS

PICTURES OF MARADONA WITH ARGENTINA

YOUR COMMENTS abour maradona

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS video

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA's BEST GOALS

Here is a list of some movies available for you to download.Relive with your computer the best moments of Maradona's fantastic football career!

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A brief history of S.S.C.Napoli

What is Napoli?

A brief history of Napoli

Glory days

"El pibe de oro", Diego Armando Maradona

Latest years

STATISTICS ABOUT MARADONA IN NAPLES

Italian Championship (14 goals)

Coppa Italia (3 goals)

Italian Championship (11 goals)

Coppa Italia (2 goals)

Italian Championship (10 goals)

Coppa Italia (7 goals)

Italian Championship (15 goals)

Coppa Italia (6 goals)

Italian Championship (9 goals)

Coppa Italia (7 goals)

UEFA Cup (3 goals)

Italian Championship (16 goals)

Coppa Italia (2 goals)

Italian Championship (6 goals)

Champions' Cup (2 goals)

Coppa Italia (2 goals)

PICTURES OF MARADONA IN NAPLES

"El pibe de oro", Diego Armando Maradona

"El pibe de oro", Diego Armando Maradona

Latest years

WHO IS DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA?

world cup MEXICO 1986

MARADONA's LIFE ,Awards received by Maradona

A SUMMARY OF MARADONA's LIFE

Oct.30, 1960: Diego Armando Maradona was born in Lan�s, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He is the fifth of the eight children of Diego Maradona and Dalma Salvadora Franco.

Dec.5, 1970: Starts playing with the Cebollitas, the youth team of Argentinos Juniors

Oct.20, 1976: Plays his first match in the Argentine top division with Argentinos Juniors against Talleres de C�rdoba, ten days before his 16th birthday, replacing Giacobetti at the beginning of the second half and wearing the shirt number 16.

Nov.14, 1976: Scores his first goal against Lucangioli, goalkeeper of San Lorenzo de Mar del Plata.

Feb.27, 1977: Plays his first match with the Argentina national team against Hungary.

May 1978: Cesar Menotti, the coach of Argentina, does not include him in the list of the 22 players for the world cup saying that Diego is too young to handle pressures.

Jun.2, 1979: Scores his first goal with Argentina, in Glasgow against Scotland

Sep.7, 1979: Leads Argentina to win the youth world cup in Japan scoring a goal on free kick as well in the final won 3-1 against USSR.

Feb.19, 1981: Joins Boca Juniors.

Feb.22, 1981: Makes his debut with Boca winning 4-1 against Talleres de C�rdoba and scoring two goals.

Aug.16, 1981: Wins the Argentine championship with Boca Juniors.

Jun.4, 1982: Joins Barcelona .

Sep.24, 1983: Suffers the worst injury of his career when Andoni Goicoechea, defender of Athletic Bilbao, breaks his left ankle and the ligament.

Jun.30, 1984: Joins Napoli

Jul.5, 1984: Introduction to the Napoli fans -photo!- with an unforgettable party

Jun.22-29, 1986: Scores the famous goal with the "Hand of God" and then scores a magnificent second goal winning 2-1 against England in the quarter-finals of the world cup in Mexico. Leads Argentina to the triumph defeating West Germany 3-2 in the final.

May 10, 1987: Leads Napoli to win the first Scudetto of the history of the club.May 17, 1989: Wins the UEFA Cup with Napoli, that gets the first victory ever in an international competition.

Aug.-Sep. 1989:Spends two months in Argentina, failing to come back before the start of the tournament.

Apr.29, 1990: Wins the second Scudetto with Napoli.

Jul.8, 1990: Leads Argentina to the final of the world cup in Rome and loses 1-0 against West Germany with a very discussed penalty.

Mar.17, 1991: Found positive in a dope test, is banned from football for 15 months.

1992: Refuses to come back to Napoli after the ban and asks a transfer. Joins Sevilla.

Oct.4, 1992: Makes his debut with Sevilla, losing 2-1 against Athletic Bilbao.

Oct.10, 1993: Leaves Sevilla and joins Newell's Old Boys in Argentina. Loses the first match 3-1 against Independiente.

Oct.31, 1993: Comes back to the national team, playing in Sydney against Australia in the playoffs to qualify for the USA 1994 world cup. Draws 1-1 and the Argentine goal is due to a great play by Diego.

Nov.17, 1993: Argentina, captained by Maradona, wins 1-0 against Australia and qualifies for the world cup.

Dec.2, 1993: Plays his last match with Newell's against Hurac�n.

Jun. 1994: Plays two matches in the world cup and scores a great goal against Greece, before receiving a ban for using ephedrine, substance not allowed by FIFA.

Oct.3, 1994: First time as a coach: with Deportivo Mandiy� of Corrientes. Two months later he resigns.

May6, 1995: Second time as a coach: now with Racing. Four months later he resigns.

Oct.7, 1995: Comes back to play for Boca Juniors in the match Boca-Col�n 1-0. The fans of Boca prepare for him a special party with fireworks and big celebrations in the stadium of the "Bombonera".

1996: Keeps playing with Boca Juniors.

Aug.24, 1997: Starts the new season with Boca in great shape, scoring a penalty in the match won 4-2 against Argentinos Juniors. He is found positive again, though it may have been a plot.

Oct.25, 1997: Plays his last match with Boca, winning 1-2 away against River Plate.

Oct.30, 1997: Decides to retire from football on the day of his 37th birthday.

Here is a list of some movies available for you to download.
Relive with your computer the best moments of Maradona's fantastic football career!

Here is a list of some movies available for you to download.
Relive with your computer the best moments of Maradona's fantastic football career!

May 10, 1987: Leads Napoli to win the first Scudetto of the history of the club.
May 17, 1989: Wins the UEFA Cup with Napoli, that gets the first victory ever in an international competition.