Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona has died after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 60. The Argentine Football Association confirmed the news on Wednesday and posted a short message on its social media platforms.
Diego Maradona, one of the greatest footballers of all time plunging his sport and his native Argentina into mourning. Maradona became a global icon after leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup but he was not a squeaky clean idol like Pele, and made little attempt to hide his fiery personality and many vices and became a household name after inspiring his country to World Cup glory.
Maradona will forever be known for his “Hand of God” later voted “Goal of the Century”, goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final in Mexico, when he appeared to use his hand to push the ball into the net before later swerving through the English defenders for a memorable second goal that sealed victory.
One of the greatest players ever to play the game, having undergone brain surgery earlier this month, a month after celebrating his 60th birthday, a member of his entourage told the media.
Diego Maradona was football’s archetypal troubled genius, a world-beating player whose life and career scaled the most dazzling heights but also plumbed the darkest depths. His glittering career was marked by numerous controversies and his notorious lifestyle led to alcoholism and addiction.
“I am black or white, I’ll never be grey in my life,” he once said.
