Diego Maradona: the wizard of Mexico 1986

Diego Maradona was the Argentine playmaker who captained his side to the World Cup in 1986 and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player³. At club level, he won Napoli, the Italian club, the first league titles in their history.

Early life and beginnings

Maradona was born on 30 October 1960 in Lanús, near Buenos Aires¹. On 20 October 1976, ten days before his 16th birthday, he played his first professional match for Argentinos Juniors and became the youngest player in Argentina’s top league. In February 1981 he moved to Boca Juniors and won the Metropolitano league title the same year⁴.

Club career

Barcelona signed him in 1982. According to FIFA, it was the most expensive transfer in the world at the time. In 1983 he became the first Barcelona player to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Bernabéu³. With Barcelona he won the Copa del Rey in 1983⁴.

In 1984 Napoli paid a world record fee for him again. According to FIFA, he is the only player in history to break his own world transfer record. Napoli had never won the Italian league before and had only two Italian Cups (1962, 1976). In Maradona’s seven years, the club won Serie A twice, the Italian Cup once, the Italian Super Cup and the 1989 UEFA Cup, beating Stuttgart 5-4 on aggregate in the final³. The first league title came in 1986–87 and the second in 1989–90. In 1987–88 he was Serie A’s top scorer with 15 goals⁴. According to Transfermarkt, he scored 115 goals in 259 matches for Napoli¹.

In 1992–93 he played for the Spanish club Sevilla, in 1993 for Newell’s Old Boys, and from 1995 to 1997 again for Boca Juniors⁴.

International career

Maradona played his first match for Argentina against Hungary in February 1977, aged 16². At the 1979 FIFA Youth (Under-20) World Cup in Japan, he scored six goals in six matches, and Argentina won the title by beating the Soviet Union in the final¹⁴. According to FIFA, Maradona and Lionel Messi are the only two players to have won the Golden Ball at both the Under-20 and senior World Cups³.

The 1982 World Cup in Spain was his first, and he scored two goals against Hungary. At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico he was the team captain. According to FIFA, he is the only player to have scored five goals and made five assists at one World Cup. In the quarter-final against England, he scored both goals. He scored the first with his hand, but the referee allowed it. The goal became known as the “Hand of God”, and Maradona later admitted that he had handled the ball deliberately⁵. For the second, he went past several players from his own half to reach the goal. It was voted the “Goal of the Century” in a FIFA.com poll in 2002³. In the semi-final against Belgium, both goals were also his. In the final, in the 3-2 win over West Germany, he also made the pass for the decisive goal⁴.

At the 1990 World Cup in Italy, he captained Argentina to the final for the second time in a row. At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, he scored against Greece. The match against Nigeria on 25 June 1994 was his last international¹⁴.

Style of play

Maradona was a classic “number 10”, a creative player who roamed freely behind the forwards. His short height and low centre of gravity let him turn quickly in tight spaces. He played mostly with his left foot, was skilled at both dribbling and passing, and was regarded as a free-kick expert⁴. Opposing teams fouled him repeatedly to stop him. According to FIFA, he holds the record for most fouls suffered at a single World Cup (53 in 1986). No player in World Cup history has created more chances than his 66³.

Statistics

These figures were taken on 18 October 2026 from Transfermarkt’s match-by-match record (official matches). Matches for Argentinos Juniors (1976–1981), Boca Juniors’ first spell (1981–1982) and Newell’s Old Boys (1993) are not included in this record¹².

Honours

• FIFA World Cup: 1986 [3][4]
• World Cup Golden Ball: 1986 [3]
• FIFA Youth (Under-20) World Cup: 1979 [4]
• Serie A: 1986–87, 1989–90 [3][4]
• Italian Cup: 1987; Italian Super Cup: 1990 [3][4]
• UEFA Cup: 1989 [3]
• Copa del Rey: 1983 [4]
• Argentine Metropolitano: 1981 [4]

Legacy

Maradona and Pele jointly won FIFA’s “Player of the Century” award in 2000⁴. After his death, Napoli renamed their stadium the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He later became a coach and managed Argentina at the 2010 World Cup³. Maradona died on 25 November 2020¹.