60 Fun Facts About Diego Maradona

With which player did Maradona share the FIFA Player of the Century award in 2000?

Maradona won the internet poll with 53.6 percent, so FIFA added a second award decided by a journalists' committee.

What was Maradona's famous nickname, meaning 'The Golden Boy'?

His low centre of gravity let him turn faster than almost anyone marking him.

In which shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires was Maradona raised?

His father worked at a chemicals factory; his mother was of Italian and Croatian descent.

What was the name of the Argentinos Juniors youth team Maradona starred for as a boy?

It means 'The Little Onions'; they went 141 games unbeaten and are considered Argentina's best-ever youth team.

How old was Maradona when he made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors in October 1976?

It was ten days before his 16th birthday, making him the youngest player in Primera División history.

Minutes into his debut Maradona nutmegged which Talleres de Córdoba defender?

'That day I felt I had held the sky in my hands,' Maradona said afterwards.

What shirt number did Maradona wear on his professional debut?

The famous number 10 came later; he scored his first two professional goals two weeks after turning 16.

Which coach left the 17-year-old Maradona out of Argentina's squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil?

The same coach later managed him in Spain and won two cups.

In which country did Maradona star at the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring six goals?

Argentina beat the Soviet Union 3–1 in the final; only he and Messi have won the Golden Ball at both the U-20 and senior World Cups.

Against which country did Maradona score his first senior international goal, at Hampden in 1979?

He would return to Hampden decades later for his first match as Argentina's manager.

Which Buenos Aires club did Maradona join for US$4 million in February 1981?

River Plate had also bid but pulled out to keep paying Passarella and Fillol.

In 1982 Maradona joined which club for a world-record fee of £5 million?

He was the first player to set the world transfer record twice.

Which Athletic Bilbao defender's tackle fractured Maradona's ankle in September 1983?

The two clashed again in the 1984 Copa del Rey final brawl that ended Maradona's Spanish spell.

Maradona's last game for his Catalan club, the 1984 Copa del Rey final, ended in a brawl before whom?

Sixty people were injured as spectators threw objects; more than half of Spain was watching on television.

How many spectators watched Maradona's presentation as a Napoli player in July 1984?

A local paper wrote that the city lacked houses, schools and jobs, 'but none of this matters because we have Maradona'.

In which season did Maradona lead his Italian club to its first ever Serie A title?

No club from the south of Italy had ever won the league; the celebrations ran for over a week.

What nickname was given to the Napoli attacking trio of Maradona, Bruno Giordano and Careca?

Maradona was Serie A's top scorer with 15 goals in 1987–88, though the title went to AC Milan.

Which German club did Maradona's Napoli beat over two legs to win the 1989 UEFA Cup?

He scored a penalty in the first leg and assisted Ciro Ferrara's header in the 3–3 second leg.

How many Serie A titles did Maradona win with Napoli?

The second came in 1989–90, sealed with a 1–0 win over Lazio on the final day.

Who broke Maradona's record of 115 goals for Napoli in 2017?

The club retired the number 10 shirt in 2000, and fans voted to keep it retired when Maradona suggested Lavezzi wear it.

How long was Maradona banned after failing a drug test for cocaine in 1991?

He left Italy in 1992 for Sevilla, then Newell's Old Boys and a return to Boca.

How many caps did Maradona win for Argentina?

He scored 34 goals and played at four World Cups.

In which country was the 1986 World Cup, which Maradona won as captain, held?

A statue of him scoring the Goal of the Century now stands at the entrance to the Estadio Azteca.

Against which team did Maradona score the 'Hand of God' goal in the 1986 quarter-final?

The match came four years after the Falklands War; the referee was Tunisia's Ali Bin Nasser.

In which year did Maradona finally admit he had punched the ball deliberately for his infamous 1986 goal?

He conceded that his head never touched the ball and that he knew at once the goal was illegitimate.

Maradona beat how many opponents, including Peter Shilton, for the 'Goal of the Century'?

He took 11 touches over more than half the pitch, four minutes after the handball goal.

How many times was Maradona fouled during the 1986 World Cup, a tournament record?

He played every minute, scored five goals and set up five more, and won the Golden Ball unanimously.

Whose winning goal in the 1986 final against West Germany did Maradona set up in the 84th minute?

Argentina won 3–2 at the Estadio Azteca despite the Germans double-marking him.

Which French newspaper called Maradona 'half-angel, half-devil' after the 1986 quarter-final?

The Goal of the Century was voted the greatest World Cup goal ever in a 2002 FIFA poll.

Which Italian defender famously man-marked Maradona in Argentina's 2–1 defeat at the 1982 World Cup?

Maradona was later sent off against Brazil in the same tournament for retaliating against Batista.

In which city was the 1990 World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Italy played?

It was Maradona's own club stadium, and some local fans never forgave him.

Whose penalty gave West Germany a 1–0 win over Maradona's Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final?

Maradona burst into tears at the final whistle and blamed the referee.

For which substance did Maradona test positive at the 1994 World Cup, leading to his expulsion?

He blamed the American version of the energy drink Ripped Fuel, bought by his trainer.

Against which team did Maradona play his last game for Argentina, a 2–1 win at the 1994 World Cup?

He set up both goals from free kicks; he had scored in the 4–0 win over Greece in the opener.

Which two Argentine clubs did Maradona manage, unsuccessfully, in 1994–95?

His partner in the dugout was former Argentinos Juniors teammate Carlos Fren.

In which year was Maradona appointed manager of the Argentina national team?

His first match in charge was a 1–0 win at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Which country beat Maradona's Argentina 6-1 in 2010 World Cup qualifying?

After scraping through qualification he told the media to 'suck it and keep on sucking it', earning a two-month FIFA ban.

By what score did Germany knock Maradona's Argentina out of the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals?

The AFA first offered him a new four-year deal, then decided unanimously not to renew.

Which Mexican second-division club did Maradona manage from 2018 to 2019?

He also coached Al Wasl and Fujairah in the UAE and chaired Belarus's Dynamo Brest.

Which Argentine club was Maradona managing when he died in November 2020?

He had briefly quit in November 2019 and returned two days later once the club president agreed to stay.

Which boxer wore the Argentina jersey Maradona gave him on his talk show when he later arrived in Brazil?

La Noche del 10 opened with a friendly chat with his great Brazilian rival, plus a cartoon villain who looked suspiciously like him.

In which Colombian city did Maradona undergo gastric bypass surgery?

He had reached about 130 kg and followed a liquid diet for three months afterwards.

Which Argentine striker married Maradona's daughter Gianinna and fathered his grandson Benjamín?

Maradona married Claudia Villafañe in 1989 and they divorced in 2004.

How much did Italian officials say Maradona owed in local taxes in 2009?

He was posthumously cleared by the Supreme Court of Cassation in January 2024.

Days before his death, Maradona had emergency surgery for what condition?

He was released on 12 November 2020 and died of cardiac arrest at home on 25 November.

Where did Maradona's coffin lie in state after his death?

It was draped in the Argentine flag and three number 10 shirts; the wake was cut short after fans clashed with police.

How many health professionals were charged with homicide over Maradona's final care?

A medical board called the care 'inadequate, deficient and reckless'; a retrial was set for April 2026 after a mistrial.

What was Napoli's home stadium renamed on 4 December 2020?

It had been the Stadio San Paolo; the city council approved the change unanimously.

How much did the shirt Maradona wore in the 1986 quarter-final fetch at auction in 2022?

It was a record price for a piece of sports memorabilia.

Which director of Amy and Senna made the 2019 documentary Diego Maradona?

He called it the third part of a trilogy about child geniuses and fame; Kusturica had made his own Maradona film earlier.

In which Argentine city did fans found the parody 'Church of Maradona'?

It rewrites Christian traditions such as Christmas around details of Maradona's life and had 200 founding members.

What was the title of Maradona's bestselling 2000 autobiography?

He donated the Cuban royalties to 'the Cuban people and Fidel'.

Which two players did Maradona name as inspirations growing up?

He got his first football at three and was spotted by a scout at eight.

In which Buenos Aires-province town was Maradona born, at the Policlínico Evita Hospital, in 1960?

His parents had moved to Buenos Aires in the 1950s from Esquina in Corrientes; two younger brothers also became professional footballers.

Alongside which brother did Maradona play a 1996 friendly for Toronto Italia?

Both of his younger brothers became professionals; the game was against the Canadian National Soccer League All-Stars.

In 2000 Maradona captained which German club against Germany in Lothar Matthäus's farewell match?

His own testimonial came in November 2001 at La Bombonera, where he scored two penalties for a World XI in a 6–3 win over Argentina.

How many penalties did Maradona score in his 6–3 testimonial win at La Bombonera in November 2001?

The match pitted an all-star World XI against the Argentina national team.

Argentina's 1993 Artemio Franchi Cup win, marking Maradona's international return, was against whom?

Played in Mar del Plata, it finished 1–1 before Argentina won 5–4 on penalties.

Which soft drink's 2006 advert controversially showed Maradona in a Brazil shirt?

He wakes to find it was a nightmare brought on by too much of the drink; Ronaldo and Kaká appeared alongside him.

Whose portrait did Maradona have tattooed on his left leg?

The pair became friends while Maradona received treatment in Cuba; he later called himself a 'Chavista' after meeting Hugo Chávez in Caracas.