Diego Maradona, one of the greatest footballers of all time, passed away on Wednesday after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The soccer legend, a former Argentine attacking midfielder and national team manager, suffered a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires. He was 60 years old.
Maradona underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in early November, but this medical intervention was successful and is not associated with his death. Besides, he had to be treated for alcohol dependence.
Maradona was the Argentina team captain in the emotional championship of 1986 when he won the World Cup Mexico 2020. He was responsible for executing the famous and controversial Hand of God goal against the England team in the quarterfinals.
He also scored another of the world’s most famous goals in that match, dribbling five English players from the Argentine midfield before scoring a header.
Maradona also played for Barcelona and Napoli during his career, winning two Serie A titles with the Italian team. He began playing with Argentinos Juniors and was also a player for Sevilla, Boca Juniors, and Newell’s Old Boys.
Argentine striker and Barcelona player Lionel Messi paid tribute to Maradona through social media, saying that he was eternal.
“A very sad day for all Argentines and football. He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal,” he added.
He also stated that he kept all the beautiful moments he had lived with him and sent his condolences to all his family and friends.
Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina and represented the country in four World Cups, including Spain-1982 and United States-1994.
However, the famous soccer player battled cocaine addiction and lost 15 months after testing positive for doping in 1991, which also cost him his American visa at the 1994 World Cup.
In 1997, he retired from professional soccer when he turned 37. He was in his second stage at Boca Juniors in Argentina.
He also briefly coached two teams from Argentina and was appointed head manager of the national team in 2008.
Later, he was in charge of teams in the United Arab Emirates and Mexico, also directing Gymnastics and Fencing in the highest category of Argentina at the time of his death.
The Argentine Football Association expressed in a statement published on social media its deepest sorrow for the death of “our legend.”
“You will always be in our hearts,” it added.
Also, the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, said: “You took us to the top of the world. You made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of them all”.
“Thank you for having existed, Diego. We’re going to miss you all our lives,” he added, declaring three days of national mourning.
