Love him or hate him, he scored some wonderful goals: Watch some of birthday boy Maradona's best goals
I took this photograph of him with other Argentinian celebrities whilst working(?) in Buenos Aires 2 years ago (this month). La Boca neighbourhood is ‘interesting’ and very colourful.
It looks like he’s pulling through after treatment, you have to hand it to him, pun intended, he is a tough cookie. Maradona responding 'very well'
Great goals and a very skilful player but he is also a cheat and I do not like cheats. Truly great people do not cheat. Lifted from wiki: On 28 Apr 19, Bielsa made one of the most contentious managerial calls of the Championship season in Leeds' penultimate league game against Aston Villa at Elland Road. In the 72nd minute of a tight game between two teams who were essentially jostling for position in the playoffs, albeit Leeds 'mathematically' still able to gain automatic promotion, when Villa's Jonathan Kodjia was injured and remained on the ground, Tyler Roberts passed the ball up the line to Mateusz Klich who took it up the left wing and put the ball into the far corner past Jed Steer. The goal – the first of the game – sparked pandemonium, with Villa's Conor Hourihane, Ahmed Elmohamady, Neil Taylor and Leeds' Patrick Bamford caught up in a fracas with Klich at its centre, which involved several additional players from both sides and was eventually broken up by referee Stuart Attwell, Elland Road stewards and other players. In the immediate aftermath, Attwell sent off the peripherally involved Anwar El Ghazi with a straight red card and Bielsa's response to his players was, in the interests of fairness and after consulting with Villa boss Dean Smith, that his team should allow an unchallenged equaliser to be scored. From the restart, Albert Adomah essentially walked the ball into net unchallenged by 10 Leeds players, with only a frustrated and disbelieving Pontus Jansson giving chase and nearly dispossessing the forward. The game remained 1–1 and put the second automatic promotion spot mathematically out of reach for Leeds and see them enter the play-offs. The game finished 1–1, ultimately allowing their promotion rivals Sheffield United to guarantee their automatic spot in the Premier League, at Leeds’ expense. What was at stake makes Bielsa’s act of sportmanship all the more remarkable. Marcelo Bielsa's action in Apr 19 is the action of a great man. Regards Frank
Forget the Hand of God goal. The blame for that lies with the Tunisian referee who allowed it. How many penalties have we seen awarded to players who fall over easily in the box? Yet we don't forever label those players as cheats. Let's remember Maradona for what he was - a brilliant footballer who had the ability and presence to own the pitch when he played. Probably the best ever. And if we're throwing the cheat label around, how about Gary Lineker's blatant dive in the penalty area against Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup? It's a whole can of worms.
Interesting tribute from the referee of the 1986 quarter-final: Referee 'proud' to help Maradona score against England
Firstly I look at the person and secondly what they have done in their lives. To me this guy is just a drug taking cheat and a liar. Do noy see how he can be held up as anything other than someone to be forgotten.
He was caught using ephedrine so unless he was caught the first and only time he used it, he used performance enhancing drugs multiple times. Makes his performances meaningless in my book. I don't buy the arguments that drugs don't help with the coordination needed to hit a fast ball or golf ball (or soccer ball). They help with fatigue and recovery time and those help keep you in the game during a long season and allow you to be in a position to use your coordination.
Impossible to inject Maradona's skill on the ball. It was pure, natural talent - the best we have ever seen.
Further updates on the saga surrounding his death: Maradona's body 'must be conserved' for DNA test, judge rules
