Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona: One of Soccer’s Greatest Players “Every morning that I get up, I should light a candle to the soccer ball.” -Diego Maradona Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and one of the most popular soccer player’s in the world is Diego Maradona, star of the Argentina national team and a professional who has led his team to many championships in Argentina, Italy, and Spain. During the 1986 World Cup tournament, won by Argentina, Maradona gave what was perhaps the greatest performance in all of World Cup History. While a national hero in Argentina, Maradona has also earned a reputation for being outspoken and controversial. In what is probably his last international competition, he led Argentina into the World Cup Tournament in the United States. Diego Armando Maradona was born on October 30, 1960. He lived in Lanus, Argentina, a suburb of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. He was one of eight children raised in the poor area of Villa Fiorito, one of the roughest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. His father, also named Diego, was a factory worker. His mom, Dalma Franco, was a housewife. Though the family was very poor, there was always food on their table. Maradona received his first soccer ball from his father at the age of three. His father encouraged him to play soccer. Diego practiced all day and slept with the ball all night. Maradona was soon playing for Argentina’s best youth team, Los Cebollitos (the Little Onions). His team was able to win 140 straight games and Maradona was given jersey number 10, the same number worn by the Brazilian star Pele. At the age of ten, Maradona put on a spectacular exhibition during the half-time of a professional game. “He walked onto the field and proceeded to juggle his soccer ball for the entire intermission, keeping it in the air by bouncing