Football World Mourns Death of Diego Maradona
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Diego Maradona, widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, died at the age of 60 due to a heart attack.
The legend had struggled with his health this year and was hospitalized because of a brain clot in early November.
He captained Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
During that tournament, in the quarter-final against England, Maradona scored the opening goal with his hand in an incident he referred to as the “hand of god”. Later in the same match, he would weave through several flailing England defenders to score one of the greatest goals in the history of the competition.
The attacking midfield scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina, representing the team in four World Cups.
Maradona was banned from football in 1991 after testing positive for cocaine while playing for Napoli.
During his club career, he was most associated with Boca Juniors, Barcelona and the Italian club, where he won two Serie A titles, including its first ever, to write himself into the Napolese folklore.
Maradona was appointed as Argentina head coach in 2008, departing two years later after defeat by Germany in the quarter-final of the 2010 World Cup.
He went on to manage teams in the United Arab Emirates and Mexico and was in charge of Gimnasia y Esgrima in Argentina's top-flight at the time of his death.
"The Argentine Football Association, through its president Claudio Tapia, expresses its deepest sorrow for the death of our legend, Diego Armando Maradona. You will always be in our hearts," the AFA said on Twitter.
