Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona passes away at 60

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona passed away on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack.

The 60-year old, who had a successful brain surgery earlier in November, was supposed to be treated for alcohol dependency.

Following his demise, Argentina’s president Alberto Fernández announced a three-day national mourning.

The former attacking midfielder is most fondly known for his world cup-winning performance in 1986 where he led his side as the captain, eventually winning the cup by defeating West Germany 3-2.

Maradona, who scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for his national side, was infamously known for his ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Subsequently, he also scored the winning goal against the side in the same match, dribbling past five English players and the goalkeeper, which came to be known as the ‘Goal of the Century.’

The Argentine, who represented his side in four world cups, also had a series of downs when he was banned after testing positive for cocaine in 1991 while playing for Serie A side Napoli. In 1994 again, Maradona’s international career came to a halt after he failed to clear a drug test at the 1994 World Cup held in the United States.

In 2008, Maradona was also appointed as coach of the Argentinian side, which he left after the team’s loss to Germany in the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals.

Following this, he managed football teams in the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. Most recently, Maradona was the head coach of Argentinian top flight side Gimnasia y Esgrima.

Many from the footballing fraternity paid tributes to the legend.

(Edited by Anirban Paul)