Benedict Spence

Diego Maradona, a god of football

Diego Maradona, 1982 (photo: Getty)

Argentina has announced three days of national mourning after the death of Diego Maradona. Take a second and think about that. Who in Britain, beyond the Queen, might command such nationwide grief?

Despite his untimely death, Maradona will never truly die. Gods never do. 

Naples is able to marry the divine and the devil like no other city; a rough, tough, crumbling beauty that seats opulence in the midst of teeming poverty. Fitting, then, that it became Maradona’s own home for so long. He arrived to the wild fanfare of 75,000 people when he signed his contract at the Stadio San Paolo in 1984.

Maradona cut a mixed figure in the 80s. After starring for Boca Juniors, he arrived at Barcelona in ’82 for a world record fee. He was a rare talent. But during the ’84 Copa Del Rey final he got in a brawl and knocked an opponent out cold.

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