Diego Maradona – Footballer with the most number of fouls in World Cup and 9 other facts about the Argentina legend

Argentina’s football legend Diego Maradona died of heart attack on Wednesday November 25, 2020.

Before his death, the former Argentina national team coach had been hospitalised at the start of November, a few days after celebrating his 60th birthday.

Maradona was described by many lovers of the round leather ball as a ‘soccer god’ and he proved that on the football field in a career spanning more than 20 years.

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Here are 10 facts about the Argentina football legend:

1. Maradona played four World Cup tournaments for Argentina, made 91 appearances for the country and scored 34 goals. 
2. He is Argentina’s fifth highest goalscorer behind Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta, Sergio Aguero and Hernan Crespo.
3. He made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors at age 15 on October 20, 1976 and his international debut at age 16 in February 1977. He was part of the Argentina youth squad that won the 1979 Youth World Cup in Japan.
4. After captaining Argentina on 16 occasions, he holds the record for making the most number of appearances as captain of any country in a World Cup. 
5. He joined Napoli from Barcelona in 1984 and helped the Italian team win their only two Serie A titles to date – in 1987 and 1990. He left the club in 1991 after failing a drug test for cocaine.
6. Fouled 23 times by Italy in the 1982 World Cup, he holds the record for suffering the most number of fouls in a single World Cup game, and the most number of fouls in a World Cup, after being fouled 53 times in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
7. He managed the Argentina national team, Racing Club, Dorados, Gimnasia as a coach.
8. In 1998, some fans started The Iglesia Maradoniana (Church of Maradona) in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
9. Maradona and Lionel Messi are the only players to have won the Golden Ball at both the FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.
10. In 1996, after years of speculation, he admitted being a drug addict: “I was, I am and I generally will be a drug addict. An individual who engages in drugs needs to battle it consistently.”