Diego Armando Maradona was born October 30, 1960. Tomorrow will be his birthday and 48 years old. Diego Maradona height 1.65 m or 5 ft 5 in. Diego is an Argentine ex-football player, regarded by many as the greatest football player of all time. In 2000 Maradona shared the FIFA Player of the Century award with Pelé after finishing first in a FIFA internet poll on the best player of the 20th century.
Diego Maradona is scheduled to become the new head coach of the Argentina national football team in December 2008! It is Great Happy Gift for Diego Maradona!
Happy birthday Giego !
photo (c) from flickr by thbjHowever, on March 29, 2007, Maradona was readmitted to a hospital in Buenos Aires. He was treated for hepatitis and effects of alcohol abuse, and was released on 11 April, but re-admitted two days later. In the following days there were constant rumors about his health, including three false claims of his death within a month.After transfer to a psychiatric clinic specialising in alcohol-related problems, he was discharged on May 7.
On May 8, 2007, Maradona appeared on Argentine television and stated that he has quit drinking and has not used drugs in two and a half years.
Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on November 7, 1989 in Buenos Aires, after the birth of their daughters, Dalma Nerea (born 1987) and Giannina Dinorah (born 1989). In his autobiography, Maradona admits he was not always faithful to Claudia, even though he refers to her as the love of his life.
Maradona and Villafañe divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all, as her parents remained on friendly terms. They traveled together to Napoli for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on many other occasions, including the Argentina matches during 2006 FIFA World Cup.
During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted he was the father of Diego Sinagra (born Naples, 1986), as was claimed by the youth's mother Cristiana Sinagra. (The Italian courts had so ruled in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests for proving or disproving his paternity.) Diego Jr. met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Naples where Maradona was playing.
After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma is seeking an acting career; she has expressed her desire to attend the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles. Maradona has authored an autobiography entitled "Yo Soy El Diego" chronicling his life, both on and off the playing field.
Maradona won many trophies with Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli over the course of his career. During an international career that included 91 caps and 34 goals, he played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, leading the Argentina national team to its victory over West Germany in 1986 World Cup, in which he collected the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. He scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over England in the quarter-final of the '86 tournament. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal was a spectacular 60-metre weave through six England players, commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century"
He is also considered one of the sport's most controversial figures. Maradona was suspended for 15 months in 1991 after a failed doping test for cocaine in Italy, and then again for ephedrine during the 1994 World Cup in USA.
After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997, he suffered ill health and weight gain, hardly helped by ongoing cocaine abuse. However, a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain. Since overcoming his cocaine addiction, he has become a TV host in Argentina.
Ever since 1986, it is common for Argentines abroad to hear Maradona's name as a token of recognition, even in remote places. The Tartan Army sing a version of the Hokey Cokey in honour of the Hand of God goal against England. In Argentina, Maradona is often talked about in terms reserved for legends. In the Argentine film El Hijo de la Novia "The bride's son", an actor who plays a fake Catholic priest says to a bar patron: "they idolized him and then crucified him". When scolded by a friend for taking the prank too far, the fake priest retorts: "But I was talking about Maradona".
In Rosario city, Argentina, fans organized the "Church of Maradona." Maradona's 43rd birthday in 2003 marked the start of the Year 43 D.D. - "Después de Diego" or After Diego - for its founding 200 members. Tens of thousands more have become members via the church's official web site.
Hounded for years by the press, Maradona even fired a compressed-air rifle against reporters who, so he claimed, invaded his privacy. This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarizes the feelings of many:“ He is someone many people want to emulate, a controversial figure, loved, hated, who stirs great upheaval, especially in Argentina... Stressing his personal life is a mistake. Maradona has no peers inside the pitch, but he has turned his life into a show, and is now living a personal ordeal that should not be imitated. ”
A television commercial for Brazilian soft drink Guaraná Antarctica portrayed Maradona as a member of the Brazilian national football team, including wearing the yellow jersey and singing the Brazilian national anthem with Brazilian caps Kaká and Ronaldo. Later on in the commercial he wakes up realizing it was nightmare after having drank too much of the soft drink. This generated some controversy in the Argentine media after its release (although the commercial was not supposed to air on the Argentine market, fans could see it via internet). Maradona replied that he has no problem in wearing the Brazilian national squad jersey, instead, only in wearing River Plate's jersey "Maradona diz não se arrepender de usar camisa do Brasil na TV". AdNews. Retrieved on 2008-08-14. In May 2006, Maradona agreed to take part in UK's Soccer Aid (a program to raise money for Unicef). Maradona scored a penalty but it was too late to save the match which England won 2-1. Bio info (c) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Maradona
