One year without Diego Maradona: World remembers one of football's greatest

Prodigy

Diego Maradona received a ball as a birthday present from a cousin when he was three years old, and it became a close friend from the start.

Maradona's skill with a soccer ball captivated the world, and at the age of 16, he made his full international debut against Hungary.

(Photograph:IANS)

1986 World Cup

Diego Maradona is the only player to have five goals and five assists in a single World Cup.

In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, he drew a record of 53 fouls and scored 'The Goal of the Century.' Many believe that he single-handedly won the 1986 World Cup for Argentina.

(Photograph:AFP)

Goal Tally

Maradona scored 259 goals in 490 official games for clubs and 34 goals in 91 games for Argentina. In all, 293 goals were scored by him in 581 games.

It is undeniably less than the other famous legends, but its influence was far from statistical.

(Photograph:AFP)

'He was simply the best'

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, popularly known as Zico, who is a Brazilian football coach and former attacking midfielder said the following about Diego Maradona:

"The best of the lot, no question. In my generation, my era, he was simply the best. I saw Maradona do things that God himself would doubt were possible."

"He always had someone marking him, he always had someone hanging on to him, and yet he could still always conjure up wonderful pieces of magic. A genius."

(Photograph:AFP)

Departure

Diego Maradona suffered a heart attack at his home last year two weeks following brain surgery. 

His wake was attended by thousands of people who went to the to say their final goodbyes to the man who changed football in Argentina and the World.

(Photograph:AFP)

'He's the greatest ever'

Lionel Messi who shared a great relationship with Maradona has said, "Even if I played for a million years, I’d never come close to Maradona. Not that I’d want to anyway. He’s the greatest there’s ever been."

(Photograph:AFP)