Tag: MARADONA
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Osimhen equals legendary Maradona’s record in Napoli
Victor Osimhen equaled late Diego Armando Maradona’s scoring feat at Napoli after netting a hat-trick in the club’s 6-1 victory at Sassuolo on Wednesday.
According to popular statistics website, Opta, Osimhen is now the third Napoli player in the club’s history to have scored 10 or more goals for four consecutive seasons.
Maradona achieved the feat between 1984 and 1988.
Attila Sallustro was the first player to set the record for the Partenopei, between 1929/30 and 1932/33).
Osimhen scored 10 goals in 24 league games in his first season (2020/21).
The striker followed it up with 14 goals in 27 league outings the following season.
Last season he netted 26 times in 32 league appearances.
The 25-year-old has already scored 11 goals in 15 Serie A appearances this term.
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Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt to raise N2.2bn at auction
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup is now worth billions of Naira.
Auctioneer Sotherby’s said on Wednesday that the shirt is expected to sell for at least 4 million pounds ($5.23 million or N2.25 billion).
The shirt is owned by former England midfielder Steve Hodge.
He had swapped shirts with Maradona after Argentina won the match 2-1, thanks to two goals by the forward.
The second goal was a solo effort considered to be one of the greatest ever scored.
It was Hodge’s attempted back pass that Maradona chased before using his hand to push the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton for the first goal.
Following Maradona’s death in 2020, Hodge had said the shirt was not for sale.
Brazilian great Pele’s jersey from the 1970 World Cup final is the most expensive football shirt sold at auction, according to Guinness World Records.
It fetched 157,750 pounds in 2002, over three times the expected price.
Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, is widely considered one of the greatest ever footballers.
He died at the age of 60 in 2020 due to a cardiac arrest.
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Spalletti compares Super Eagles striker to Maradona
Napoli coach, Luciano Spalletti has compared Victor Osimhen with the club’s legend, late Diego Armando Maradona, ahead of his side’s Europa League knockout round playoff tie with Barcelona on Thursday.
Spalletti said Osimhen has the same ‘animal fury’ as Maradona.
Osimhen is back on form after recovering from a cheekbone injury, either scoring or assisting in his last three Serie A games for Napoli.
“With that header against Cagliari, he proved to have a sort of animal fury which is much-needed in key moments,” Spalletti said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Barcelona clash, according to Football Italia.
“Maradona had the same thing and somebody else should have it in our team. You can see Osimhen has it when he faces his opponents.
“He has outstanding characteristics and some extra qualities that are not easy to find in other players,” he said.
Meanwhile, Napoli played a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the first-leg at Camp Nou last week.
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IBB speaks on annulment of June 12 election, ‘Evil genius’, ‘Maradona’ nicknames
Former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has explained why his junta annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the election was adjuged by most Nigerians as the freest and fairest in the nation’s democratic experience.
It was contested between Chief Moshood Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bashir Tofa of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC).
Babangida, while speaking on a monitored Arise TV interview on Friday explained if he had not annulled the election, a violent coup d’etat would have happened.
He said: “If it materialised, there would’ve been a coup d’etat — which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm.
“It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and the ‘maradonic’ way we handled you guys in the society. But that could’ve given room for more instability in the country.”
Babangida said there was pressure on his junta within and outside the military to nullify the election for that reason.
“Both. The military can do it because they have the weapons to do it, and others (civil society groups) can use agitation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) also explained how he was nicknamed “evil genius” and “Maradona”.
He explained the nicknames were manufactured by the media because of his “deft political moves”.
Babaginda said: “That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people, you have to anticipate them.
“If you anticipate them then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction — you can’t be evil and then a genius”
“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it.”
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Maradona’s Porsche from ‘forgotten’ season up for sale
A Porsche car owned by Argentina’s soccer great Diego Maradona during his “forgotten” final season in Europe will go under the hammer this week.
Maradona drove the 1992 silver Porsche 911 to and from training and matches when he was playing for Spanish club Sevilla in the 1992-93 season, his last in Europe, after serving a 15-month ban over a failed drugs test.
“It was delivered new to ‘El Diego’, Diego Armando Maradona, and because of this provenance this car probably could be worth double or three times the value of a standard car,” Gregory Tuytens, car specialist at auction house Bonhams, told Reuters at a storage facility in Belgium.
The online auction will last from Wednesday until March 10. The price estimate is up to 200,000 euros ($240,800) but Tuytens said Bonhams felt it could go for a lot more.
“It will definitely appeal not only to car collectors but also football fans and just people who loved the person, the football god Maradona in general,” he said.
Maradona was as much in the headlines off the pitch as on during that season, including when stopped by police for jumping a red light and speeding at 180 km per hour (112 mph) in the city centre, Tuytens said.
The car spent 20 years with another owner on the Spanish island of Majorca before it passed through the hands of several French collectors. It comes to auction with about 120,000 km on the clock.
Maradona died in November and was honoured with a period of lying in state when thousands of people turned out to pay their last respects.
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Serie A: Napoli rename stadium after Diego Maradona
Napoli have renamed their stadium after late club legend Diego Maradona.
Former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager Maradona, who died aged 60 in November, led the Italian side to two Serie A titles, in 1987 and 1990.
The Stadio San Paolo will now be known as the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, after the Napoli city council approved the resolution.
Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis proposed renaming the stadium in an open letter after Maradona’s death.
The mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, also backed the idea.
Maradona spent seven years at Napoli after joining from Barcelona in 1984, also winning the 1987 Coppa Italia and 1989 Uefa Cup with the Italian club.
Fans gathered at the stadium to pay tribute to him after his death on 25 November and Napoli honoured him before their Europa League match against HNK Rijeka, each player wearing a shirt with ‘Maradona 10’ on the back.
“The resolution was signed by the entire city council,” said the council in a statement.
It added that Maradona was “the greatest footballer of all time” who “with his immense talent and magic honoured the Napoli team shirt for seven years” and “receiving in exchange from the whole city an eternal and unconditional love”.
Maradona made 188 appearances for Napoli, more than he made for any other club in his career, and scored 81 goals.
He represented Argentina in four World Cups and was captain when they won the 1986 title in Mexico.
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Messi, Barca fined for Maradona tribute
Lionel Messi and Barcelona have been fined a combined £706 after the player was shown a yellow card for lifting his shirt to pay tribute to the late Diego Maradona following his goal in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Osasuna.
Messi, who was fined £543 while his club were fined £162, paid homage to his late compatriot by taking off his Barcelona jersey to reveal a Newell’s Old Boys shirt belonging to Maradona, a gesture that was praised around the world.
The Spanish Soccer Federation’s competition committee showed little sympathy when upholding the rules, rejecting Barcelona’s protests against the punishment and their suggestion it should be waived as the gesture was a tribute to Maradona.
The committee’s statement said that while it accepted the gesture was a tribute, article 93 of the disciplinary code states that a player should be punished for removing their shirt when celebrating, irrespective of the motive.
The statement added that Messi could only have had the sanction waived if he had been given the booking in error.
Messi supports Newell’s Old Boys and played for the club’s junior team before leaving for Barca aged 13.
He had also paid tribute to Maradona, who played for the Rosario side in 1993, when the World Cup winner died last Wednesday.
“He has left us but he isn’t going anywhere because Diego is eternal,” Messi wrote on Instagram.
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Diego Maradona (1960-2020): Exit of a Mythical Football Hero -Osayande Ero
By Osayande Ero
The roller coaster of a year that is 2020 has struck again as the football world mourns the passing of Diego Armando Maradona, the then diminutive Argentine, considered as one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport, and easily one of the greatest athletes that ever lived. On Wednesday 25th November, Maradona passed away from confirmed heart attack at his home in Tigre, Buenos Aires at the age of 60.
He made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors 10 days before his 16th birthday, making him the youngest debutant in Argentine Primera Division history. He spent five successful years at the club scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances. He moved to Boca Juniors in 1981 where he scored 28 goals in 40 appearances for the club he supported as a kid and always wanted to represent. His stint at Boca lasted just a year as the Spanish club, Barcelona, paid a then world record 7.6 million dollars in the summer of 1982.
He spent two years in Spain scoring 38 goals in 58 appearances for Barcelona. During his time in the Camp Nou, he became the first player in El Classico history ever to be applauded by opposition fans after an eye-catching display against their fiercest rivals. His time in Spain was ravaged by injuries and on-field squabbles with opponents, most notably his last match in a Barcelona shirt which ended in a violent brawl after a defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
Maradona, who was a victim of violent tackles from Bilbao players and xenophobic chants from their fans during the game, lost his cool and viciously attacked several players after one of them started taunting him with the xenophobic chants the Bilbao fans had directed at him during the match. Both teams got into a bloody fight that was witnessed by over 100,000 fans in attendance, which included Spanish Royals, and over half of the country’s population watching on television. Over 60 people were reported to have sustained injuries as a result of the brawl.
That incident signaled the end of his time in Spain. In the summer of 1984, Maradona moved to Napoli in Italy for another world record fee of 10.48 million dollars. Over 75,000 fans trooped into the stadium for his presentation. It was during his time in Naples that he gained legendary status. His arrival sparked the most successful era in the club’s history, winning Serie A twice. He brought Napoli their first ever Serie A title in the 1986-87 season. They dominated domestically, and in European competitions during his time in Italy, lifting the UEFA Cup, and the Coppa Italia. He became Napoli’s all-time leading goal scorer with 115 goals.
His time in Italy ended after he failed a drug test for cocaine and served a 15-month ban from the game. In 1992, Maradona left Naples and headed back to Spain where he spent a year playing for Sevilla. He moved back to his native Argentina to play for Newell’s Old Boys and Boca Juniors before retiring from football. He had an eventful international career too. He scored 34 goals in 91 appearances. His most notable moment for Argentina came in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He scored two goals, the first of which was the talk of the match as he appeared to use his arm to guide the ball into the net and the goal was allowed to stand. In his post-match interview, when asked about the goal, he claimed it was “a little bit with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God”. That goal, from that day onwards, is fondly remembered, not by the English fans for obvious reasons, as the ‘HAND OF GOD’. He went on to captain his country to glory and lifted the biggest price in football, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final in front of 115,000 fans.
His international career came to an abrupt end during the 1994 world cup when he tested positive for banned substances. He had brief stints as a manager most significantly, his role as Coach of Argentina from 2008-2010. Expectedly, tributes have been pouring in from grief-stricken football fans across the world. Three days of national mourning have been announced by Argentine President, Alberto Fernandez to “honour the memory of Diego Armando Maradona”. Fernandez described him as “the best football player in the world and a person who made Argentinians immensely happy”.
Brazil’s football legend, 80-year-old Edson Arantes de Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, penned on Twitter, a very moving tribute to fellow talented footballer, “What a sad news. I lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to family members. One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky”.
Peter Shilton, the goalkeeper who was at the receiving end of Maradon’s Hand of God goal, in a tweet, lamented that the iconic player was “taken too soon”. Shilton acknowledged him as “the greatest footballer I ever played against without question”, and expressed sadness that “In recent years, he suffered with health and addiction…”.
Carlo Ancelotti, Everton boss, and former AC Milan player, also tweeted: “You were alwaysa genius. Today is a very sad day and a great loss. But you my friend are eternal. Ciao Diego. Rest in peace”. Marseille head coach, Andre Villas-Boas urged world football body, FIFA. In his tribute, he wrote: For Maradona, it’s a hard blow. I would like FIFA to withdraw the number 10 for all competitions, all team”. Villas-Boas believed “…it’s the best tribute that can be given to the greatest player in the history of football. It is an incredible loss for the world of football”.
For Boca, the club where Maradona first made his name as a teenager, it was a symbolic honour. Boca Junior’s La Bombonera stadium was on Thursday night cast into darkness but for a single light of remembrance for his exploit. The only light was from Diego Maradona’s VIP box.
He is survived by an ex- wife, Claudia Villafane, and their two daughters – Dalma and Gianinna – though it is rumored that he had a total of eight children from other relationships.
The football world says goodbye to one of its most treasured ambassadors; a master dribbler on the field of play who could not dribble death to score a life-saving goal at the critical moment. And in honour of his passing, Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has confirmed that their stadium – Stadio San Paolo – would be renamed after the greatest player in the club’s history. Maradona was an icon of football and sports in general, and his memory will forever be lodged in history.
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Messi, Ronaldo, Pele, Platini others pay tribute to Maradona
Football stars all over the world, including Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have paid tribute to Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
Maradona died of heart attack Wednesday at home in Tigre, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
Fellow Argentine Lionel Messi, who has often been compared to the legend, wrote on Instagram:
” ‘He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal.
‘‘I keep all the beautiful moments lived with him and I wanted to take the opportunity to send my condolences to all his family and friends. RIP.’
Cristiano Ronaldo has also paid tribute, using Instagram:
“Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius.
“One of the best ever. An unparalleled magician. He leaves too soon, but leaves a legacy without limits and a void that will never be filled.
“Rest in peace, ace. You will never be forgotten. ”
Pele, considered the greatest footballer on earth also commented:
“Sad news today. I have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a legend.
“There is much more to say, but for now may God give his family strength. One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky”.
Gary Lineker, Michele Platini and Jurgen Klinsman have all paid tributes to the dimuntive but lethal Argentine striker.
Lineker wrote: “Deeply saddened to hear that Diego Armando Maradona has died.
“By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time.
“After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RipDiego”.
Klinsman wrote: Diego, we will miss you! You were an artist, we all admired you! RIP!
Michel Platini: Diego Maradona. RIP legend.Broken heart
“Diego was capable of things no one else could match. The things I could do with a football, he could do with an orange.”