Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God.
MARADONA is the definitive new biography of a true global icon, from world-renowned football writer and journalist Guillem Balagué.

Diego Armando Maradona was widely acclaimed as a genius. One of the greatest footballers of all time, he was also one of the most controversial. In an international career with Argentina he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals and played in four FIFA World Cups. With his unforgettable 'hand of God' goal and unsurpassed second one in the 1986 quarter-final against England, he captained his nation and led them to victory over West Germany in the final in Mexico. His vision, passing, ball control and dribbling skills, and his presence and leadership on the field, often electrified his own team's overall performance.

Maradona's club career included dazzling spells in his own country at Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Newell's Old Boys, and in Europe with Barcelona, Napoli and Sevilla. Yet his life was one of relentless media attention, including tales of drug abuse and constant health issues.

Based on in-depth interviews and first-hand stories, Guillem Balagué's masterly biography represents a psychological and sociological approach to the legend. This journey of exploration takes Guillem to Argentina, Spain, Italy and Dubai. Along the way, he asks what fosters such adulation, and how this adoration engendered a self-destructive personality. Even after his untimely death in 2020, Maradona continues to fascinate: his divine status seemingly preserved for ever.

1139442036
Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God.
MARADONA is the definitive new biography of a true global icon, from world-renowned football writer and journalist Guillem Balagué.

Diego Armando Maradona was widely acclaimed as a genius. One of the greatest footballers of all time, he was also one of the most controversial. In an international career with Argentina he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals and played in four FIFA World Cups. With his unforgettable 'hand of God' goal and unsurpassed second one in the 1986 quarter-final against England, he captained his nation and led them to victory over West Germany in the final in Mexico. His vision, passing, ball control and dribbling skills, and his presence and leadership on the field, often electrified his own team's overall performance.

Maradona's club career included dazzling spells in his own country at Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Newell's Old Boys, and in Europe with Barcelona, Napoli and Sevilla. Yet his life was one of relentless media attention, including tales of drug abuse and constant health issues.

Based on in-depth interviews and first-hand stories, Guillem Balagué's masterly biography represents a psychological and sociological approach to the legend. This journey of exploration takes Guillem to Argentina, Spain, Italy and Dubai. Along the way, he asks what fosters such adulation, and how this adoration engendered a self-destructive personality. Even after his untimely death in 2020, Maradona continues to fascinate: his divine status seemingly preserved for ever.

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Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God.

Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God.

by Guillem Balague
Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God.

Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God.

by Guillem Balague

Paperback

$19.99 
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Overview

MARADONA is the definitive new biography of a true global icon, from world-renowned football writer and journalist Guillem Balagué.

Diego Armando Maradona was widely acclaimed as a genius. One of the greatest footballers of all time, he was also one of the most controversial. In an international career with Argentina he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals and played in four FIFA World Cups. With his unforgettable 'hand of God' goal and unsurpassed second one in the 1986 quarter-final against England, he captained his nation and led them to victory over West Germany in the final in Mexico. His vision, passing, ball control and dribbling skills, and his presence and leadership on the field, often electrified his own team's overall performance.

Maradona's club career included dazzling spells in his own country at Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Newell's Old Boys, and in Europe with Barcelona, Napoli and Sevilla. Yet his life was one of relentless media attention, including tales of drug abuse and constant health issues.

Based on in-depth interviews and first-hand stories, Guillem Balagué's masterly biography represents a psychological and sociological approach to the legend. This journey of exploration takes Guillem to Argentina, Spain, Italy and Dubai. Along the way, he asks what fosters such adulation, and how this adoration engendered a self-destructive personality. Even after his untimely death in 2020, Maradona continues to fascinate: his divine status seemingly preserved for ever.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781409157779
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Publication date: 11/22/2022
Pages: 384
Product dimensions: 5.12(w) x 7.87(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Guillem Balagué is an award-winning football author, journalist and presenter who works regularly for BBC Radio 5 Live, LaLiga TV and the American network CBS. In his previous role at Sky Sports, he was a key fixture of their Spanish football coverage for over twenty years, known for his regular appearances on Sky Sports News,
'Revista de LaLiga', his punditry work and being the go-to man for anything relating to the Spanish transfer market. He has his own YouTube channel, 1.2m+ followers on social media, his own podcast (Pure Football) and gives Master Classes in journalism at UCFB University in Wembley (London) and the Etihad stadium in Manchester.

He wrote the bestselling A Season on the Brink, an insider's account of Liverpool's 2004-05 Champions' League winning campaign. In November 2012, he published the first international biography of Pep Guardiola, based on conversations with him, shortlisted for Football Book of the Year, as were his following four books. The following year, he published Messi: The Definitive Biography, the first complete biography of the Argentinian star. As well as two ebooks (diaries of the 2012 European Championships and the 2014 World Cup), he published the Official History of FC Barcelona in the autumn of 2014. In November 2015, he wrote Cristiano Ronaldo: the Biography which won the Football Book of the Year Award at the British Sports Book Awards and the Best Football Book of 2016 in Poland. His latest books Brave New World - Inside Pochettino's Spurs and Maradona were Sunday Times bestsellers in the UK. He is also chairman of non-league Biggleswade FC.

Follow Guillem at:
- www.guillembalague.com
- www.facebook.com/guillembalague
- www.instagram.com/guillembalague
- www.twitter.com/GuillemBalague

Table of Contents

Prologue ix

I El Pelusa 1

1 Don Diego, the father 3

2 The mother, Doña Tota 12

3 Goyo Carrizo, a friend still in Villa Fiorito 19

4 Francis Cornejo and Cebollitas 27

5 First-team debut for Argentinos Juniors 34

II Diego 43

6 A dominant force at Argentinos Juniors 45

7 The meeting with Pelé 52

8 The 1979 World Youth Championship in Japan 60

9 Jorge Cyterszpiler 67

10 The transfer to Boca Juniors 75

III Maradona 83

11 The stay at Boca Juniors 85

12 The 1982 World Cup in Spain 90

13 FC Barcelona: his teammates and the media 99

14 His friends in Barcelona, the 'clan' 108

15 Claudia Villafañe 117

16 César Luis Menotti and Andoni Goikoetxea 124

17 Goodbye Barcelona, hello Napoli 136

18 Corrado Ferlaino and the Stadio San Paolo 145

19 From Cyterszpiler to Cóppola 154

20 Guillermo Cóppola 163

21 Carlos Salvador Bilardo 167

22 The 1986 World Cup in Mexico: the superstitions 175

23 England-Argentina. First half 186

24 England-Argentina. Second half 192

25 England-Argentina. Third half 205

26 The semi-final against Belgium and the final against West Germany 212

IV Diego Armando Maradona 221

27 Cristiana Sinagra and the first Scudetto 223

28 All Maradona is in Napoli 234

29 From the second Scudetto to the 1990 World Cup 247

30 The 1990 World Cup in Italy 260

31 The end at Napoli 270

32 Sevilla FC 279

33 Newell's Old Boys and the road to World Cup USA 94 289

34 The doping in the 1994 World Cup 296

35 Boca Juniors again in the slide down 303

36 The road to becoming a god 312

Epilogue 329

Acknowledgements 337

Sources 339

Picture credits 347

Index 349

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