Diego Maradona (The Slumdog Millionaire/Footballer Part One)
Maradona is born in Lanús, but raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires. He is raised in an extremly poor family of eight that has moved from Corrientes. At age 10, Maradona is spotted by a talent scout while playing for his neighborhood club. When he is fifteen Maradona makes his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors. He plays there for five years, and English club Sheffield United put in a bid of £180,000 for his services but he rejects it (because cocaine is more exspensive in the U.K).

He transfers to Boca Juniors for a year before moving to Barcelona but has a rough ride there, catching hepatitus, and suffering a broken leg. However with determination he gets back on the pitch despite some saying he would never play again. See, this is where the determination of a street kid is invaluble. He is used to fighting for what he wants and he knows without football he would be back on the street…definitely an incentive.

He moves to Napoli after an argument with the club and excels there, winning trophies and the love of fans . But this is where the money and fame gets to his head. He continues to use cocaine and starts overdosing, causing him to miss games and training sessions, also leading to continuous fines from the government and his club. He also faces scandal over a illegitamite son, and gets involved with the Camorra (Italian Mafia). This is where he is starting to slip mentally. He has achieved the love and adoration of his club and fans, toping that off with winning the World Cup and achieving legendary status with two renowned goals against England (Hand Of God) and (Goal Of The Century). What more can he want? He is starting to run out of things to do with his money and since he has natural talent and hasn’t ever had to discipline himself, it wasn’t that hard for him to start to go off track.

Maradona left Napoli in disgrace after having failed a cocaine test and being banned for fifteen months. From there his career slowly dwindles and declines till he retires at thirty seven only to continue his cocaine use, and, also happening to become overweight...like a lot. Now the(kind of)happy ending to this story is that he gets an operation to help him lose weight and he is able to stop his cocaine use and become the Argentina manager for eighteen months, which is more than anyone ever expected from him. This quote sums him up pretty wll in my opinion.

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.

-Jorge Valdano former teammate-

Read Above for Part Two...

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