Dios: The Story of Diego Armando Maradona

There is a story that the first day a young boy arrived to train with a local football team in the suburbs of Buenos Aires three people were there to watch him. By the second day there were 10. By the third day, a crowd of more than 30 had gathered to watch this diminutive boy play with the poise and skill of someone much older. His name? Diego Armando Maradona. And he would come to be known in Argentina simply as ‘Dios’ – God.

Diego Maradona was born into an incredibly poor family and spent his childhood living in a small hut with seven brothers and sisters in the shanty town of Fiorito, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. His journey from abject poverty to superstardom is a staggering one, a rags to riches tale filled with joy and heartbreak in equal amounts. His career scaled unbelievable heights yet plumbed the depths. He was ever controversial, but his ability with a ball at his feet is undoubted: many would argue unsurpassed.

Genius or rebel, magician or maverick? Maradona split public opinion like no other footballer. From his rise to the top of the world to the ‘Hand of God’, 1986 World Cup glory, perhaps the greatest goal ever and his downward spiral, this is his remarkable story, told in his own words and by those who knew him best.