Maradona: The Autobiography of Soccer's Greatest and Most Controversial Star - Softcover

Maradona, Diego Armando

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1616081864 ISBN 13: 9781616081867

Publisher: Skyhorse, 2011

Synopsis

• Argentina history book about the controversial Diego Maradona
• A soccer biography for kids
• Follows the author’s journey from childhood to 1994

“Sometimes I think that my whole life is on film, that my whole life is in print. But it’s not like that. There are things which are only in my heart—that no one knows. At last I have decided to tell everything.” 

—Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona went from a poor boy in a Buenos Aires shanty town to a genius with the soccer ball. He kicked his way to the top of South American, European, and world soccer, but his battles with the many pressures of life inside and outside the game consistently threatened to tear his legend and his spirit down. He is one of many famous soccer players, but one of only a few to write their own soccer autobiography. Villain or hero, one thing about Maradona is clear: he was the best soccer player of his generation and possibly of all time. He has never shared his remarkable story in his own words—until this autobiography. 

From his poverty-stricken origins to his greatest successes on the field, Maradona remembers, with frankness and insight, the most impactful moments of his life. These include the pressures of being a child prodigy, the infamous semi-final game against England in the 1986 World Cup, an amazing turn-around and the dream-turned-sour at Napoli, and the disgrace and shame of his positive drug test at USA 1994. In this brutally honest autobiography, readers glimpse the inner thoughts of one of the most controversial, talented, and complex professional athletes of the times. He was a man divided between the demands of his corporate club bosses, the media, the fans, and his own tempestuous personal life. 

With a new epilogue that updates Maradona’s amazing story and includes over 80 delightful photographs, Maradona is a confessional, a revelation, an apology, and a celebration.

About this title

About the Author

Diego Maradona was voted the greatest player of the twentieth century by the fans of the world in a poll conducted by FIFA. A five-time South American Player of the Year and the 1986 World Player of the Year, Maradona played in four World Cup Finals for his native Argentina, including the magical championship run of 1986. He now serves as the head coach of the Argentine National Team.

From Publishers Weekly

In this rambling though passionate monologue, Maradona (with the help of two ghostwriters) takes readers from his impoverished youth in Buenos Aires to the heights of celebrity as the greatest player in the history of the world's most popular sport. An unlikely superstar, the short (5'5) and rather chunky Maradona regularly performed impossible feats on the soccer pitch, yet his career was shadowed by criminal allegations and florid drug abuse. Even a casual soccer fan could describe the numerous highs and lows of Maradona's career, including the Hand of God against England, the 1986 World Cup victory, firing an air-gun into a crowd of reporters, a failed drug test at the '94 Cup and a massive heart attack (probably drug related) in 2004. Although quite open about his drug use and philandering, Maradona admits to little wrong and spends most of his energy detailing his exploits on the field and railing against the owners and bureaucrats who control the sport. While Maradona's pungent mode of expression and outspoken politics—he loves Castro and sports a Che Guevara tattoo—have undeniable charm, the book will be tough going for general readers lacking background in international soccer. 32 color and b&w photos. (June)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1616081864
• ISBN 13: 9781616081867
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328