Who was Diego Maradona?
Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentinian footballer, born on 30 October 1960 in Lanús in the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, and raised in Villa Fiorito, one of the poorest barrios in the country. He died on 25 November 2020 in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province, at the age of 60. Between those two dates he played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys, and the Argentinian national team. He won a World Cup, two Italian Serie A titles, a UEFA Cup, and the love of an entire nation.
His place in Argentinian culture is not a stats sheet. He was the kid from the dirt streets of Fiorito who carried his country on his back, and Argentinians have never forgotten where he came from.
What's the Hand of God?
In the 51st minute of Argentina's 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England, in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Maradona rose with goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net with his left fist. The referee did not see it. The goal stood.
Asked afterwards, Maradona famously said it was scored "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona, otro poco con la mano de Dios," a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God. The phrase has been a piece of football folklore ever since. Outside Argentina, it is sometimes called cheating. Inside Argentina, it is part of the legend, woven into the same match as one of the greatest individual goals ever scored.
What was the Goal of the Century?
Four minutes after the Hand of God, in the same match, Maradona scored what FIFA later voted the Goal of the Century. He picked the ball up inside his own half, ran sixty metres, beat five England players including Shilton, and rolled the ball into an empty net. The Argentinian commentator Víctor Hugo Morales screamed "Barrilete cósmico," cosmic kite, into the microphone and broke down in tears live on air.
The match ended 2-1 to Argentina. England were out. Argentina went on to win the World Cup, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final. Within twenty minutes of one half of football, Maradona gave the world the most infamous goal ever scored and the most beautiful goal ever scored. Both wearing Argentina's blue and white.
| Maradona career milestones | Year |
|---|---|
| Debut for Argentinos Juniors | 1976 |
| Signs for Boca Juniors, wins league title | 1981 |
| Moves to Barcelona | 1982 |
| Signs for Napoli | 1984 |
| World Cup champion, MVP, Mexico | 1986 |
| First Serie A title with Napoli | 1986/87 |
| Second Serie A title with Napoli | 1989/90 |
| World Cup runner-up, Italy | 1990 |
| Returns to Boca Juniors | 1995-1997 |
| Manages Argentinian national team | 2008-2010 |
| Dies in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province | 25 November 2020 |
Why is Maradona considered Argentina's greatest footballer?
The argument for Maradona as Argentina's greatest is anchored in 1986. Argentinian teams have won the World Cup three times: 1978, 1986, and 2022. The 1986 side is the only one widely understood to have been carried, almost by one player alone, to the title. Maradona scored or assisted ten of Argentina's fourteen goals in that tournament. He was named player of the tournament. He scored both goals against England, both against Belgium in the semi-final, and set up the winner in the final.
Lionel Messi's 2022 World Cup win in Qatar has reopened the debate for younger Argentinians, and the two are now spoken of together rather than against each other. Most Argentinians of Pedro's generation will tell you, gently, that Messi is the greatest player they have seen and Maradona is the greatest player they have felt. Our Argentina World Cup 2026 Sydney fan guide sits in that same lineage.
What was Maradona's relationship with food and asado?
Maradona was a serious eater. He was famously photographed at asados across his career, leaning over a parrilla in Buenos Aires, Naples, and Havana. He loved the Argentinian classics: tira de asado, vacío, chorizo, morcilla, and as a warm starter, almost always, a tray of empanadas.
For Diego, food was not a side note. It was where he was happiest. His friends, including his long-time chef in Naples, have told the story many times: a long table, his family around him, an asado smoking, a stack of empanadas going first because nobody could wait. Our Argentinian football food culture piece and our asado at home Sydney guide both touch on this same tradition, the one Diego lived publicly his whole life.
Outside Argentina, especially in Naples where he played from 1984 to 1991, Maradona embraced local food. But the empanada, the asado, the chimichurri jar on the table, those were the constants he carried with him.
Why is Maradona almost a religious figure in Argentina?
In 1998, a group of fans in Rosario founded the Iglesia Maradoniana, the Church of Maradona, with its own calendar, its own commandments, and its own ten "Maradonian" prayers. By the time of his death in 2020, it claimed tens of thousands of members across more than sixty countries. The church started as half-joke, half-tribute. It is now treated, especially in Argentina, as something between a fan club and a folk religion.
The play on words "D10S" mixes his shirt number 10 with "Dios," the Spanish word for God. You see it sprayed on walls in Buenos Aires, tattooed on forearms in Naples, and printed on t-shirts in Sydney. The reverence is sincere but it is not blind. Argentinians know Maradona's life had hard chapters, including struggles with addiction and health. The point of the reverence is exactly that he was flawed, human, from a poor barrio, and still rose to be the best in the world. That is the Argentinian story most people grow up inside.
How did Sydney's Argentinian community mourn Maradona in 2020?
When the news broke on the afternoon of 25 November 2020 in Argentina, it landed in the early hours of 26 November in Sydney. WhatsApp groups across the city lit up. Across the Eastern Suburbs, the Inner West, and Sydney's North, expat households woke each other up. The Argentinian Consulate in Sydney opened a book of condolences. People gathered, in COVID-safe numbers, to share a bottle of Malbec, an asado, and stories about where they were the night he scored against England.
Pedro lit a candle that week. The kitchen at Argentum baked extra trays. People came in to stand in a room that smelled like home for ten minutes. Our argentinos en Sydney piece and the Spanish-language argentinos en Sydney Mundial 2026 companion both touch on how the community holds its big moments together.
Argentina plays. Friends come over. Sixty empanadas, baked or frozen, delivered Sydney-wide. Same catering Argentinians use for asado watch parties back home.
What's Maradona's lasting legacy in Argentinian football?
The clearest piece of his legacy is the way Argentinian fans now celebrate a major win. The current generation of Argentinian players, from Lionel Messi down, talk about Diego openly. When Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the team unfurled a banner of Maradona at celebrations across Buenos Aires. The choreography is direct: Diego started this, we are finishing it. Our how Argentinians celebrate a World Cup win piece walks through what that looks like.
The wider legacy is harder to put on a banner. Maradona made it acceptable, almost compulsory, for an Argentinian footballer to wear emotion in public. He cried after losing the 1990 final. He thanked the city of Naples in tears when he was forced to leave. He made it normal, in a sport that often hides its feelings, to be openly Argentinian: loud, loyal, hungry, and at his happiest around a parrilla with friends.
In Sydney, Pedro's kitchen in Bondi Beach carries a small piece of that legacy every week. The Carnivore pack of 12, slow-cooked grass-fed beef brisket, is the Diego empanada in spirit: beef, hearty, no fuss. Browse the full range or order the Chef's Box. For the bigger Argentum story, see from Buenos Aires to Bondi and Argentinian food in Sydney.
Frequently asked questions
When was Diego Maradona born?
Diego Armando Maradona was born on 30 October 1960 in Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, and raised in Villa Fiorito, one of the poorest barrios in the south of the city.
When did Maradona die?
Maradona died on 25 November 2020 in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province, at the age of 60. The Argentinian government declared three days of national mourning.
What is the Hand of God goal?
The Hand of God is the goal Maradona scored against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, when he punched the ball into the net with his left fist. The referee did not see it and the goal stood. Maradona later said it was scored "a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God."
What is the Goal of the Century?
The Goal of the Century is the second goal Maradona scored against England in the same 1986 quarter-final, four minutes after the Hand of God. He ran sixty metres from inside his own half, beat five English players, and rolled the ball into an empty net. FIFA voted it the greatest World Cup goal of the twentieth century.
Which clubs did Maradona play for?
Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, and Newell's Old Boys. He won two Italian Serie A titles with Napoli, in 1986/87 and 1989/90, and an Argentinian league title with Boca in 1981.
Did Maradona play for Boca or River?
Maradona played for Boca Juniors, never for River Plate. He had two spells at Boca, in 1981 and again from 1995 to 1997, and considered himself a lifelong Boca supporter.
Why do Argentinians call Maradona "D10S"?
D10S is a play on his shirt number 10 and the Spanish word "Dios," meaning God. It is an Argentinian cultural shorthand for the almost religious reverence he is held in, especially after his role in winning the 1986 World Cup.
Where can I read more about Argentinian football culture in Sydney?
Argentum Empanadas in Bondi Beach publishes a Stories blog that covers Argentinian football, food culture, and the Sydney diaspora. Start with our Boca vs River piece, the Argentinian football food culture article, and the Argentina World Cup 2026 Sydney fan guide.
Honour Diego's memory the Argentinian way
An asado, a bottle of Malbec, and a tray of empanadas going first because nobody can wait. Pedro at Argentum Empanadas in Bondi Beach can sort the empanada side. Try the Carnivore pack of 12, the Chef's Box, or browse the full range. Minimum order $48, 6 months in the freezer at -18°C, delivered across Sydney.
Get in touch for catering, watch parties, or anything bigger.
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