Diego Armando Maradona : The Early Years

Diego Armando Maradona is the footballing equivalent of marmite. You either love him or hate him. A player who had undoubted skill and balance that made him one of the greatest players ever.

And a player who would fall foul to drugs and be labelled a cheat for his “Hand of God” goal against England.

But to know and understand Maradona’s shortcomings you have to retrace his story back to the beginning. Born into poverty he taught himself how to play football. At the age of 9, he joined his village team called “Little Onions”. With Maradona in the team, Little Onions went 140 games unbeaten.

For Maradona football was an avenue out of poverty. An avenue not just for him but also for his family. Nothing was going to get in the way of achieving that dream.

The Journey to Greatness Begins for Diego Armando Maradona

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors, 10 days before his 16th birthday. Wearing the number 16 he became the youngest player to appear in the Argentine Primera Division. A few minutes into his debut Maradona nutmegged Juan Domingo Cabrera and instant fame was his as a consequence. He scored his first goal in the Primera División against San Lorenzo two weeks after turning 16.

Maradona spent five years at Argentinos Juniors, from 1976 to 1981. During that time he scored 115 goals in 167 appearances before his £3.75m transfer to Boca Juniors. Boca wasn’t the only side interested in acquiring his service. Boca’s fiercest rivals River Plate were willing to sign Maradona and make him their highest-paid player ever. Maradona though chose his boyhood club Boca Juniors.

Boca Juniors

Maradona signed a contract with Boca Juniors in February 1981. He made his debut later that month against Talleres de Córdoba, scoring twice in the club’s 4–1 win. Ironically it was Talleres de Córdoba who he had made his Argentinos Juniors debut against back in 1976. A goal against arch-rivals River Plate in a 3-0 victory followed in April in Maradona’s first taste of Superclásico.  And later that year a league title with Boca pipping Racing Club by a single point. That League victory would be Maradona’s only trophy in the Argentine domestic league.

Following the 1982 World Cup, he signed for Barcelona in what at the time was a world record £5m deal.

During his time in Argentine domestic football, Diego Armando Maradona made 206 appearances and scored 144 goals.

UPDATE : Since this article was first written Diego Maradona sadly passed away on November 25, 2020. He was 60 years old.