In tribute to Diego Maradona, Kerala govt announces 2-day mourning by sports community

The state government in Kerala has declared that a two-day mourning will be held for football legend Deigo Maradona by the state's sports community. Maradona, 60, breathed his last on November 25 at Buenos Aires after suffering a cardiac arrest. El Diego, whose popularity in the southern state as with a number of other states in the country is well documented, was given a fitting tribute by the state government. Maradona's last visit to Kerala came in 2012 when he was greeted by a sea of football fans waiting to see the perhaps the most gifted footballer to ever take the field.

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PM Modi pays tribute to Maradona

Tributes for Maradona were universal and global when news of his all-too-early demise broke. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the late Diego Maradona the 'maestro of football' who was immensely popular worldwide as he condoled the demise of the Argentine legend. PM Modi highlighted that Maradona had given some of the best sporting moments on the football field throughout his career and that the whole world was saddened by his untimely demise. 

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Diego Maradona's career

Regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time, the left-footed Maradona began his career with Argentinos Juniors, before sealing a then-record $4 million transfer to Argentina's Boca Juniors. In his only season with Boca, Maradona lifted the Argentine domestic league scoring 28 goals in 40 appearances for the club. After an ill-fated 1982 World Cup in which he was heavily billed, Diego joined Barcelona for a then world-record fee of £5 million ($7.6 million). The Argentine legend's career in Barcelona was marred by injuries and controversies before a brawl against Atheltic Bilbao players ended his Camp Nou stint. The Argentine played 58 games for the Blaugrana, scoring 38 goals, including a special strike at Santiago Bernabeu, which saw him receive a standing ovation. 

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Despite the controversies, Italian club Napoli took a chance with Maradona and signed him for another world record fee, £6.9 million ($10.48million). The Argentine legend hit his peak in Naples, helping the side win two league titles, scoring 115 goals for the club. While Diego excelled on the pitch, his off-field problems continued to rise, as his cocaine addiction increased significantly, leading him to miss training and games for Napoli. The Argentine faced a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine and left Napoli in disgrace in 1992. He later enjoyed stints at Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys and returned to Boca Juniors before calling time on his career. However, during the peak of his powers, he had almost single-handedly by sheer force of will and god-given skill managed to steer his national team to two World Cup Finals, winning in 1986 in Mexico and coming up short in Italia 90, both times against the Germans.  

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