Diego Maradona, who amazed us with his footballing skills and passion toward the game, has bid goodbye to the world.
He has been one of the greatest football players. Many would argue him to be the greatest of all time, and they might not be wrong.
Contemporary players who have played with him and the one, who has seen him playing, were induced with his skills, passion and raw energy, have often revered him as the best in the world.
Diego played for Boca Juniors (Argentina Superliga), Barcelona (La Liga), Napoli (Serie A) and Sevilla (La Liga). He will always be remembered not only as a great footballer, but as an inspirational figure in Argentina as well as in Naples, Italy.
Here are some notable quotes on Maradona, which would remind us, how he was and is still regarded as a player and as a person.
Argentinian Players
Beyond everything else, no ball ever had a better experience than when it was at his left foot.
Jorge Valdano
Diego apologised to me after he scored the second goal against England. He could see me unmarked at the far post the whole way but he couldn’t find a gap to get the ball to me. The fact is I felt offended. It was an insult to my profession. I mean, even on a run like that he still has the time to look up and see me. As a player I was nothing compared to him. He was incredible.
Jorge Valdano
There will never be anyone like Maradona again, not even if Messi wins three World Cups in succession or scores a bicycle kick from midfield.
Hector Enrique
Our generation, at eight or nine years old, watched Diego. He was our guide to what football was. Maradona is football. He looked after me at Sevilla when I was young and he showed me what it meant to play for Argentina. He was and is the best.
Diego Simeone
Napoli Payers
Maradona is a God to the people of Naples. Maradona changed history. In 80 years, we had always suffered, fighting against relegation, yet in seven seasons with him we won two leagues, a UEFA Cup, two Italian Cups. I’m a fan too and to live those years with Maradona was incredible. Being on the pitch when they won the Scudetto was amazing.
Fabio Cannavaro
Contemporaries in Serie-A and International Football
The best player there has ever been, better than Pele. I watched him closely in Italy every week and he was at a different level to everyone else. Some of the things he did were unbelievable. He could control the ball without looking, which meant if the pass was on, he would take it.
Ruud Guillt
What Zidane could do with a ball, Maradona could do with an ORANGE.
Michel Platini
For Maradona to win a World Cup on his own, and let’s face it, that’s what he did as the rest of the team were ordinary, was an amazing achievement. He was the best player I’ve seen.
Glenn Hoddle
The best of the lot, no question. In my generation, my era, he was simply the best. I saw Maradona do things that God himself would doubt were possible. He always had someone marking him, he always had someone hanging on to him, and yet he could still always conjure up wonderful pieces of magic. A genius.
Zico
Diego Maradona was not only the greatest player but also the most honest. He was a model of good behaviour on the pitch – he was respectful of everyone, from the great players down to the ordinary team members. He was always getting kicked around and he never complained – not like some of today’s strikers.
Paolo Maldini
When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. I’d never felt like that before, but it’s true… and not just because it was such an important game. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal.
He’s the greatest player of all time, by a long way. A genuine phenomenon.
Gary Lineker
Who played football at different time
A genius, a real artist, one of the greatest players in the world. He could win a match on his own. On his own.
Sir Bobby Robson
Some say Pele was the greatest player of all time, but not me. Maradona will always be the greatest. He won World Cup in 1986, narrowly lost in the final in 1990 and then in 1994 maybe would have won it again had he not been banned. The crucial difference with Pele is that Maradona wasn’t surrounded by great players; he had to carry the team himself. If you took Maradona out of Argentina they would not win the World Cup, but I think Brazil without Pele would still have won.
Eric Cantona
With him on the ball, you didn’t know where he finished and where the ball started.
Jose Mourinho
As Jurgen Klopp talked about the conflict that Diego had with Maradona or vice versa, as depicted in HBO documentary, Diego Maradona (2019), his fans, like Klopp, love both Diego and Maradona alike.
The love that fans have for the legend, do not require to be backed up by statistics or rationals.
The most important characters in mythology were (the Greek gods) Apollo and Dionysus. Apollo represented reason and Dionysus represented emotion.
Those who knew Maradona understand that he was the worst of Apollo, but the best of Dionysus.
Luciano de Crescenzo, Italian journalist
Maradona epitomized the mystique of the working class revolution: aloof and arrogant like the 1980s.
Manuel Vazquez Montalban, Spanish journalist
At last, let’s see what Maradona had to say about himself.
Diego Maradona
I worked hard all my life for this. Those who say I don’t deserve anything, that it all came easy, can kiss my a**e.
Diego Maradona
