THE GOLDEN BOY

Happy Birthday to former Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys Midfielder/Second striker Diego Armando Maradona who turns 59 today. He started his career with Argentinos Juniors where he scored 116 goals in 166 games. Maradona arrived in Naples and was presented to the world media as a Napoli player on 5 July 1984, where he was welcomed by 75,000 fans at his presentation at the Stadio San Paolo. He is Napoli's third highest goalscorer of all-time with 115 goals in 259 games. In seven years with Gli Azzurri(a nickname for Napoli), he won five trophies, including two Serie A titles. An advanced playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position , Maradona  was the first player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice, first when he transferred to Barcelona for a then world record £5 million, and second, when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee £6.9 million. At age 18, Maradona played the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship in Japan and emerged as the star of the tournament, shining in Argentina's 3–1 final win over the Soviet Union. He made his senior international debut for Argentina as a 16-year-old but was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17. Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, winning the final in Mexico City against West Germany. He is also won the Best Player of the tournament. During his time with the Argentina national team(1977-1994), Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 caps, the fifth highest goalscorer in the country's history. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. As a manager, he was in charge when Argentina lost 4-0 to Germany in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup.