Some football players transcend the game and sport as a whole, and Diego Maradona is one of these people. A character off it, and a genius on the pitch, he is an all-time great and will be known for generations to come for his incredible performances and sheer brilliance. After his sad passing in 2020, his legacy was marked, and it sent me down a rabbit hole for videos, footage and tales of the great man.

Growing up in the late 90s, I missed the Maradona brilliance live, and instead relied on stories from family of what this Argentine man could do on a football pitch, and the magic he could produce with the ball at his feet. It was like a fairy tale to a young new football fan who hadn’t heard of anything other than Premier League teams, but Maradona had me hooked in, and when YouTube offered a chance to delve deep into the history of the player, his personality, skill and aura was just unreal, and since my love for football grew, my desire to travel expanded and my understanding of history developed, I knew a Diego Maradona pilgrimage would be high on my footballing bucket list, and now’s the time to formally add this to the list.

In this post, I will discuss more on why Diego Maradona is a legend in my eyes, discuss the great footballing career and then finish by discussing what would be involved in this homage to the great Argentine. We’ve only managed to scratch the surface I’m sure in this explanation of ways to engage in the history around his career, and if we’ve missed any great opportunities or places to visit in this post, let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog), and we’ll stick them on the list to develop this bucket list item further.

Enjoy…

Why It’s On My Bucket List…

Born 4 months after Diego made his final professional appearance on the field, his legacy, brilliance and presence was passed on almost as fairy tales for myself as a child, only turning real when I began falling in love with ‘older’ football clips on YouTube and videos I could get my hands on, and I awe at some of the things he was doing on the football pitch. Without Maradona, we wouldn’t have the same view of football, the culture of the game and admiration for flair that we all love. He changed the game, changed the sport and is one of the only people who can enrage an entire country just from one goal from the 80s. He is an icon, a legend and one of (if not the) greatest of all time.

Putting my idolisation of the player, and intrigue of the man behind the legend, this bucket list item links together football, travel, history and a bit of culture. It’s a combination that would make anyone’s bucket list, traveling to countries that aren’t ‘traditional’ holiday hotspots for UK tourists, and spans continents. The ‘Maradona Tour’ would be up there on any football fans’ bucket list, travelling to Argentina, Italy, Spain and taking in live football, museums and experiences. For any fan of Maradona, for any fan of football, for any fan of travelling, this is a bucket list experience of a lifetime.

With that in mind, let us dig into the man himself…

Diego Armando Maradona…

Born October 30th 1960 in Lanús Argentina, Diego Armando Maradona was raised in a shantytown in outer Buenos Aires. At the age of 3, Maradona was gifted his first football and from this point fell in love with the game. When playing for his local club Estrella Roja at 8 years old, he was spotted by a talent scout who recognised his incredible ability. From here, he joined Los Cebollitas, the youth side of Argentine club, Argentinos Juniors. 10 days before his 16th birthday, he made his first team debut for Argentinos Juniors and became the divisions youngest ever player and within minutes nutmegged an opponent. It took him just a few weeks until he netted his first goal for the club and continued from this point to spend the next few years at the club, playing a total of 166 appearances and bagging 116 goals in his 5 year spell in the clubs’ first team.

With several offers on the table, he joined Boca Juniors for $4million and continued his development and demonstrating his talent for a further year in which he made 40 appearances, netted 28 goals and helped Boca win the league title, which would be Maradona’s only Argentine domestic league title (with him returning later). All these immense performances had caught the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona. Following the 1982 World Cup in which Maradona had played all 5 of Argentina’s games and netted twice and got sent off in the closing moments of Argentina’s tournament, Barcelona broke the world record transfer fee and brought Maradona to the Nou Camp for £5million. He went on to spend 2 years in Barcelona, in a spell blighted by injury and filled with footballing brilliance, he managed just 58 appearances and netted 38 goals. Along with the incredible on-field performances, Maradona’s feisty and controversial personality often came to light, with on-field fighting and brawling occurring on several occasions, including a mass brawl which involved players, coaches and fans in their match against Athletic Bilbao, resulting in the end of Maradona’s time in Spain (for now) and after several disagreements with the executives at the club was out, leaving for Napoli in a £6.9million fee (another world record transfer).

The time at Napoli is well documented in the wonderful documentary film on Diego, and demonstrates the highs and lows that occurred in Italy for the great man. Being welcomed on arrival by a packed 75,000 spectator filled stadium just to welcome their new talisman, on the pitch he performed massively, making 259 appearances and scoring 115 goals across his 7 years with the biggest highlights being the league-cup double in 1986-97 along with another Serie A title in 89-90. Additionally, he helped Napoli to win the 1988-89 EUFA Cup to cement his legacy in Naples as a footballing legend and iconic figure. Of course his time in Italy is also acknowledged for the off-field issues which escalated through drug use, financial issues and several scandals which we aren’t here to talk about at this point. On the pitch, he displayed brilliance in his individual performance and contributions to the team. He arrived a superstar and left a legend. Even to this day his legacy at Napoli is felt, with the club retiring his no.10 shirt and just after his passing, the renaming of their home stadium to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Whilst at Napoli, he hit the international highs of his career also, winning the World Cup for Argentina in 1986, in a tournament where he both scored what is regarded the ‘goal of the century’ and also the infamous ‘hand of god’ goal. This win was huge for Maradona and helped him to establish himself as one of the all-time greats, by leading his country to success in the biggest tournament of all.

Returning to Napoli, in 1992 he was banned for 15 months for drug use, resulting in him leaving the club to sign for a year at Sevilla. He played 30 times and netted 6 in this year, then moved to Newell’s Old Boys where he appeared just 5 times, and then in 1995 made a return to Boca, spending the last 3 years of his career where it all really took off, making a final 31 appearances and scoring 7 in this final spell of club football.

In this brief rundown of his playing career, we have summarised one of the greatest footballers to ever grace a field, with 589 club appearances and 310 goals, 106 international caps and 42 goals, 1 World Cup, 4 domestic leagues, 4 domestic cups, 1 UEFA Cup and countless individual awards brushed over in just a few paragraphs. It doesn’t even begin to do justice to the career and sheer brilliance that Diego brought to the pitch, and I can only recommend going out to find footage of what we’ve tried to encapsulate in this post. We aren’t even going to try and break down his post-playing career as it perhaps does little to build on what was simply a sublime footballer, an unbelievable playing career and a magician on the ball.

So, covering all those moves, goals, games, moments in life, let us tell you what’s involved in the ‘Maradona tour’…

What’s Involved…

So, what exactly is this bucket list item? Well, it involves travel, a fair bit of live football and several museums/shrines to the great man (none of the other stuff though before you ask).

Starting off in Argentina, you would visit the hometown of Diego, Lanús, admittedly not the biggest ‘tourist location’ but they do have an Argentine Primera División club side Argentinos Juniors where El Diego started his footballing journey. Taking in a game at this club fills you with the history of creating, forming and moulding the legacy that was to follow. While we can all assume the fans of Argentinos Juniors knew what they were witnessing was special, it’s hard to imagine anyone at the club could have expected what was to follow. So, upon taking in a tour of his hometown, you can visit his boyhood club side, and where it all began. Additionally, whilst in Buenos Aires, you can visit the ‘house of god’ museum where Diego reportedly stayed for several years. The house/museum is both a shrine to the Argentine, whilst also being maintained in the similar style of furniture and housing that Diego will have experienced between 1978-1981, even down to the record player and piano.

Of course, Argentina doesn’t just offer a chance to see Diego’s boyhood side and take in a museum, it is of course the home of the club where he is (in my opinion) most known, Boca Juniors. Having spent a reasonably short period, having 2x 2 year spells at the legendary Argentine club, the images and footage of Diego in the Boca jersey is iconic imagery and if you are in Argentina as a football fan, to miss out on seeing Boca would be the biggest missed opportunity. Similarly, although a short spell, Newell’s Old Boys must also be a stopping point on your travels. So, as part of your bucket list experience, in Argentina you would want to absorb the true Maradona experience and enjoy Argentinos Junior and Boca, along with the hundreds of murals, merchandise stalls and literal shrines to Diego. If that wasn’t enough to fully enjoy Argentina and the legacy of Maradona, you could of course squeeze in a trip to the ‘church of Maradona’ (Iglesia Maradoniana) in which you can be baptised in the brilliance of the forward. From living by 10 commandments including “Spread the news of Diego’s miracles throughout the universe” to “naming your first child Diego”, we aren’t suggesting you change your whole lifestyle, but if the mood takes you, then why not… when in Rome (or Rosario).

That’s not all you’ll need though to tick off the true Maradona experience however I’m afraid (apologies to bank accounts everywhere), but there’s much more to this legend than Argentina. There’s of course Barcelona, where the personality really took the intrigue of the European footballing world, Sevilla where it must be acknowledged as a part of the great career. Not only incredible arenas to take in beautiful football, but the presence of Maradona is still felt, whether in club museums, or even scarf sellers outside in the markets surrounding the stadium. Most importantly though, and arguably even more than the whole of the Argentina tour, is the city of Naples. Home of Napoli where Maradona hit the peak of his footballing career, and hit the downfall that was to follow, to fully understand Maradona in Italy, I can’t recommend the Diego documentary enough which tracks the 7 year spell in a piece of superb cinematography, it has to be on the tour of Diego. Of course a visit to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is on the cards to watch Napoli play live, but also whilst in Naples, you can witness and admire the great murals and shrines laid out from the football obsessed supporters across Naples. A journey into the ‘Spanish districts’ of the city, is a museum of the whole club, and in particular recognising the great efforts of El Diego. With artwork, memorabilia, dedications and coated in history, it sums up the impact the Argentine had on the city.

So, the Maradona bucket list experience really does take in the whole life of the great man and his incredible footballing career. Spanning countries, continents and generations, you’ll experience some of the greatest footballing experiences known, whilst also being able to pick up a fair bit of Maradona merch along the way. As mentioned previously, your bank account won’t thank you for ticking this off, but your footballing spirit certainly will.