Diego Maradona, one of the greatest footballers in history, will have to undergo emergency brain surgery to remove a blood clot, his personal physician told reporters on Tuesday.
He had been hospitalized since Monday, but despite early, positive signs, he will need an operation for a subdural hematoma.
Maradona to Undergo Emergency Brain Surgery
One of the Football Greats
While he is certainly a divisive figure, few can argue that he is one of the greatest to have ever played the game of football. He took a completely ordinary Napoli side to the top of the Serie A, and he delivered the world’s greatest trophy, the coveted World Cup, to Argentina in 1986.
That tournament did not come without its controversy, with his famed “Hand of God” goal being a source of joy for many, and a source of pain and frustration for many others. However, his goal against England that directly followed that was one of the greatest goals ever scored.
Picking up the ball near the halfway line, his slaloming run left the entire England team for dead, before rounding the keeper and finishing into an empty net. That goal typified his quality, desire, and determination to win. When he was on his game, nobody was taking the ball from him.
He also played for his hometown club Boca Juniors, as well as Barcelona throughout his excellent career.
Controversial Off-Field Issues
While his career on the pitch had its contentious moments, his life off of it was even worse. Fueled by drug and alcohol addictions, his health took a drastic toll towards the end of his career, which certainly contributed to his current state.
In 1991, he tested positive for cocaine and was banned from any football activities by FIFA. Then, he was banned from the World Cup in 1994 after testing positive for ephedrine, a prohibited drug. Maradona claimed he used it to treat a sinus infection, and hinted at a darker conspiracy within FIFA, but nothing materialized and he was booted from the competition.
Wherever he went, criticism followed, but there’s no doubting his success in his playing career, and he was voted the best player of the 20th century.
Main Photo
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