Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors[edit]
On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors, ten days before his sixteenth birthday.[23] He played there between 1976 and 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his £1m transfer to Boca Juniors. Boca was the team Maradona always wanted to play for.[24] Having joined the Boca squad midway through the 1981 season, Maradona played through 1982 earning his first league championship medal.[25]
Barcelona[edit]
He had complete mastery of the ball. When Maradona ran with the ball or dribbled through the defence, he seemed to have the ball tied to his boots. I remember our early training sessions with him: the rest of the team were so amazed that they just stood and watched him. We all thought ourselves privileged to be witnesses of his genius.
“
”
—Barcelona teammate Lobo Carrasco.[26]
After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona in Spain for a then world record fee of £5m ($7.6m).[23] In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Athletic Bilbao. However, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona.[27] First a bout ofhepatitis, then a broken ankle caused by an ill-timed tackle by Athletic's Andoni Goikoetxea threatened to jeopardize Maradona's career,[23] but after treatment and therapy it was possible for him to soon be back on the pitch.
During his two injury-hit seasons at Barcelona, Maradona scored 38 goals in 58 games.[28] At Barcelona, Maradona got into frequent disputes with the team's directors, especially club president Josep Lluís Núñez, culminating with a demand to be transferred out of Camp Nou in 1984. He was transferred to Napoli in Italy's Serie A for another world record fee, £6.9m ($10.48m).[29]
Napoli[edit]
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.[30] Sports writer David Goldblatt commented; "They [the fans] were convinced that the saviour had arrived."[31] A local newspaper stated that despite the lack of a "mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona."[31] Prior to Maradona's arrival, Italian football was dominated from teams north of Naples, such as A.C. Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and A.S. Roma, and no team from southern Italy had ever won the league title.[31][32]
At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career. He quickly became an adored star among the club's fans, and in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history.[31] Maradona played for Napoli at a period when North-South tensions in Italy were at a peak due to a variety of issues, notably the economic differences between the two.[31] Led by Maradona, Napoli won their first ever Serie A Italian Championship in 1986/87.[31] Goldblatt wrote; "The celebrations were tumultuous. A rolling series of impromptu street parties and festivities broke out contagiously across the city in a round-the-clock carnival which ran for over a week. The world was turned upside down. The Neapolitans held mock funerals for Juventus and Milan, burning their coffins, their death notices announcing 'May 1987, the other Italy has been defeated. A new empire is born.'[31] Murals of Maradona were painted on the cities ancient buildings, and new born children were named in his honor.[31] Napoli would win their second league title in 1989/1990, and finish runners up in the league twice, in 1987/88 and 1988/89.[31] Other honors during the Maradona era at Napoli included the Coppa Italia in 1987, (second place in the Coppa Italia in 1989), the UEFA Cup in 1989 and the Italian Supercup in 1990.[31] Maradona was the top scorer in Serie A in 1987/88, and is the all time leading goalscorer for Napoli with 115 goals.[25][33]
While he was successful on the field, during his time in Italy Maradona's personal problems increased. His cocaine use continued, and he received US $70,000 in fines from his club for missing games and practices, ostensibly because of 'stress'.[34] He faced a scandal there regarding an illegitimate son; and he was also the object of some suspicion over an alleged friendship with the Camorra.[35][36][37][38][39] Later on, in honor of Maradona and his achievements during his career at Napoli, the No. 10 jersey of Napoli was officially retired.[40]
Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys and Boca Juniors[edit]
After serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine, Maradona left Napoli in disgrace in 1992. Despite interest from Real Madrid of Spain and Olympique Marseille of France, he signed for Sevilla of Spain, where he stayed for one year.[41] In 1993 he played for Newell's Old Boys and in 1995 he returned to Boca Juniors for two years.[23] Maradona also appeared for Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly match against Internazionale, shortly before the 1986 World Cup. The match was a testimonial for Osvaldo Ardiles, who insisted that his friend Maradona play
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