A year ago, one of the most brilliant players this world has ever seen passed away, Diego Armando Maradona.
In this context, CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation) launched a tribute on behalf of South American soccer, so that Diego would always be held up high and continue to shine just as he did when he was alive. The idea came from no other than the agency led by Martin Mercado, Mercado McCann.
In the coordinates RA: 12h 08m 21.5s DEC: -50° 50′ 16.8″, there’s a star full of glistening milestones for soccer named Maradona.
Because he shone on Earth, now he will shine in the sky. That is the concept from which this tribute emerged.
Maradona is considered beyond doubt as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
The magic of his number 10 jersey remains in the memory of all Argentinians and also of Neapolitans, in a combination of worship and eternal gratitude for the joy that he was able to bring people.
Amidst his anthological plays, lies the controversial ‘hand of God’, along with the most spectacular goal of the century.
A private life of excess and scandals mark the most human side of this legendary character.
Though, Maradona had humble beginnings, coming from the neighbourhood of Villa Fiorito, in the Buenos Aires district of Lanús. Quickly he emerged as a supreme talent and by the age of 15, he was recruited by Argentinian Juniors, an important first division club.
One year later, he was summoned to play for the national side, where he earned the nickname ‘el pibe de oro’ (the golden kid.)
Not mature enough to join the team that would win the 1978 World Cup for Argentina, the next year, Diego led the team that won the FIFA World Youth Championship.
By 1982, he played for Barcelona in Spain and in 1984 was hired by Italy’s Napoli. In Italty he performed brilliantly conquering two Italian championships (1987 and 1990), an Italian Cup (1987), a UEFA Cup (1989) and an Italian Supercoppa (1990).
He reached the peak in his career as a soccer player in Mexico’s 1986 World Cup, when he led the Argentinean national team to victory in the final against Germany (3-2).
The showman and athlete he was, Maradona scored the tournaments two most memorable goals against England in the quarter-finals. The ‘hand of God’ goal and another play labelled as ‘the goal of the century.’
The 2-1 win over England symbolized some sort of redemption for Argentinians, who’d been defeated in the Falklands only 4 years before.
In his final years, he coached several teams before suddenly passing away on November 25, 2020.
The idea and execution for this tribute came from Mercado McCann for CONMEBOL.
