The Shoemaker Bugle

by Jahir Poz

Last week the world lost one of most iconic athletes of all time. Argentine football legend Diego Maradona tragically passed away at the age of 60 on November 25th. Maradona’s longtime agent and Maradona’s spokesman both confirmed that he passed away just two weeks after a successful brain surgery and was released from a hospital in Buenos Aires.  

A statement from the Argentina Football Association read: “The Argentina Football Association, through its President Claudio Tapia, expresses its deepest pain at the death of our legend, Diego Armando Maradona. You’ll always be in our hearts.”

Argentina President Alberto Fernandez also confirmed three days of national mourning following the news. The Argentine government also confirmed that Maradona’s body will lie in state at the Casa Rosada government headquarters and that he will be given a state funeral. Additionally, the Argentine Professional Soccer League announced that the current First Division tournament will change its name to honor Maradona. 

Many soccer stars paid their respect and gave tribute to Diego Maradona such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and many more. Maradona will always be remembered as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, from his flashy moves to his amazing goals. One of the most famous moments in the history of the sport, the “Hand of God” goal, came when the diminutive Maradona punched the ball into England’s net with his left hand during the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals. He went on and led Argentina to it’s second World Cup title in history.

Maradona was touched by so many people around the world. Even the late, great Kobe Bryant had said before, “I love Maradona. When I was young in Italy, I used to always watch Maradona when he played for Napoli.” (Kobe spent seven years of his childhood in Italy.) In Italy, Maradona was untouchable, he helped the Italian side S.S.C Napoli win their two only league titles back-to-back, and he brought them back to relevance. The club has now renamed their stadium to Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. 

Diego will always be remembered–he is not gone, he is immortal. The sports world will never forget the impact he brought to soccer and how he made so many people fall in love with it. From his days in Napoli to his days in Boca Juniors, Diego Maradona is one of the best soccer players to ever touch a soccer ball and will always be remembered for the legend he was and the amazing legacy he left behind.