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25th November 2020
04:51pm GMT

In 1986, he dragged his country to the FIFA World Cup, a feat they haven't repeated since and, because of it, he carved himself into the hearts and minds of every Argentine who will walk the earth for generations and lifetimes to follow.
Maradona isn't so much a household name as he is the centrepiece portrait of a household.
He won two Serie A titles in Italy with Napoli and he won over a new audience in recent years with his beaming smile at Argentina games, his wild celebrations and, yes, his magical clips of days gone by.
Maradona isn't what you'd call a YouTube footballer. His highlights reel alone would eat up the memory of the platform but it would be worth trying to upload every glorious touch of a ball he ever took. For educational purposes, of course, but also as an antidote to many of life's ills.
Maradona's style was infectious, even if it was impossible to replicate. When you see someone playing with that much freedom and that much happiness, it liberates you. It made everyone feel better, except the poor bastards trying to chop him down at every turn but you'd like to think that, somewhere in those reckless and usually futile challenges, they saw the funny side of his greatness too, even if he was making every one of them the butt of the joke.
He's the most iconic number 10 there ever was. He's synonymous with any debate you'd ever have about the best footballers that ever walked the planet. And, in the space of just 60 years, he lived a life that will be spoken about and worshipped for centuries to come.
Thanks for everything, Diego.
It's been a blessing just watching you have fun.
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