For years members have requested for me to create this thread. As is the case with the Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruijff threads listed below, I’ve decided to create a similar one dedicated to this ‘iconic’ controversial figure, formerly known as “El pibe de oro”, (the golden boy), the man that many consider the greatest footballer the world has ever seen. To tackle this thread, many different sources are available, since more information was made available than with previous legends. However, not everything is fully accessible, particularly in the beginning of his career when he played for Argentinos Juniors, a ‘small’ club that received less exposure and coverage than the bigger teams. The sources that will be used vary. For his spell in Argentinian football, sources like El Gráfico, La Nación, Clarín, Goles, Superfutbol will be used. For his Spain era, it can vary between Don Balón, ABC, Mundo Deportivo, LaVanguardia, El País, Marca, AS. For the Italian coverage, Guerin Sportivo, Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport, La Stampa. For the National team it can be with whatever is available, but mostly from the Argentinian point of view. Please note that this requires lots of work and time, and I can’t always dedicate my free time to it. But I will from time to time add information slowly as is the case with my other long-term threads. The Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruijff threads below gives you an idea what this will be like. Bear in mind the Di Stéfano thread is still in development and in terms of Cruijff’s thread, I think it needs further reviews from different sources in regards to his Barcelona years, most of which were primarily based on home-based Catalán sources. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/alfredo-di-stéfano-career-match-reports.1994303/ https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/johan-cruyff-matches-and-goals-scored.1865250/
Matches: 668 Minutes: 58468 Goals: 346 (0,533 per 90/min) Assists: 254 (0,391 per 90/min) Goals generated: 0,924 per 90/min
Before he made his debut as a professional, the story goes that in the youth lower divisions, his club, “The little Onions”, went 136 games undefeated. This is apparently registered my Maradona himself in notebooks. Whether this legend is true or not, is undetermined. Lots of stories are mentioned about this part in his life that helped shape him into a professional. Lots of controversy as well, as the first “Hand of God” goal was made playing for this team, and many “Maradoniano” solo runs that he would later become famous for. Below he talked about the 136 undefeated games and the goal with his hand that stirred a fight between the kids.
actually not the info is from wikipedia, and the minutes are an estimation based on transfermarkt and this web https://www.footballdatabase.eu/en/player/details/9105-diego-maradona which has the minutes played in 416 matches
Diego around the age of 16 with Argentinos Juniors. Officially he made his professional debut when he was still 15 years old. More on that debut later on in an excellent piece of coverage that was published in El Gráfico in 2001, with coverage of different sources at that time in 1976.
I wonder how they obtained his assist information, considering the obscurity of his Argentinos Juniors career, which was not given primary coverage as with the bigger teams.
Diego made his debut vs Talleres of Córdoba on 20 October of 1976. He came on a substitute at the half. Before getting into the full details, legend has it that his first touch he put the ball between the legs of the defender Cabrera, in the photo below. Apparently, this was the photo that surfaced after many years that illustrated that ‘nutmeg’ display. More on the debut later...
Before getting into details about his debut, there’s fragmented images that surfaced over the years of his first professional game. Diego used the number 16 on his jersey. Some observations about Argentinos Juniors by 1976. Historically the club had never won anything significant and were/are considered a minnow in Argentinian football club history. When Diego kicked off his career, Argentinos Juniors was a bottom table team and financially limited. It was said by Diego himself that the weakest sides he ever integrated were the first years at Argentinos Juniors. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/arg76.html
Nacional Tournament 1976 20/10/1976 Argentinos Juniors 0-1 Talleres de Córdoba Stadium: La Paternal, Argentinos Juniors El Gráfico rated Maradona’s historic debut with a grade of 7. Using Don Balón’s criteria, El Gráfico rated players from 1-10 with 10 as genius or legendary. This is what the press said about his performance: Clarín: “The entrance of the kid gave more mobility to their attack but alone he couldn’t beat the Cordobesa team. Maradona is a skilled kid but couldn’t rely on others” La Razón: “The entrance of a 15 year old kid who not so long ago was entertaining the crowds at halftime with his ball juggling skills and is known to be called Diego Maradona had a lot to do, because his daring attacks constituted in becoming the pívot of his team, releasing himself to receive the ball and unbalancing the opponent with his devilish gambeta (crossover dribble) and whipping crosses” La Prensa: “For the continuation of the match Argentinos made a substitution that was approved by the fans due to the qualities of the new comer” La Voz del Interior (Córdoba): “Maradona eluded various rivals, shot in form of cross, which Galván almost put into his own net” El Gráfico: “Not even the surprising inclusion of the skilled and intelligent ex ‘Cebollita’ Maradona (16 years) was enough to resolve the problem”. The game was deemed “intense” with the pitch in poor state, which was typical on those playing grounds for small market teams. As for the disparity in clubs, Talleres of Cordoba at the time was an elite club fighting for the championship. They had NT players like Galván and Daniel Valencia. Argentinos Juniors was a relegation side fighting to stay alive in the first division.
Some revealing images and text of him before he turned a professional. At 10 years old he’s considered prodigious and awaits a “sensational” future. At this stage he’s around 16 years old.
National Championship Round 9 24/10/1976 Newell’s All Boys 4-2 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: Newell’s, Rosario After making a positive debut, Diego this time started and played the full 90 minutes against another squad that consisted of NT players like Gallego. Another anecdote is that Maradona played with the number 11 jersey. It was an entertaining game with Maradona receiving praise after the match by the home press of Rosario. The press chanted “Bravo Maradona”, as they were impressed how a kid of 15 years old could handle himself with such maturation in the first flight football. Afterward, Argentinos Juniors manager, Montes, stated, “Despite his young age, he’s ready for this level of first division football. Argentina will have with him a great ‘crack’.” Clarín briefly mentioned that between Maradona, Giordano and Ovelar, they were able to unbalance and level the game at 2-2 until Newell’s fought back and won the game. Maradona received a grade of a 6 by El Gráfico.
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 10 31/10/1976 Ferro Carril Oeste 3-0 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: Ferro Carril Oeste (Buenos Aires) One day after turning 16 years old, Maradona debuted wearing the historic number 10 jersey for the first time as a professional, a symbolic jersey number that would be his for the next 2 decades. Clarín headlined “An uncontainable Ferro by the hands of Vidal” Clarín stated it was always easy for Ferro, clearly demonstrating why Argentinos Juniors were a relegation quality team. On a pitch that was in a ‘regular’ state of condition, Ferro destroyed Argentinos Juniors with a magnificent display from Vidal, scorer of 3 goals. Had it not been for the top class performance of Minutti, Argentinos goalkeeper, the result would have been a lot heavier. The Argentinos Juniors defense showed tremendous weaknesses, with their players receiving terribly low grades. This time Maradona would only play 45 minutes, being replaced at the half. His performance went unnoticed, receiving a poor grade of a 4 from El Gráfico. Thus far Argentinos Juniors had faced what would end up as the top 3 best teams in their group. The National Championship was a tournament that consisted of 4 different groups of 9 teams each, with the top 2 advancing to a knockout quarterfinal playoffs.
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 11 07/11/1976 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: La Paternal, Argentinos Juniors Argentinos Juniors 2-0 Huracán (Comodoro Rivadavia) El Gráfico wrote, “Huracán denounced from the beginning a speculative approach, with forwards pulled back and bodies closing down spaces in all sectors. The reduced dimensions on the field favored their plans and Argentinos couldn’t find the formula to unlock them. But after the half things changed. The arrival of Maradona and Alvarez changed the game. There was more mobility and ingenuity (...)” Clarín headlined “With little time remaining Huracán almost got away with their game-plan but Argentinos towards the end were able to unlock a tenacious defense and win 2-0” During the first half Argentinos struggled to unbalance a defensive opponent, but the arrival after the half of Maradona and Alvarez was the correct choice, according to the tabloid of Clarín. It read, “with Maradona and Alvarez the team gained speed and mischief, which complicated Huracán’s defensive assignments (...)” El Gráfico awarded Maradona with a good grade of a 7. Maradona on the bench before his arrival:
Coming up, Maradona’s historic first goals as a professional, with great coverage that has been investigated over the years.
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 12 14/11/1976 San Lorenzo (Mar del Plata) 2-5 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: General San Martin, Mar del Plata Spectators: 1.335 For the few fans that attended to the semi-empty stadium of General San Martin — which no longer exists — bore witness to the historic afternoon of Maradona’s first official goals as a professional footballer. Maradona wore in this historic game the jersey number of 15, as evidenced in the photos. This game has received lots of investigative coverage. Legend has it that the men in charge of the video footage of this match stepped outside after the half and never returned and lost the ability to record his goals. But thankfully photographers were able to capture them. This was a match that pitted what turned out to be the bottom table team in the group with San Lorenzo (MDP) vs Argentinos Juniors, who only fared a little better on paper. The truth is both sides were evenly matched until halftime, with the score at 1–1. The Mar del Plata newspaper of La Capital headlined “The entrance of the youngster Diego Maradona had a decisive importance” “The entrance of the youthful Diego Armando Maradona (just turned 16) had the virtue of turning the tide of the match. Until that moment (beginning of the final part), San Lorenzo (2) and Argentinos Juniors (5) had played a discreet first half and had not taken advantage. The partial tie could be understood as fair. But in the second half it varied. Under the influence of Maradona, Argentinos became the dominator of the game and achieved a justified success” “The expectation that Maradona's performance had created a rapid confirmation. In his first intervention, he gave complete samples of his tremendous ability and intelligence. Around him, Argentinos Juniors began to have control of the ball” La Capital: “Maradona, the star of the pitch. He came on after 45 minutes and changed the course of the game. Tremendously skilled, employed at the right time. Intelligence and clarity. He scored two beautiful goals, set up another and hit the post twice”. El Gráfico wrote, “In a slow and imprecise match, Maradona appeared and gave a skillful and intelligent football lesson. Under his command, and with the effectiveness of Alvarez, Argentinos scored a big victory (...) The local team fell mentally in the last 10 minutes. In that period, Maradona transferred his dominant game into the net” Goles magazine headlined “Maradona was acclaimed by the local fans themselves, who ended up hanging on the fence to be able to see his face - he hides it in his mane - and pay him warm applause” Clarín wrote, “In the second half, Maradona entered in replacement of Giordano, and there the physiognomy changed. He was the creator of the continuous advancements in attack (...) Maradona completed his exceptional afternoon converting the last two goals of the game.” It is said that his first goal was made after he picked the Mar del Plata defense apart, eluding 3 defenders and giving a give and return pass from teammate Alvarez, before placing the shot into the corner. First goal: Second goal: El Gráfico awarded Maradona with an excellent grade of a 9 and man of the match: Summary: 2 goals, 1 assist Below the excellent piece with newspaper and photos of that game: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.la...un-gol-de-maradona-historico-de-maradona/amp/
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 13 21/11/1976 Argentinos Juniors 3-0 Central Norte (Salta) Stadium: La Paternal, Argentinos El Gráfico highlighted that the pitch was in terrible condition, and the game was ‘mediocre’ with lots of fouls. It’s uncertain Maradona’s direct contribution but Argentinos scored all 3 goals after he came on after the half. However, he received a poor grade of a 5 by El Gráfico. Clarín briefly stated, “Maradona came on in the second period, but the game wasn’t for exquisites”.
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 14 24/11/1976 Newell’s All Boys 4-1 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: Newell’s, Rosario Newell’s, one of the better teams in the group, demolished Argentinos. It was a rough match with the home side clearly superior. Clarín briefly said this about Diego: “the only play of Maradona that left Fusani alone to score.” Maradona came on after the half as a substitute and set up Argentinos only goal, but El Gráfico graded Diego with a very poor 4. Summary: 1 assist
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 15 01/12/1976 Colón (Santa Fe) Argentinos Juniors Stadium: Colón, Santa Fe El Gráfico rated the spectacle as “poor” and said that Giordano from Argentinos stood out in what was a match with lots of imprecision and sloppiness. The state of the pitch was ‘regular’ which may have contributed to players slipping and falling. Clarín headlined “Poor match in Santa Fe” One of the things that stood out of this game was that Argentinos Juniors obtained their first point in their history at this venue in Santa Fe. Another aspect was that Maradona started the match and from now on would always be a starter for Argentinos Juniors. El Gráfico graded Diego with an acceptable 6.
Nacional Championship 1976 Round 16 05/12/1976 Argentinos Juniors 1-1 San Lorenzo Stadium: La Paternal, Argentinos Juniors Both Clarín and El Gráfico coincided that it was a ‘mediocre’ spectacle, played on a ‘regular’ state of the pitch. El Gráfico briefly said about Diego, (...) “and the offensive sparks of Maradona, that whenever he found the ball he administered it intelligently, complicating the defensive assignments of the opponent.” El Gráfico graded Maradona with an acceptable 6.