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Friday, January 1, 2021

the legend - Diego Maradona, is no more !!

Heard of or remember - Bogdan Ganev Dochev (1935 – 2017) a Bulgarian football referee. He is known for having refereed two matches in the FIFA World Cup  !!

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. With European nations not allowed to host after the previous World Cup in Spain, Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, thus becoming the first country to host the World Cup more than once. It was won by Argentina (their second title, after winning in 1978). Argentina was captained by the 25-year old Diego Maradona, who played a large part in his team's success.   He carried the Nation’s dream and ensured its happening.



Diego Armando Maradona  is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time.  He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award.  Maradona's vision, passing, ball control and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature (1.65 m or 5 ft 5 in), which gave him a low centre of gravity allowing him to manoeuvre better than most other football players; he would often dribble past multiple opposing players on a run.   A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname "El Pibe de Oro" ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career.   He preceded Sachin in wearing that jersey with 10  -  was the first player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice, first when he transferred to Barcelona for a then-world record £5  million, and second, when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee £6.9  million. In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup.    

Maradona became the coach of Argentina's national football team in November 2008. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. He then coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season. In 2017, Maradona became the coach of Fujairah before leaving at the end of the season.  In May 2018, Maradona was announced as the new chairman of Belarusian club Dynamo Brest  .. .. today he passed away, is the news !!

Besides his sporting glory, his life was ruined by   his addiction to cocaine took hold. In 1991, the year he left the club, he was banned for 15 months for drug violations. In 1994 he was thrown out of the World Cup in America after failing a drugs test, before retiring from football in 1997. In 1999 and 2000 he was taken to hospital suffering heart problems, the second time requiring a respirator to breathe. He has undergone two gastric bypass operations to control his weight and received treatment for alcohol abuse. Three week ago he was admitted to hospital for surgery on a blood clot in his brain, before being discharged to recover at home. It was there that he died on Wednesday. The Argentine news outlet Clarin broke the news on Wednesday afternoon UK time, describing the news of Maradona's passing as having a 'worldwide impact'.  The iconic former Argentinian footballer was driven away from the private Olivos Clinic just before 6pm on November 11 as hundreds of fans of photographers tried to get a glimpse of him.

                   In 2014, Maradona said of his drug use: 'I gave my opponents a big advantage. Do you know the player I could have been if I hadn't taken drugs?' In 1996, Maradona said publicly: 'I was, am and always will be a drug addict.'  Diego Maradona has died from a heart attack just days after turning 60.

Bogdan Ganev Dochev (1935 – 2017) is a Bulgarian football referee. He is known for having refereed two matches in the FIFA World Cup, Italia - Cameroon 1:1 in 1982 and Paraguay - Belgium 2:2 in 1986. Dochev was a linesman in the famous Brazil versus Italy match in 1982 and in the game between England and Argentina in 1986 in which the ‘Hand of God and Goal of the Century’  were scored by Diego Maradona.  On that day 22nd June 1986 – whole World watched Argentina play England  in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The game was held four years after the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom, and was a key part in the already intense Argentina–England football rivalry. It was also a match which included two of the most famous goals in football history, both scored by Diego Maradona. The first goal, after 51 minutes, was to become known as the "Hand of God goal", which Maradona scored by using his hand. His second, four minutes after his first, saw him dribble past five England players, Beardsley, Reid, Butcher, Fenwick, Butcher (again), and finally goalkeeper Peter Shilton, and became known as the "Goal of the Century". Argentina won the game 2–1 and went on to win the 1986 World Cup with a victory over West Germany in the final match.  Maradona won the golden ball for player of the tournament whilst England's goalscorer on the day, Gary Lineker, won the golden boot for being the tournament's top scorer.

The soccer legend is no more !! – bye Diego Maradona

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

25.11.2020

  

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