Maradona

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Maradona by Jimmy Burns, read by Paul Thornley.

‘The definitive work on Diego Maradona’ The 42
'One of football’s greatest stories ... this is the best football book in ages' Goal
'A modern footballing classic' FHM
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Anyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a football player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on November 25th 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup.

Having gained access to his inner circle, Jimmy Burns traces Maradona’s life from the slums of Buenos Aires, where he was born, through his great years of triumph, to the United States from where, in 1994, he was ignobly expelled after undergoing a positive drugs test. He also tells of his failed attempt to bring further glory to Argentina as coach in the 2010 World Cup, and ultimately, his tragic decline and recent death.

Widely regarded as the best and most revealing account of the highs, lows, genius and flaws of arguably the greatest footballer of all time, this biography inspired Asif Kapadia’s award-winning 2019 film Diego Maradona.
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'Excellent and well-researched' Sunday Times

‘I finished it thinking how great it would be to make something on Diego Maradona one day’ Asif Kapadia, director of Diego Maradona

Critics Review

If [those interviewed in this book] are my friends, I prefer to have enemies
Diego Maradona
Burns’ forensic skills are to the fore in this deft, perceptive study of politics, corruption, exploitation and the occasional dash of genuine sporting genius
Time Out
An excellent book … The seamy backstairs politics of international soccer have never been more tellingly exposed
Financial Times
The Hand of God is illuminating and atmospheric as it cuts through the web of myth, mystery and full-blooded hypocrisy
Irish Times
Maradona’s life is one of grotesque farce ... Gazza’s career compared with this looks like Emmerdale sat next to the Borgias
Peter Davies, author of All Played Out
A compelling cocktail of celebration and cheating
Daily Mail
Excellent and well-researched
Sunday Times
Jaw-on-the-floor fascinating. A modern footballing classic
FHM
I finished it thinking how great it would be to make something on Diego Maradona
Asif Kapadia, director of the award-winning film Diego Maradona
Love or hate the man, his is one of football’s greatest stories and so this is the best football book in ages
Goal
The definitive work on Diego Maradona
The 42
A violent mix of sporting brilliance and personal disgrace
Daily Mirror
Shows that Maradona has got a lot of soul
Noal Gallagher, Oasis

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