Football legend Diego Maradona dead at 60
Football legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60.
The former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager had successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier in November.
One of the greatest players of all time, Maradona was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, producing a series of sublime individual performances.
He played for Barcelona and Napoli during his club career, winning two Serie A titles with the Italian side.
Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina, representing them in four World Cups.
He led his country to the 1990 final in Italy, where they were beaten by West Germany, before captaining them again in the United States in 1994, but was sent home after failing a drugs test for ephedrine.
He retired from professional football in 1997, on his 37th birthday, during his second stint at Argentine giants Boca Juniors.
Having briefly managed two sides in Argentina during his playing career, Maradona was appointed head coach of the national team in 2008 and left after the 2010 World Cup, where his side were beaten by Germany in the quarter-finals.
Paying tribute Liam Brady said Maradona was the "greatest player of his generation".
Brady came up against Maradona during their time in Serie A in the early 80s with Brady at Juventus and Sampdoria and Maradiona at Napoli where he helped secure two League titles and said he "had everything". He was like a rubber ball, a very low centre of gravity and could turn any direction. He had such great vision and very difficult to play against."
President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the Argentinian star.
“It is with sadness that I and supporters of football everywhere will have learned of the death of Diego Maradona, arguably and widely regarded as the World’s greatest football player of all time.
Football fans around the world will remember Maradona not only for his phenomenal talent for ball control, passing and dribbling, but for the vision of him on the field and the joy he brought to so many. He was an inspiration for many a young child playing football.
His winning of the accolade ‘FIFA Player of the Century’ in 1999 - an award he shared with Pelé - is testimony to the high regard he was, and will continue to be, held in by football fans for many years to come.
While he will be sadly missed by his family and friends at Boca Juniors, his loss will also be felt by millions of soccer fans in Argentina and across the world.”