Maradona: The Autobiography of Soccer's Greatest and Most Controversial Star »

Diego Maradona was voted the greatest player of the twentieth century by the fans of the world in a poll conducted by FIFA. A five-time South American Player of the Year and the 1986 World Player of the Year, Maradona played in four World Cup Finals for his native Argentina, including the magical championship run of 1986. He now serves as the head coach of the Argentine National Team.

Never has Diego Maradona’s extraordinary story been told in his own words—until now. A poor boy from a Buenos Aires shantytown, Maradona’s genius with a soccer ball took him to the heights of South American, European, and world soccer. Here the greatest player of his generation, and perhaps of all time, tells his tale: the pressures of being a child prodigy, the infamous “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, his roller coaster seasons in Italy’s top league, and the disgrace of his positive drug test at the 1994 World Cup. In this amazingly honest autobiography, he reveals the truth about his fame, his talent, and his weaknesses. It makes for dramatic reading.

Publishers Weekly

In this rambling though passionate monologue, Maradona (with the help of two ghostwriters) takes readers from his impoverished youth in Buenos Aires to the heights of celebrity as the greatest player in the history of the world's most popular sport. An unlikely superstar, the short (5'5") and rather chunky Maradona regularly performed impossible feats on the soccer pitch, yet his career was shadowed by criminal allegations and florid drug abuse. Even a casual soccer fan could describe the numerous highs and lows of Maradona's career, including the "Hand of God" against England, the 1986 World Cup victory, firing an air-gun into a crowd of reporters, a failed drug test at the '94 Cup and a massive heart attack (probably drug related) in 2004. Although quite open about his drug use and philandering, Maradona admits to little wrong and spends most of his energy detailing his exploits on the field and railing against the owners and bureaucrats who control the sport. While Maradona's pungent mode of expression and outspoken politics-he loves Castro and sports a Che Guevara tattoo-have undeniable charm, the book will be tough going for general readers lacking background in international soccer. 32 color and b&w photos. (June)