Uhmm, football is not really my thing, so I haven't been closely following the life of Maradona. I realize that he was an all time great. But looking at this man's life from a distance, checking in every decade or so, he is a very disturbing figure.
He cheated to advance in the World Cup. It was no accident, he intentionally put the ball into the goal with his hand, hoping the referee wouldn't see it. It worked, and Argentina advanced with (I believe) Maradona himself coining the phrase "hand of God".
You can talk all you want about how it was good for the country to win, and how it boosted spirits to beat England so soon after the Falklands War, etc, etc., but the bottom line is the guy cheated, succeeded, and was celebrated for it by an entire nation - the leading cheerleader being himself. None of this could be considered healthy for Maradona.
Now thirty years later, he is a plastic surgeon's dream with a nightmare plastic face. His addiction issues almost killed him, and he is bankrupt. Had he not been morally bankrupt from the start (fueled by football fans around the world) he may have been a lot better off now.
Just imagine if Neymar turns in a world beating performance to lead Brazil to the World Cup. Imagine if that performance includes a "reward" for rolling 20 metres in fake pain (like a key penalty) and the world lauds him for it. Do you think the world would be doing him any favours?
