10) FIFA World Youth Championship Glory - 1979
At just 18 years old, Maradona captained a breathtakingly dominant Argentine side to their first-ever youth world title.
The Argentine team was blessed with a number of talented players, such as Juan Barbas, Osvaldo Rinaldi and Gabriel Calderon, but it was the Maradona-Diaz partnership that stole the show.
Maradona and striker Ramon Diaz combined for 14 of Argentina’s 20 total goals during the campaign - Diaz won the Golden Boot with eight goals, and Maradona scored six.
Maradona managed to score in every knockout round, and dazzled opponents with his low centre of gravity, close control, and playmaking.
9) Red carded against Brazil - 1982 World Cup
Throughout the 1982 tournament, Maradona was heavily targeted, hacked, and physically pressured by opponents - most notoriously by Italy’s Claudio Gentile - with very little protection from referees, and against Brazil, he reached breaking point.
In the 85th minute, with Argentina trailing 3–1 and crashing out, Maradona completely snapped after a challenge from Brazil's Joao Batista da Silva.
He lashed out with a high, reckless kick aimed toward the midsection/groin area of Batista, and Mexican referee Mario Rubio Vazquez immediately showed him a red card.
8) Tears in Rome - 1990 World Cup final
Four years after winning the World Cup, Maradona and Argentina were back again, but Carlos Bilardo’s side played a starkly different, highly pragmatic brand of football compared to their triumphant 1986 campaign.
Ultimately, Andreas Brehme's spot-kick shortly before the end broke Argentina’s hearts as Franz Beckenbauer's German side got their revenge from four years earlier.
Maradona was once again at the highest level and basically carried the team to the final. He was the only Argentina outfielder to be named to the team of the tournament, and his tears at the full-time whistle showed a more vulnerable side of his character that had not been seen on the pitch before.
7) UEFA Cup final vs Stuttgart - 1989
Maradona delivered a masterclass across the two-legged 1989 UEFA Cup Final, directly driving Napoli to a 5–4 aggregate victory over Stuttgart.
Despite carrying a back injury and not being at 100 per cent physical fitness, Maradona factored into four of Napoli's five goals across both matches.
While Maradona scored the crucial penalty in Naples, his performance in the return leg in Germany was the best one, a playmaker's masterclass.
After Alemao opened the scoring, Stuttgart equalised via Jurgen Klinsmann, but Maradona then took over, beautifully setting up defender Ciro Ferrara to make it 2–1 before unleashing a perfectly weighted pass to his partner-in-crime, Careca, to make it 3–1.
6) Battle of the Bernabeu - 1984 Copa del Rey final
There was bad blood between Athletic Club and Barcelona from the start, primarily stemming from an incident earlier that season when Athletic Club's defender, Andoni Goikoetxea - notoriously known as the Butcher of Bilbao - had severely broken Maradona’s ankle with a brutal tackle.
When the final whistle blew, Athletic Club's Miguel Angel Sola confronted Maradona and taunted him with Athletic having won 1-0.
Maradona, who had been provoked throughout the match, aggressively retaliated; he headbutted Sola, elbowed another player, and then delivered a brutal, flying kung-fu knee directly to Sola’s face, knocking the midfielder unconscious.
5) Standing ovation at the Bernabeu - 1983
With Barcelona leading Real Madrid 1–0 in the 57th minute, Maradona received a through ball, sprinted past the midfield, and rounded Real Madrid goalkeeper Agustin with a swift touch, but instead of shooting immediately into the open net, he paused right on the goal line to let a frantically tracking defender, Juan Jose, slide past him.
After Juan Jose crashed hard into the goalpost, Maradona then casually tapped the ball into the net.
Real Madrid's notoriously hostile home supporters rose to their feet to applaud a Barcelona player, making Maradona the first Barca player ever to receive a standing ovation from the Bernabeu faithful.
4) Ending his Argentina story in disgrace - 1994 World Cup
Though he had essentially retired from international play after 1990, a struggling Argentina squad pleaded with him to return for the 1994 World Cup qualifiers.
After leading Argentina successfully past Australia, he initially looked remarkably fit and close to his best form at the final tournament, scoring a legendary, roaring goal against Greece.
However, after Argentina's second group match against Nigeria, he tested positive for five variants of ephedrine, a banned stimulant. He was immediately expelled from the tournament in disgrace, effectively ending his international career.
3) Free-kick vs Juventus - 1985
In the 72nd minute, referee Giancarlo Redini awarded Napoli a rare indirect free kick deep inside Juventus' penalty area.
Juventus goalkeeper Stefano Tacconi lined up a massive defensive wall just five meters away from the ball - far closer than the standard 10 yards - which left almost zero visible opening to the goal.
Teammate Eraldo Pecci then gave a slight touch to the ball, and Maradona delicately lifted it over the crowded wall and directly into the top-left corner past a helpless Tacconi with a high, dipping shot.
2) The Hand of God - 1986 World Cup
Six minutes after the interval in this World Cup quarter-final, English midfielder Steve Hodge accidentally flicked the ball up toward his own penalty area, where England goalkeeper Peter Shilton rushed out to punch or catch the ball.
Despite being just 5'6, Maradona jumped alongside the taller Shilton and punched the ball into the net with his raised left hand and forearm.
Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser inexplicably allowed the goal to stand, despite frantic protests from the English players. Bulgarian linesman Bogdan Dochev also failed to react to the incident.
1) Goal of the Century - 1986 World Cup
Just four minutes after scoring his infamous Hand of God goal, Maradona executed a brilliant 180-degree spin to break free of Peter Beardsley and Peter Reid.
Despite the scorching midday heat, he practically exploded into the English half, leaving Reid struggling to catch him.
As he approached the 18-yard box, he used his blistering pace and close ball control to dance past defenders Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick.
He then faked a shot to make goalkeeper Peter Shilton commit, but instead of shooting dragged the ball completely around the keeper and slotted it into the net while sliding past a desperate, lunging tackle from Butcher.