The 1986 World Cup star is set to be at the centre of a new football documentary focusing on his life on and off the pitch
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If it’s only Diego Maradona who stands in the way of Lionel Messi being crowned the greatest Argentine footballer of all time, that’s an incredible achievement in itself.
Maradona is one of the most iconic and beloved of sporting icons, a classic No.10 who earned the moniker ‘Golden Boy’ throughout his career.
With a new documentary set to be released focusing on the successes, highs and lows of the former Argentina and Napoli great, Goal takes a look at all you need to know about the film and more.
A new documentary based on the life and career of the iconic Argentina legend, titled ‘Diego Maradona’, will have its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
‘Diego Maradona’ will have its first screening at the 72nd edition of the festival, which runs from May 14-25 in France.
Following the exclusive premiere, the movie will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland by Altitude on June 14 , which distributed the 2015 acclaimed film ‘Amy’, about the late singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse.
The film, which will feature exclusive interviews with Maradona himself as well as those involved in his career, is constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from his personal archive.
‘Diego Maradona’ is a biopic unveiling the story of one of the world’s greatest footballers, touching on his World Cup triumph with the Argentina national team as well as his historic career with Napoli in the 1980s.
It’s produced by On The Corner Films, composed of the filmmaking team of director Asif Kapadia and producer James Gay-Rees, both Oscars and BAFTA-winning, editor Chris King and with music by Golden Globe nominee Antonio Pinto.
Director Kapadia also both 2010 documentary ‘Senna’, based on Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, and ‘Amy’. You can view the trailer for the film below.
It’s also produced by Paul Martin of the 2015 documentary ‘Ronaldo’, which focused on the life of the Portugal and Juventus superstar.
A summary of the ‘Diego Maradona’ states: “On July 5 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee and for seven years, all hell broke loose.
“The world’s most celebrated football genius and the most dysfunctional city in Europe were a perfect match for each other. Maradona was blessed on the field but cursed off it; the charismatic Argentine, quickly led Naples to their first-ever title. It was the stuff of dreams.
“But there was a price… Diego could do as he pleased whilst performing miracles on the pitch, but when the magic faded he became almost a prisoner of the city.”
Maradona was the first player in football history to set the world record transfer fee twice – first when he signed for Barcelona for a then-world record £5 million ($6.5m) and second when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee £7m ($9.1m).
He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli where he helped the Italian club win the Scudetto.
The No.10 led Argentina to victory over West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
He gained worldwide fame and notoriety during the quarter-final against England when his first goal went in off his hand, which then became known as the ‘Hand of God’.
His second goal came after a 66-yard dribble past five England players, which is often touted as one of the greatest goals ever scored.