Diego Maradona passes away at 60.

I'm surprised that this hasn't been mentioned here in the forums or articles, but yeah the legendary Maradona has sadly died after suffering a fatal heart attack yesterday.

Three days of national mourning have been announced in Argentina to mark the passing of their national hero, while his legions of fans from around the world have also been paying their respects upon learning of this unexpected and sorrowful news.

A larger than life character, the most gifted, skillful, exciting player of his generation and perhaps even the greatest footballer of all time. Truly a wizard on the pitch, and equally unpredictable away from it. May he rest in peace.

*Obligatory hand of god footage. Sorry England fans, couldn't resist.

Sad news. I didn't grow up watching Maradona play but tales of his legend were always prevalent. RIP.

True legend and a very sad story too. A magician. Sadly going to Naples early in his career was totally the wrong place to be for him and from there he never beat addiction.

A true legend, gone as many, way too soon.

Ya know, people often debated this question; who was the greatest, Pele or Maradona?

My answer? They were both equally great, just in two different ways. To illustrate my point, I would compare them to the video game Mass Effect. Pele is the Paragon of football; he represented the ideal of it, the grace, the artistry, the "Samba football," the game "played in heaven."

Maradona, meanwhile, was the Renegade of football. He represented the reality of it; both its high-minded ideals, and its darker underbellies. The genius and legend, and a flawed human being. Goal of the Century, and Hand of God, going hand-in-hand, inseparable. Appropriate, considering they occurred in the same game.

I normally don't participate in threads like this, since posting in them makes me feel like it's more about me than about the person who died. I therefore usually prefer to reflect quietly. The last time I posted in this kind of thread was when Stephen Hawking died, because his life and career had a deep effect on me personally. I suppose this qualifies as well, because no football fan anywhere in the world today hasn't been affected deeply by the tales, the legends and the history of Diego Armando Maradona.

RIP.

A shame.

Don't know much about him outside of what I saw on a documentary, but he seemed like a solid dude with good intentions. A shame his life was so troubled at certain points.

Many of his experiences should be shared with pro athletes as both inspiration and cautionary tale.

You should participate more, what you said was insightful. But I know what you mean by feeling like it is more about you, we tend to frame things from our own viewpoints because that is what we know.

Besides the obvious hand ball...he looks way offsides on that play. Were there players outside of the picture keeping him on?

A gifted player indeed.

RIP

He was onside due to England's Steve Hodge kicking the the ball back towards the goal when he tried to clear it.

True legend on the pitch. RIP.

To be honest as a mad football fan, he might not have been the player everyone says he is but he defenetly is a strange character