The combat sports community have come in their droves in reaction to the sad passing of Argentine football icon, Diego Maradona yesterday afternoon in his native Buenos Aires.
The enigmatic Maradona passed away yesterday afternoon at his home in Tigre, Buenos Aires at the age of sixty, after he had suffered a reported heart attack.
Regarded as one of the greatest professional footballers of all-time and the most gifted of his generation, Maradona donned the outfits of the likes of Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona, Napoli, and Sevilla over his twenty-year plus career.
A serial winner, Maradona claimed two Serie A titles and a UEFA cup with Napoli, a Copa Del Ray with FC Barcelona, as well as the 1986 FIFA World Cup with his native Argentina – scoring a whopping career total three-hundred and fifty-four goals.
In the late Maradona’s honour and memory, Italian side Napoli has considered the renaming of their stadium, Stadio San Paolo, to, San-Paolo Diego Armando Maradona. The side, which is currently managed by former A.C. Milan midfielder, Gennaro Gattuso – have previously retired the infamous number-ten jersey worn by the Argentine during his seven-year stay with the club.
Reacting to the sad news of Maradona’s passing, UFC lightweight champion, Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov labelled the World Cup victor as one of the best athletes ever, detailing how millions of people fell in love with the sport because of Maradona.
“One of the greatest athletes of all-time. Because of (Diego) Maradona, millions of people love football.“
Former two-weight world champion, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor also offered his condolences, posting to his official Instagram story, a picture of Maradona playing for his native, Argentina, with the caption, “RIP Diego”.
Ahead of his exhibition boxing comeback this weekend opposite, Roy Jones Jr. – former heavyweight world champion, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson also shared a heartfelt message following Maradona’s passing, calling the 60-year-old both a “hero” and a “friend” of his.
“The Hand of God, (Diego) Maradona has left us. In (19) 86 we both won our championships. They used to compare the two of us. He was one of my hero’s and a friend. I respected him so much. He will be greatly missed.“
Tyson’s ‘Hand of God‘ comment relates to Maradona’ infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal which he scored on route to World Cup success in 1986, as one of his brace against England. Maradona’s other effort, a mazy sixty-yard run which was voted the Goal of the Century in a 2002 FIFA vote.
ESPN MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani also shared his thoughts on the passing of Maradona, detailing how he had attended Maradona’s final World Cup match in 1994 at the USA 94′ competition.
“(Diego) Maradona was a hero in my house growing up. My brothers and I wore #10 when we played soccer because of him. We bought tickets for Argentina vs. Nigeria World Cup 94′ at Foxboro just to see him live. That ended up being his last WC (World Cup) match. What a legend. May he rest in peace.“
Renowned MMA analyst and commentator, Robin Black gave one of his infamous breakdowns, reacting to footage of a clip of Maradona dropping an Athletic Bilbao player with a flying-knee during his time with FC Barcelona in the Copa Del Ray final.