Diego Maradona (footballer born 1989)
Diego Hernán Maradona (born 06 October 1989 in Granada, Spain) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for North York Astros of the Canadian Soccer League as an attacking midfielder.
Playing career
Maradona began playing football at the youth level with Argentinos Juniors, eventually making the reserve squad. In 2007 Maradona went abroad to Canada for a trial for the newly expansion franchise Toronto FC, but he wasn't offered a contract. Right after his trial he was contacted by North York Astros head coach Rafael Carbajal and was offered a contract. Maradona's signing was announced in a press conference on May 18, 2007. He made his full Astros debut on May 20, 2007 in a match against Italia Shooters. Maradona quickly established himself a as starter and scored his first professional goal on August 1, 2007 against St. Catharines Wolves, the match resulted in 2-1 loss for the Astros. Soon after his first goal Maradona became an instant impact by scoring his first career hat-trick and including a fourth goal in a 4-2 victory over the Windsor Border Stars, the match also noted the first time he wore the captains armband. In his first season with the Astros Maradona contributed by scoring 7 goals and helping the team clinch a playoff spot. In their playoff run the Astros were eliminated by Toronto Croatia in 4-2 defeat.
Maradona re-signed with the Astros for the 2008 season, but unfortunately he failed to regain his form from the previous season and struggled throughout the early part of the season. He subsequently sent on loan to the International Division giants the Serbian White Eagles. He made his Eagles debut on September 5, 2008 as a substitute for Alex Braletic against Brampton Lions. He helped the Eagles clinch a playoff spot by finishing second in their division. During the club's playoff run Maradona aided the White Eagles by reaching the finals where they would face Trois-Rivières Attak. In the finals Maradona helped defeat the Attak through penalties by a score of 2-1. The victory gave the Serbian side their first CSL Championship and also the victory marked Maradona's first CSL Championship.
On January 22, 2009 Maradona returned to the Astros for the 2009 season. He was one of the few returning veterans to be re-signed by the newly appointed Astros head coach Ugur Cimen. Though the Astros were struggling throughout the entire season Maradona seemed to regain his superb form since his rookie year. He ended his one year goal drought with a superb free kick in a 2-1 loss to Portugal FC on June 22, 2009. Unfortunately the Astros failed to achieve their repeat of last seasons success on the field, and finished second last in the National Division. In total he appeared in 15 matches and recorded 7 goals finishing as the Astros leading goal scorer.
Personal life
Family
He is the son of Eduardo Lalo Maradona, who played professional football in Argentina, Spain, Peru, and Canada. Maradona is named after his uncle the legendary Diego Maradona and is a cousin of Canadian youthsoccer member Jorge Maradona . Diego was born in Granada, Spain at the time when his father was playing with Granada CF. After his birth in Spain, Maradona's family lived in Argentina for five years before residing in North York for the first time in 1995. He then moved back to Argentina in 2002.