Diego Maradona - Retirement and Honours

Retirement and Honours

Hounded for years by the press, Maradona once fired a compressed-air rifle at reporters who he claimed were invading his privacy. This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarizes the feelings of many:

He is someone many people want to emulate, a controversial figure, loved, hated, who stirs great upheaval, especially in Argentina... Stressing his personal life is a mistake. Maradona has no peers inside the pitch, but he has turned his life into a show, and is now living a personal ordeal that should not be imitated.

In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego ("I am The Diego"), which became an instant bestseller in his home country. Two years later, Maradona donated the Cuban royalties of his book to "the Cuban people and Fidel."

In 1999, he won FIFA Player of the Century award which was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury. Maradona won the Internet based poll by wide margins, garnering 53.6% of the votes against 18.53% for Pelé. In spite of this, and shortly before the ceremony, FIFA unexpectedly decided to add a second award and appointed a "Football Family" committee composed of football journalists that also gave to Pelé the title of best player of the century to make it a draw. Maradona also came fifth in the vote of IFFHS(International Federation of Football History and Statistics).

In 2001, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) asked FIFA for authorization to retire the jersey number 10 for Maradona. FIFA did not grant the request, even though Argentine officials have maintained that FIFA hinted that it would.

Maradona has won other fan polls, including a 2002 FIFA poll in which his second goal against England was chosen as the best goal ever scored in a World Cup; he also won the most votes in a poll to determine the All-Time Ultimate World Cup Team.

Argentinos Juniors named its stadium after Maradona on 26 December 2003.

In 2003, Maradona was employed by the Libyan footballer Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, as a "technical consultant", while Al-Saadi was playing for the Italian club, Perugia Calcio, which was in Serie A at the time.

On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to Boca Juniors as a sports vice president in charge of managing the First Division roster (after a disappointing 2004–05 season, which coincided with Boca's centenary). His contract began 1 August 2005, and one of his first recommendations proved to be very effective: he was the one who decided to hire Alfio Basile as the new coach. With Maradona fostering a close relationship with the players, Boca went on to win the 2005 Apertura title, the 2006 Clausura title, the 2005 Copa Sudamericana and the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana.

On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host of a talk-variety show on Argentine television, La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the no. 10"). His main guest on opening night was Pelé; the two had a friendly chat, showing no signs of past differences. However, the show also included a cartoon villain with a clear physical resemblance to Pelé. In subsequent evenings, he led the ratings on all occasions but one. Most guests were drawn from the worlds of football and show business, including Zidane, Ronaldo and Hernán Crespo, but also included interviews with other notable personalities such as Fidel Castro and Mike Tyson.

On 26 August 2006, it was announced that Maradona was quitting his position in the club Boca Juniors because of disagreements with the AFA, who selected Basile to be the new coach of the Argentina national football team.

The award-winning Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica made a documentary about Maradona's life, entitled Maradona.

In May 2006, Maradona agreed to take part in UK's Soccer Aid (a program to raise money for Unicef). In September 2006, Maradona, in his famous blue and white number 10, was the captain for Argentina in a three-day World Cup of Indoor Football tournament in Spain.

Also in 2006, it was claimed by IIMSAM that Diego Maradona was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador of IIMSAM the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition.

Diego Maradona was appointed by Remigio Martin Maradona of IIMSAM. Prior to joining CISRI-ISP, Mr. Remigio Martin Maradona was a Senior Institutional Advancement Specialist with WAFUNIF. In a complaint sent from Mexico to the then Secretary General of the United Nations H.E. Kofi Annan on 15 December 2003 by Ing. Federico L. Iglesias of Monterrey, Mexico;and received on 26 December 2003 by the United Nations Headquarters alleged Mr. Remigio M. Maradona to be engaged in larceny and fraud. It involved monies amounting USD 350,000 that were paid to WAFUNIF. As claimed, the total monies for the non-existent project promoted by WAFUNIF were USD 1.4 million.

On 22 March 2010, Maradona was chosen number 1 in The Greatest 10 World Cup players of all time by The Times, a London based newspaper.