'Diego Maradona' Documentary to be Directed By Oscar Nominee
Diego Maradona is one of the most fascinating athletes of all time. Not only is he well known for his incredible work on a soccer pitch, but also for his controversial behavior on and off of it.
Fans of the sport will now get an inside look on the life of the superstar thanks to the efforts of Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind "Amy" and "Senna."
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the director will be working closely with the soccer star's estate; the two subjects of his previous films, Amy Winehouse and Aryten Senna were not alive at the time of the filming.
"I was taken by his character, his genius, honesty, passion, humor and vulnerability," Kapadia said about why he decided to take on the film. "I was fascinated by his journey, wherever he went there were moments of incredible brilliance and drama, he was a leader, taking his teams to the very top, but also many lows in his career."
The film will reportedly highlight Maradona's time with Napoli where he became an icon. Maradona broke records when he moved to the Italian club, costing over $10 million and went on to play for the club between 1984-1991. He scored 115 goals in 259 matches, winning five trophies with the club including two domestic titles.
Of course Maradona's claim to fame came with his national colors as the superstar led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup single-handedly (pun-intended). That tournament highlighted Maradona's rather polarizing figure, which was crystallized in two distinct moments of the tournament that happened four minutes apart. It happened during the quarterfinal game against England. The first moment has been branded the "Hand of God," as Maradona scored a goal with his hand, pretending initially that the ball hit his head. He later admitted to the foul play, but the goal counted.
The second moment was arguably the greatest goal ever scored in the sport - Maradona dribbled up the pitch past six English players and ultimately scoring the winner.
He led Argentina to the World Cup Final four years later but wound up losing; he was injured throughout that tournament.
His international career ended in ignominy in 1994 when it was revealed that he failed to pass a test for illegal substances during the World Cup.
He also coached the Argentine national team during the 2010 World Cup, drawing ire for being unable to take the country's Golden Generation deep into the tournament.
The new documentary will be distributed domestically by Cinetic Media.
"Soccer, er....football is at long last exploding in America," said Cinetic Media founder John Sloss about taking on the project. "Cinetic is blessed to have taken the ride with Asif, James and Chris on both 'Amy' and 'Senna,' and there are no storytellers on earth better equipped to capture the complexity and brilliance of Maradona."
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