Diego Maradona Makes His Professional Debut

Genuine footballing genius was initiated today as, on this occasion in 1976, a wunderkind named Diego Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors. He was ten days away from his sixteenth birthday and, possibly to celebrate his upcoming anniversary, wore the number 16 shirt. He’s quoted as saying: "That day I felt I had held the sky in my hands.” Though sadly, he didn’t get the ball in the net and had to wait until mid-November to score his first pro goal.He stayed at the club for five years, before moving to Boca Juniors then, memorably to Barcelona, Napoli and finally back to Boca until his retirement in 1997. He also played, captained and later managed his national team, most memorably in the 1986 World Cup where he broke English hearts thanks to THAT goal, and then, four minutes later, the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup, according to FIFA.