Maradona celebrating 50th birthday

Diego Maradona, one of the greatest players to ever grace the game, is today celebrating his 50th birthday.

Nicknamed 'El Pibe de Oro' (Golden Boy), Maradona was born in Lanus on the outskirts of the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, in 1960. Growing up in difficult conditions in Villa Fiorito, the youngster quickly developed a love for the game and joined the youth ranks of AA Argentinos Juniors at the age of ten.

A senior debut followed at 15 and a first Argentina cap just a year later, but the youngster narrowly missed out on César Menotti's 1978 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, having to settle for helping Argentina win the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. "That was the most fun I had on a football pitch," he said several years later.

The master of balance and close ball control as well as a fearsome set-piece expert, Maradona was given his chance to shine on the global stage at Spain 1982, having joined CA Boca Juniors the year before. Still just 21, he scored twice against Hungary, only for Argentina to be knocked out in the second round – frustrations that were not repeated four years later.

Maradona finished Mexico 1986 with a winners' medal and widely regarded as the greatest player on the planet. His astonishing talent had spearheaded Argentina's success and he helped himself to five goals along the way, including a wonderful, shimmying, slaloming effort against England in the quarter-finals that took him past five outfield players and goalkeeper Peter Shilton before he buried from a tight angle.

The Albiceleste lost out to Germany in the showpiece at Italy 1990 and that was to prove as close as the diminutive playmaker would come to another major international honour. The best years of his club career were behind him too, Maradona having brought a golden era to SSC Napoli after signing from his first European port of call, FC Barcelona, in 1984.

With the extravagantly gifted Argentinian pulling their strings, the Partenopei won their first Serie A crown in 1986/87 and added the Coppa Italia for good measure the same season before lifting a second league title in 1989/90. Napoli also tasted success in Europe, defeating VfB Stuttgart in the 1989 UEFA Cup final.

After a brief spell at Sevilla FC, Maradona saw out his playing days back in his homeland, ending his international career with 34 goals from 91 outings in 1994 before hanging up his boots altogether in 1997. His love affair with the Albiceleste was far from over, though, and in 2008 he was appointed head coach, finishing that adventure by leading the side to the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals.