Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature (1.65 metres (5 ft 5 in), which gave him a low centre of gravity allowing him to maneuver better than most other football players; he would often dribble past multiple opposing players on a run. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname "El Pibe de Oro" ("The Golden Kid"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career. He was also a troubled character, who was banned in both 1991 and 1994 for abusing drugs.