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Maradona: The Hand of God
The definitive biography of Maradona, fully updated with new material following his death in 2020.
Anyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a soccer player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on November 25th 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup.
Having gained access to his inner circle, Jimmy Burns traces Maradona's life from the slums of Buenos Aires, where he was born, through his great years of triumph, to the United States from where, in 1994, he was ignobly expelled after undergoing a positive drugs test. He also tells of his failed attempt to bring further glory to Argentina as coach in the 2010 World Cup, and ultimately, his tragic decline and recent death.
Never before published in the U.S., this biography is widely regarded as the best and most revealing account of the highs, lows, genius and flaws of arguably the greatest soccer player of all time, and was the inspiration for Asif Kapadia's award-winning 2019 film Diego Maradona .
Anyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a soccer player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on November 25th 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup.
Having gained access to his inner circle, Jimmy Burns traces Maradona's life from the slums of Buenos Aires, where he was born, through his great years of triumph, to the United States from where, in 1994, he was ignobly expelled after undergoing a positive drugs test. He also tells of his failed attempt to bring further glory to Argentina as coach in the 2010 World Cup, and ultimately, his tragic decline and recent death.
Never before published in the U.S., this biography is widely regarded as the best and most revealing account of the highs, lows, genius and flaws of arguably the greatest soccer player of all time, and was the inspiration for Asif Kapadia's award-winning 2019 film Diego Maradona .
- GenresSportsFootballNonfiction
336 pages, Paperback
Published November 16, 2021
6 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Jimmy Burns
33 books14 followersFrom the author's website:
Jimmy Burns was born in Madrid in 1953. His father the late Tom Burns met his mother Mabel Maranon while working in the British embassy in Madrid during the Second World War. Jimmy contributes Spanish language media outlets and publishes his books in Spanish translation as Jimmy Burns Maranon. His childhood was spent straddling cultures -Britain, Castille, and Catalonia. He went to school at a British school in Madrid, then a preparatory school in London before studying for his O and A-levels at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. He took a BA honours degree in Latin American & Iberian Studies at University College, London and an MA in the politics and government of Latin America at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London and The London School of Economics and Political Science. On leaving university, he spent two years teaching English to foreign students, and travelling, gaining experience as a free-lance journalist writing about Latin America and Spain. His early published work included articles for the Catholic Herald and The Tablet. During the 1970's he was commissioned by the BBC to write the script for an Everyman documentary on the Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara. He also worked as a researcher for Yorkshire TV, contributing to a critically acclaimed film presented by Robert Kee on the death of Franco and Spain's transition to democracy.
In 1977 Jimmy joined the Financial Times and was posted to Portugal as Lisbon correspondent, reporting also on Spain. He also became a regular contributor to the London Observer, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, as well as the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Nederlands. From 1980-2 he worked for the Financial Times' international desk based in London before being posted to Buenos Aires, as the newspaper's southern cone correspondent.
He arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of a military palace coup and three months before the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine armed forces sparked off a three-month war with Britain. He was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina prior to, during, and well beyond the conflict, covering the country's transition to democracy, as well as political developments in Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He continued to regularly contribute articles on Latin America to other media outlets in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In mid-1986 he returned to London to work at the Financial Times and prove himself as an author. Advised by his agent Caroline Dawnay, he agreed to be signed up by Liz Calder and Nigel Newton as one of the first authors of the most innovative independent publishing houses to emerge from the 1980's, Bloomsbury, with his book, on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes. It won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. He followed this up with Beyond the Silver River: South American encounters, based on a collection of personal diaries he kept while living and travelling in South America. In the mid 1990's he was encouraged by David Reynolds and Penny Phillips, then editors at Bloomsbury to write the first full-length biography of Diego Maradona, and subsequently a history of FC Barcelona and the Catalan people. Together with writers like Nick Hornby, Simon Kuper, and Peter Davies, he was praised by the critics for breaking new boundaries in football writing. In between, he was commissioned by John Murray, another independent publisher at the time, to compile and write Spain: A Literary Companion. In Spain, he was co-author of Dossier Diana a book on the death of Princess Diana published by El Pais/Aguilar. In 2002, he published a revised and updated version of The Land that Lost its Heroes, on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War, while his earlier books led by The Hand of God: The life of Diego Maradona, the first football book by a foreigner to be published in China, foun
Jimmy Burns was born in Madrid in 1953. His father the late Tom Burns met his mother Mabel Maranon while working in the British embassy in Madrid during the Second World War. Jimmy contributes Spanish language media outlets and publishes his books in Spanish translation as Jimmy Burns Maranon. His childhood was spent straddling cultures -Britain, Castille, and Catalonia. He went to school at a British school in Madrid, then a preparatory school in London before studying for his O and A-levels at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. He took a BA honours degree in Latin American & Iberian Studies at University College, London and an MA in the politics and government of Latin America at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London and The London School of Economics and Political Science. On leaving university, he spent two years teaching English to foreign students, and travelling, gaining experience as a free-lance journalist writing about Latin America and Spain. His early published work included articles for the Catholic Herald and The Tablet. During the 1970's he was commissioned by the BBC to write the script for an Everyman documentary on the Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara. He also worked as a researcher for Yorkshire TV, contributing to a critically acclaimed film presented by Robert Kee on the death of Franco and Spain's transition to democracy.
In 1977 Jimmy joined the Financial Times and was posted to Portugal as Lisbon correspondent, reporting also on Spain. He also became a regular contributor to the London Observer, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, as well as the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Nederlands. From 1980-2 he worked for the Financial Times' international desk based in London before being posted to Buenos Aires, as the newspaper's southern cone correspondent.
He arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of a military palace coup and three months before the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine armed forces sparked off a three-month war with Britain. He was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina prior to, during, and well beyond the conflict, covering the country's transition to democracy, as well as political developments in Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He continued to regularly contribute articles on Latin America to other media outlets in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In mid-1986 he returned to London to work at the Financial Times and prove himself as an author. Advised by his agent Caroline Dawnay, he agreed to be signed up by Liz Calder and Nigel Newton as one of the first authors of the most innovative independent publishing houses to emerge from the 1980's, Bloomsbury, with his book, on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes. It won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. He followed this up with Beyond the Silver River: South American encounters, based on a collection of personal diaries he kept while living and travelling in South America. In the mid 1990's he was encouraged by David Reynolds and Penny Phillips, then editors at Bloomsbury to write the first full-length biography of Diego Maradona, and subsequently a history of FC Barcelona and the Catalan people. Together with writers like Nick Hornby, Simon Kuper, and Peter Davies, he was praised by the critics for breaking new boundaries in football writing. In between, he was commissioned by John Murray, another independent publisher at the time, to compile and write Spain: A Literary Companion. In Spain, he was co-author of Dossier Diana a book on the death of Princess Diana published by El Pais/Aguilar. In 2002, he published a revised and updated version of The Land that Lost its Heroes, on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War, while his earlier books led by The Hand of God: The life of Diego Maradona, the first football book by a foreigner to be published in China, foun
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 23, 2025
To start, I would say if you want to learn more about Diego Armando Maradona, I’d suggest reading this over his autobiography which is frankly a self-indulgent puff piece.
While examining Maradona, Burns paints the two sides of the man with the innocent boy from the shanty town who just wants to play football and the horrid narcissistic spoiled and destructive man child. It shows as his life progresses, the boy loses to the man as Maradona is sucked into addiction and loss.
While his moments of genius are incredible, fundamentally Maradona’s life is a picture of tragedy of a man who was sucked up and spit out by the commercialization of the beautiful game. It all leads to his early and untimely death from a lifetime of drug abuse.
Beyond the football, this book is also a fascinating look at Argentine politics and how a country fails to meet its ultimate potential. A fascinating parallel with its favourite son: Diego Armando Maradona.
While examining Maradona, Burns paints the two sides of the man with the innocent boy from the shanty town who just wants to play football and the horrid narcissistic spoiled and destructive man child. It shows as his life progresses, the boy loses to the man as Maradona is sucked into addiction and loss.
While his moments of genius are incredible, fundamentally Maradona’s life is a picture of tragedy of a man who was sucked up and spit out by the commercialization of the beautiful game. It all leads to his early and untimely death from a lifetime of drug abuse.
Beyond the football, this book is also a fascinating look at Argentine politics and how a country fails to meet its ultimate potential. A fascinating parallel with its favourite son: Diego Armando Maradona.
June 14, 2025
For anyone who can read and loves football, 'The Hand of Good' by Diego Maradona is pure gold, almost World Cup 1986 gold. The book highlights the footballing genius, personal chaos and passion for partying originating from the streets of Argentina to becoming a World Cup champions and living his dreams. Maradona was far from perfect but that is what made him real and original whom everybody loved. The book does not shy away from his demons, but it never forgets the magic he brought to the pitch till spoken of today. I can highly recommend this book if you love football and perhaps never got to witness him play and wonder why he is still spoken about in awe.
September 15, 2023
What a character and what a life!
Blessed by talent and scuppered through wrong life choices.
The man still managed to win the biggest accolades in the sport he loved and be one of the most controversial sports people the world has ever seen.
Would it all be different if he had signed for Sheffield United in his early years?
Overall an interesting read and some good insight to a remarkable character
Blessed by talent and scuppered through wrong life choices.
The man still managed to win the biggest accolades in the sport he loved and be one of the most controversial sports people the world has ever seen.
Would it all be different if he had signed for Sheffield United in his early years?
Overall an interesting read and some good insight to a remarkable character
August 19, 2022
Great read, even for non fans of football. I remember watching the game in Mexico in disbelief - it was obvious to everyone watching that it was hand ball. A great insight into a deeply troubled human being.
June 8, 2025
Skvěle odvyprávěno, až je škoda, že kniha nebyla delší. Zajímavé i pro ne úplně fanouška fotbalu, berou se v potaz nejen drogy, ale i rodina, životní styl, politika i způsob, jak se do dostala do fotbalu komerce, kterou uměli dobře využít.
September 27, 2021
Easily the best researched book on Maradona! Was glued from start to end.
My review of the book below:
https://milindgawaskar.substack.com/p...
My review of the book below:
https://milindgawaskar.substack.com/p...
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January 3, 20224,75
January 3, 2024
Amazing read - Gives insight on the eccentric life of Maradona!
August 5, 2024
Well researched book about a flawed genius
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews