Diego Maradona at 55: 10 of the Argentine Legend's Most Eccentric Moments

Diego Armando Maradona—scorer of the Goal of the Century, possessor of the Hand of God, footballing genius and total crackpot—turned 55 years old on Oct. 30.

That got us to thinking: Isn't this a good time to revisit some of Maradona's most eccentric moments?

As it turns out, any time is a great time to do so, if only because Maradona has kindly supplied us with so much material over the years. In fact, we found it hard to limit ourselves to just 10 eccentric moments. If your favorite incident doesn't appear here, feel free to add it to the comments section.

With that said, let's get started.

Who Is This Thomas Muller Fella, Anyway?

Maradona served as manager for Argentina during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, guiding the Albiceleste to consecutive wins in the group stage and round of 16 before crashing out against Germany in the quarterfinals.

The Germans won that match 4-0, with Thomas Muller scoring the opener in just the third minute. Afterward, Muller had some pointed words for Argentina's coach.

"As for Maradona, well this is special for me," Muller said, per the Independent. "I don't think that he thinks I am a ballboy anymore. I don't think he knew me back then but he does now."

That's right. Whether he was attempting a bit of gamesmanship or not, Maradona appeared to think Muller was a ballboy during the lead-up to the game.

Foul-Mouthed Rant, 2009

Warning: Video contains NSFW language.

Although Argentina performed reasonably well in the 2010 World Cup under Maradona, it was not certain the Albiceleste would qualify for the tournament in South Africa. Qualification was only assured after a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in October 2009, after which Maradona launched a foul-mouthed tirade aimed at his detractors.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Maradona said:

"

To those who did not believe in us—and ladies forgive me—they can suck my d--k and keep on sucking it. I am black or white; I'll never be grey in my life.

"

"

You lot take it up the a--e, if the ladies will pardon the expression. This is for all Argentinians except for the journalists. I would like to thank the team for giving me the privilege to lead Argentina to the World Cup. Thank you to the Argentinian people who had faith.

"

"

This is for those who did not believe in the team and treated me like dirt—but we still qualified with honour. They will now have to accept this. I want to thank the players and the fans—no one but them.

"

The rant was all the more remarkable for how calmly Maradona delivered it. See for yourself in the video.

Maniacal Celebration, 1994

Eight years after his epic, World Cup-winning performance in 1986, an aging Maradona turned out for Argentina at the 1994 tournament in pursuit of one more shot at glory.

Against Greece in the group stage, the 33-year-old scored an outstanding goal, firing an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top corner. Wheeling away in celebration, Maradona sought out a camera, into which he screamed maniacally.

The above video really doesn't do justice to the level of crazy on display. For a better look, see this Daily Mail article from 2010, in which Maradona lightheartedly recreated the moment.

Not long after the goal, Maradona was sent home from the World Cup after testing positive for five types of ephedrine, a stimulant banned by FIFA, reported by the New York Times. Five.

Player of the Century?

In 2000, FIFA organized a contest that aimed to recognize the best player of the 20th century. Following a vote by fans, Maradona was the clear winner with 53 percent of the vote, as reported by Goal.

As FIFA are FIFA, however, world football's governing body quickly organized a new poll of the "football family," which conveniently found that Pele was in fact the player of the century.

Both players received awards at a ceremony that year, but Maradona didn't stick around to watch his rival receive his award. After taking his turn on stage, Maradona left the event unceremoniously.

"In 2000 I won the Player of the Century award thanks to the people. Pele was second," he later said. "He also came second behind [Aryton] Senna as Brazil's greatest sportsman. The award that FIFA gave Pele isn't worth s--t."

More Feuding with Pele

Anonymous/Associated Press

At least until Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, Pele and Maradona were generally regarded as the two greatest players of all time. However, the two elder legends of the game have never been friendly, as the previous slide suggested.

That was far from the totality of their dispute, though. In 2009, Pele argued that Maradona should not be considered a role model because of his history with drugs (h/t Goal). Maradona fired back in his own way, questioning Pele's sexual orientation.

“What do you want me to say? He debuted with a lad,” Maradona said, per the Independent, implying Pele lost his virginity to a man.

The Hand of God

If you're a fan of the England national team, this moment is seared into your memory. The year was 1986, and England were playing Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals. The match was scoreless early in the second half when Steve Hodge mishit a clearance toward goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

Shilton stands 6'0" and had the advantage of being able to legally use his hands to reach the ball. But somehow, the 5'5" Maradona beat Shilton to the ball and knocked it into the goal.

England's players immediately protested for a handball, and for good reason. Replays showed Maradona had indeed broken the rules to score.

What's so eccentric about that? Not that much. All players try to gain an advantage in any way they can, though Maradona went further than most. The eccentric part came in the form of his comments after the match. Per the Daily Telegraph, he said:

"

[The goal was scored] a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God. Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas war, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge.

"

Later in the match, Maradona scored what was later named the Goal of the Century to round out perhaps the single most memorable day for a footballer in the history of the sport. Much like the goals and the quotes, Maradona's legend will live on forever.

The Hand of Reason

AFP/Getty Images

Maradona, of course, has shown a good sense of humor about the whole Hand of God moment. In 2000, after a typically crazy interaction with some paparazzi—he punched through a photographer's car window—he explained his actions with another classic quote.

"I did it with the hand of reason," he said, per the Daily Telegraph.

The Air Rifle

Associated Press

In 1998, Maradona received a suspended prison sentence of two years and 10 months following an incident in which he shot an air rifle at reporters (h/t BBC News).

The incident, which happened in February 1994, resulted in injuries to four people. Maradona had become angry after reporters showed up at his home in Buenos Aires. Television footage showed him firing the weapon while crouched behind a car.

If football hadn't worked out, maybe Maradona could have pursued a career in the military?

Running over a Journalist's Foot

Fernanda Corbani/Associated Press

The shooting incident wasn't Maradona's only violent brush with journalists. Or cars. Far from it. 

In 2010, while coaching Argentina, Maradona was on his way to a press conference when reporters surrounded his car. Initially unable to keep driving, Maradona reportedly ran over the foot of a journalist while making his way through the crowd, reported by the Daily Telegraph.

Maradona being Maradona, he couldn't just leave it at that. Adding a literal insult to the literal injury, he is said to have shouted: “What an assh--e you are. How can you put your leg there where it can get run over, man?”

Jinx This

Fernanda Corbani/Associated Press

In 2014, after Maradona left an Argentina match early, federation president Julio Grondona reportedly said Maradona was a jinx on his team whenever he attended matches, according to the Guardian.

Maradona, as you might imagine, didn't take too kindly to those words. In response, he flipped off the camera during a televised interview.

See the interview here (Warning: Video contains NSFW actions).