Diego Armando Maradona Street Style El Pibe de Oro's wardrobe isn't less notworthy than his carreer

It has been said that Maradona does not play soccer, but he is soccer. His identity has extended beyond the limits of his person and his discipline, becoming something absolute. When, at the height of his glory, El Pibe de Oro went out in the field it was Diego – or D10S for many – when he went off it, he was Maradona. Naples, the 80s, cocaine, dinners with stars and mobsters and a type of popularity difficult to manage because it’s normally reserved for Saints.

Maradona did almost everything to make his own amusements proverbial. That wasn’t a pose, he was just himself: something bigger than Diego. Naples and the whole world loved him for and despite women, drugs, brazenness and that larger than life attitude that no one could imitate.  Today, on his 59th birthday, the champion has achieved a status that transcends sport and is a true icon. An icon that was unforgettable on and off the playing field, as these archival photos show.

Maradona's outfits, when you look at them years later, seem to be the very embodiment of that era and place. The essence of that atmosphere imbued with sport, of light-hearted luxury, of hedonism and of excess.  Acetate and fur suits, silk shirts and colorful t-shirts. Each of these garments, as soon as Diego wore them, became for the world the clothes of Maradona.

SPORTSWEAR

For his athletic outfits, during training or just off the soccer field, the favorite feature is comfort. The color palette is simple and decisive: blue, white, red color-blocking and colorful acetate suits. For workouts, shorts are almost ubiquitous. The looks are elevated by accessories such as sunglasses, necklaces and earrings.