The many avatars of soccer God Maradona

Could disorder have an order? Is pandemonium ever beautiful? Can chaos be welcome? Yes, if it is Diego Maradona, the soccer legend. Call him a God, as he is to many lovers of the game or christen him a villain, as the British would love to term him (being responsible for their most painful soccer history).

The beauty is that he never aged. In defying the natural life cycle, he forever remained a teenager. Prone to err, he preferred to repeat display of his weaknesses. The news that he is no more has left everyone shocked, however. Because Gods' never die. Maradona became one of the greatest soccer players who became a household name after leading his country to the world cup victory in 1986. Still, he was not acceptable to his critics.

"Don't be a Diego" was the often heard refrain from the elders to the youngsters. It is not strange as fame and notoriety are often companions and prefer to sail together. One moment it is this and the next, it is the exact opposite. As is often with the movie stars and music legends, Maradona too was quick to transform his lifestyle - into the life of addiction.

Neither did he compromise with the quality of the soccer, nor did he come to terms with his wild ways. Perhaps, the only thing under his control was the football and not his life, which erratically spun from one extreme to the other starting with drugs which he cultivated as a habit from the early 80s'.

He invariably landed into the lap of the powerful and violent Giuliano clan of the Camorra (an organised crime organisation) and the latter never let him off.

In 2014, El Pibe de Oro (the Golden kid) made a confession of sorts when he admitted how much of a mess he had made his life when he said "I gave my opponents a big advantage due to my illness. Do you know the player I could have been if I hadn't taken drugs? I am 53 going on 78 because my life hasn't been normal. I've lived 80 years with the life I've gone through."

Drugs were common to Napoli and in various forms, those were available at one's doorstep. He knew that his addiction would get him caught, hence, he is said to have used clean urine samples from outside sources. The sporting world, possibly, never would come across just fake samples, but also a fake penis that any player would use, often.

One such is on display at a museum in Buenos Aires! Of course, Mike Tyson too did it to avoid being caught in the doping tests.

The irony is that the one used (he used several) by him went missing and the Argentina police launched a hunt for it too. He was busted by the Italian police in a wire sting operation in 1991.

No doubt, he was used by the Camorra which furthered its interests. His career took the natural course as a result and ended with a ban and later a suspended prison sentence too. He lived hard till the cardiac arrest on November 25. The higher they go, the harder they fall!