Raúl Alfredo Maradona, also known as Lalo Maradona (born 29 November 1966) is an Argentine former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a striker.

Career

Maradona played in Argentina for

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

, in Spain for

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, and in Peru for

Deportivo Municipal Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their success was won a few ye ...

; he also played in Japan and Canada and Venezuela. In 1993, he went to North America to sign with Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. In 1995, he signed with

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the foldin ...

of the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the foldin ...

. The following season his team won the regular season championship, and reached the CNSL Championship final where the club faced St. Catharines Wolves, and won the series 11–0 on aggregate. After the conclusion of the CNSL season he signed with the

Toronto Shooting Stars Toronto Shooting Stars were an indoor soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 1996-1997 season, with home games taking place at Maple Leaf Gardens. However, the ownership of the franc ...

of the National Professional Soccer League, where he appeared in 27 matches and recorded 12 goals. Following the conclusion of the indoor season Maradona returned to the CNSL and signed with

North York Talons The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, Ca ...

. In 1998 he joined Peruvian side for

, where he was greeted as a star but only played a few games. He subsequently played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League with

Toronto Olympians Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

Personal life

Maradona is the brother of fellow players

Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. ...

(1960–2020) and Hugo (1969–2021). Their father Diego Maradona (known as "Chitoro"; 1927–2015), who worked at a chemicals factory, was of

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

(Indigenous) and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

(

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

) descent, and their mother Dalma Salvadora Franco (known as "Doña Tota"; 1930–2011), was of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent.

References

Sources

El hermano malo, double edition: Lalo y Hugo Maradona
1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Lanús Argentine footballers Boca Juniors footballers Granada CF footballers Deportivo Municipal footballers Association football forwards Deportivo Laferrere footballers Deportivo Italia players Avispa Fukuoka players Toronto Italia players Toronto (Mississauga) Olympians players Canadian National Soccer League players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Toronto Shooting Stars players North York Astros players Buffalo Blizzard players American Professional Soccer League players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Argentine people of Guaraní descent Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine people of Basque descent Maradona family Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine expatriates in Japan Expatriate footballers in Japan Argentine expatriates in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Argentine expatriates in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada Argentine expatriates in Peru Expatriate footballers in Peru Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela Expatriate footballers in Venezuela {{Argentina-footy-forward-stub