title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982 in his new country of residence, Spain. Argentina played Belgium in the opening game of the 1982 Cup at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Maradona did not perform to expectations, as Argentina, the defending champions, lost 1–0. Although the team convincingly beat both Hungary and El Salvador in Alicante to progress to the second round, there were internal tensions within the team, with the younger, less experienced players at odds with the older, more experienced players. With a team that also included such players as Mario Kempes, Osvaldo Ardiles, Ramón Díaz, Daniel Bertoni, Alberto Tarantini, Ubaldo Fillol, and Daniel Passarella, the Argentine side was defeated in the second round by Brazil and by eventual winners Italy. The Italian match is renowned for Maradona being aggressively man-marked by Claudio Gentile, as Italy beat Argentina at the Sarrià Stadium in Barcelona, 2–1.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona played in all five matches without being substituted, scoring twice against Hungary. He was fouled repeatedly in all five games and particularly in the last one against Brazil at the Sarrià, a game that was blighted by poor officiating and violent fouls. With Argentina already down 3–0 to Brazil, Maradona's temper eventually got the better of him and he was sent off with five minutes remaining for a serious retaliatory foul against Batista.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, winning the final in Mexico City against West Germany. Throughout the tournament, Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the competition. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scoring five goals and making five assists; three of the assists came in the opening match against South Korea at the Olímpico Universitario Stadium in Mexico City. His first goal of the tournament came against Italy in the second group game in Puebla. Argentina eliminated Uruguay in the first knockout round in Puebla, setting up a match against England at the Azteca Stadium, also in Mexico City. After scoring two contrasting goals in the 2–1 quarter-final win against England, his legend was cemented. The majesty of his second goal and the notoriety of his first led to the French newspaper "L'Équipe" describing Maradona as "half-angel, half-devil". This match was played with the background of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Replays showed that the first goal was scored by striking the ball with his hand. Maradona was coyly evasive, describing it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". It became known as the "Hand of God". Ultimately, on 22 August 2005, Maradona acknowledged on his television show that he had hit the ball with his hand purposely, and no contact with his head was made, and that he immediately knew the goal was illegitimate. This became known as an international fiasco in World Cup history. The goal stood, much to the wrath of the English players.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona's second goal, just four minutes after the hotly disputed hand-goal, was later voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup. He received the ball in his own half, swivelled around and with 11 touches ran more than half the length of the field, dribbling past five English outfield players (Peter Beardsley, Steve Hodge, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher, and Terry Fenwick) before he left goalkeeper Peter Shilton on his backside with a feint, and slotted the ball into the net. This goal was voted "Goal of the Century" in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA. A 2002 Channel 4 poll in the UK saw his performance ranked number 6 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona followed this with two more goals in a semi-final match against Belgium at the Azteca, including another virtuoso dribbling display for the second goal. In the final match, West Germany attempted to contain him by double-marking, but he nevertheless found the space past the West German player Lothar Matthäus to give the final pass to Jorge Burruchaga for the winning goal. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in front of 115,000 fans at the Azteca with Maradona lifting the World Cup as captain.


title: Diego Maradona

text: During the tournament, Maradona attempted or created more than half of Argentina's shots, attempted a tournament-best 90 dribbles – three times more than any other player – and was fouled a record 53 times, winning his team twice as many free kicks as any player. Maradona scored or assisted 10 of Argentina's 14 goals (71%), including the assist for the winning goal in the final, ensuring that he would be remembered as one of the greatest names in football history. By the end of the World Cup, Maradona went on to win the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament by unanimous vote and was widely regarded to have won the World Cup virtually single-handedly, something that he later stated he did not entirely agree with. Zinedine Zidane, watching the 1986 World Cup as a 14-year-old, stated Maradona "was on another level". In a tribute to him, Azteca Stadium authorities built a statue of him scoring the "Goal of the Century" and placed it at the entrance of the stadium.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Regarding Maradona's performance at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, in 2014, Roger Bennett of "ESPN FC" described it as "the most virtuoso performance a World Cup has ever witnessed," while Kevin Baxter of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "one of the greatest individual performances in tournament history," with Steven Goff of "The Washington Post" dubbing his performance as "one of the finest in tournament annals." In 2002, Russell Thomas of "The Guardian" described Maradona's second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals as "arguably the greatest individual goal ever." In a 2009 article for "CBC Sports", John Molinaro described the goal as "the greatest ever scored in the tournament – and, maybe, in soccer." In a 2018 article for "Sportsnet", he added: "No other player, not even Pel[é] in 1958 nor Paolo Rossi in 1982, had dominated a single competition the way Maradona did in Mexico." He also went on to say of Maradona's performance: "The brilliant Argentine artist single-handedly delivered his country its second World Cup." Regarding his two memorable goals against England in the quarter-finals, he commented: "Yes, it was Maradona’s hand, and not God’s, that was responsible for the first goal against England. But while the 'Hand of God' goal remains one of the most contentious moments in World Cup history, there can be no disputing that his second goal against England ranks as the greatest ever scored in the tournament. It transcended mere sports – his goal was pure art."


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona captained Argentina again in the 1990 World Cup in Italy to yet another World Cup final. An ankle injury affected his overall performance, and he was much less dominant than four years earlier, and the team were missing three of their best players due to injury. After losing their opening game to Cameroon at the San Siro in Milan, Argentina were almost eliminated in the first round, only qualifying in third position from their group. In the round of 16 match against Brazil in Turin, Claudio Caniggia scored the only goal after being set up by Maradona.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In the quarter-final, Argentina faced Yugoslavia in Florence; the match ended 0–0 after 120 minutes, with Argentina advancing in a penalty shootout even though Maradona's kick, a weak shot to the goalkeeper's right, was saved. The semi-final against the host nation Italy at Maradona's club stadium in Naples, the Stadio San Paolo, was also resolved on penalties after a 1–1 draw. This time, however, Maradona was successful with his effort, daringly rolling the ball into the net with an almost exact replica of his unsuccessful kick in the previous round. At the final in Rome, Argentina lost 1–0 to West Germany, the only goal being a controversial penalty scored by Andreas Brehme in the 85th minute, after Rudi Völler was adjudged to be fouled.


title: Diego Maradona

text: At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Maradona played in only two games (both at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston), scoring one goal against Greece, before being sent home after failing a drug test for ephedrine doping. After scoring Argentina's third goal against Greece, Maradona had one of the most remarkable World Cup goal celebrations as he ran towards one of the sideline cameras shouting with a distorted face and bulging eyes, in sheer elation of his return to international football. This turned out to be Maradona's last international goal for Argentina. In the second game, a 2–1 victory over Nigeria which was to be his last game for Argentina, he set up both of his team's goals on free kicks, the second an assist to Caniggia, in what were two very strong showings by the Argentine team.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In his autobiography, Maradona argued that the test result was due to his personal trainer giving him the energy drink Rip Fuel. His claim was that the U.S. version, unlike the Argentine one, contained the chemical and that, having run out of his Argentine dosage, his trainer unwittingly bought the U.S. formula. FIFA expelled him from USA '94, and Argentina were subsequently eliminated in the round of 16 by Romania in Los Angeles, having been a weaker team without Maradona, even with players like Gabriel Batistuta and Caniggia on the squad. Maradona also separately claimed that he had an agreement with FIFA, on which the organization reneged, to allow him to use the drug for weight loss before the competition in order to be able to play. His failed drug test at the 1994 World Cup signalled the end of his international career, which lasted 17 years and yielded 34 goals from 91 games, including one winner's medal and one runners-up medal in the World Cup.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Alongside official internationals, Maradona also played and scored for an Argentina XI against the World XI in 1978 to mark the first anniversary of their first World Cup win, scored for The Americas against the World in a UNICEF fundraiser a short time after the 1986 triumph, a year after that captained the 'Rest of the World' against the English Football League XI to celebrate the organisation's centenary (after reportedly securing a £100,000 appearance fee) and was on the scoresheet for the Argentina XI once more in his own 'farewell match' in 2001.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Described as a "classic number 10" in the media, Maradona was a traditional playmaker who usually played in a free role, either as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards, or as a second striker in a front–two, although he was also deployed as an offensive–minded central midfielder in a 4–4–2 formation on occasion. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname "El Pibe de Oro ("The Golden Boy"), a name that stuck with him throughout his career. He was renowned for his dribbling ability, vision, close ball control, passing, and creativity, and is considered to have been one of the most skilful players in the sport. He had a compact physique, and with his strong legs, low center of gravity, and resulting balance, he could withstand physical pressure well while running with the ball, despite his small stature, while his acceleration, quick feet, and agility, combined with his dribbling skills and close control at speed, allowed him to change direction quickly, making him difficult for opponents to defend against.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On his dribbling ability, former Dutch player Johan Cruyff saw similarities between Maradona and Lionel Messi with the ball seemingly attached to their boot. His physical strengths were illustrated by his two goals against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup. Although he was known for his penchant for undertaking individual runs with the ball, he was also a strategist and an intelligent team player, with excellent spatial awareness, as well as being highly technical with the ball. He was effective in limited spaces, and would attract defenders only to quickly dash out of the melee (as in the second goal against England in 1986), or give an assist to a free teammate. Being short, but strong, he could hold the ball long enough with a defender on his back to wait for a teammate making a run or to find a gap for a quick shot. He showed leadership qualities on the field and captained Argentina in their World Cup campaigns of 1986, 1990, and 1994. While he was primarily a creative playmaker, Maradona was also known for his finishing and goalscoring ability. Former Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi also praised Maradona for his defensive work-rate off the ball in a 2010 interview with "Il Corriere dello Sport".


title: Diego Maradona

text: The team leader on and off the field – he would speak up on a range of issues on behalf of the players – Maradona's ability as a player and his overpowering personality had a major positive effect on his team, with his 1986 World Cup teammate Jorge Valdano stating:


title: Diego Maradona

text: One of Maradona's trademark moves was dribbling full-speed on the right wing, and on reaching the opponent's goal line, delivering accurate passes to his teammates. Another trademark was the "rabona", a reverse-cross pass shot behind the leg that holds all the weight. This manoeuvre led to several assists, such as the cross for Ramón Díaz's header against Switzerland in 1980. Moreover, he was also a well–known proponent of the "roulette", a feint which involved him dragging the ball back first with one foot and then the other, while simultaneously performing a 360° turn; due to his penchant for using this move, it has even occasionally been described as the "Maradona turn" in the media. He was also a dangerous free kick and penalty kick taker, who was renowned for his ability to bend the ball from corners and direct set pieces. Regarded as one of the best dead-ball specialists of all time, his free kick technique, which often saw him raise his knee at a high angle when striking the ball, thus enabling him to lift it high over the wall, allowed him to score free kicks even from close range, within 22 to 17 yards (20 to 16 metres) from the goal, or even just outside the penalty area. His style of taking free kicks influenced several other specialists, including Gianfranco Zola, Andrea Pirlo, and Lionel Messi.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona was famous for his cunning personality. Some critics view his controversial "Hand of God" goal at the 1986 World Cup as a clever manoeuvre, with one of the opposition players, Glenn Hoddle, admitting that Maradona had disguised it by flicking his head at the same time as palming the ball. The goal itself has been viewed as an embodiment of the Buenos Aires shanty town Maradona was brought up in and its concept of "viveza criolla"—"cunning of the criollos". Although critical of the illegitimate first goal, England striker Gary Lineker conceded, "When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal. He's the greatest player of all time, by a long way. A genuine phenomenon." Maradona used his hand in the 1990 World Cup, again without punishment, and this time on his own goal line, to prevent the Soviet Union from scoring. A number of publications have referred to Maradona as the Artful Dodger, the urchin pickpocket from Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist".


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona was dominantly left-footed, often using his left foot even when the ball was positioned more suitably for a right-footed connection. His first goal against Belgium in the 1986 World Cup semi-final is a worthy indicator of such; he had run into the inside right channel to receive a pass but let the ball travel across to his left foot, requiring more technical ability. During his run past several England players in the previous round for the "Goal of the Century" he did not use his right foot once, despite spending the whole movement on the right-hand side of the pitch. In the 1990 World Cup second-round tie against Brazil, he used his right foot to set up the winning goal for Claudio Caniggia due to two Brazilian markers forcing him into a position that made use of his left foot less practical.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona is widely regarded as the best player of his generation. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time by pundits, players, and managers, and by some as the best player ever. Known as one of the most skillful players in the game, he is regarded as one of the greatest dribblers and free kick takers in history. A precocious talent in his youth, in addition to his playing ability, Maradona also drew praise from his former manager Menotti for his dedication, determination, and the work-ethic he demonstrated in order to improve the technical aspect of his game in training, despite his natural gifts, with the manager noting: "I'm always cautious about using the word 'genius'. I find it hard to apply that even to Mozart. The beauty of Diego's game has a hereditary element – his natural ease with the ball – but it also owes a lot to his ability to learn: a lot of those brushstrokes, those strokes of 'genius', are in fact a product of his hard work. Diego worked very hard to be the best." Maradona's former Napoli manager – Ottavio Bianchi – also praised his discipline in training, commenting: "Diego is different to the one that they depict. When you got him on his own he was a very good kid. It was beautiful to watch him and coach him. They all speak of the fact that he did not train, but it was not true because Diego was the last person to leave the pitch, it was necessary to send him away because otherwise he would stay for hours to invent free kicks." However, although, as Bianchi noted, Maradona was known for making "great plays" and doing "unimaginable" and "incredible things" with the ball during training sessions, and would even go through periods of rigorous exercise, he was equally known for his limited work-rate in training without the ball, and even gained a degree of infamy during his time in Italy for missing training sessions with Napoli, while he often trained independently instead of with his team.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In a 2019 documentary film on his life, "Diego Maradona", Maradona confessed that his weekly regime consisted of "playing a game on Sunday, going out until Wednesday, then hitting the gym on Thursday." Regarding his inconsistent training regimen, the film's director, Asif Kapadia, commented in 2020: "He had a metabolism. He would look so incredibly out of shape, but then he’d train like crazy and sweat it off by the time matchday came along. His body shape just didn’t look like a footballer, but then he had this ability and this balance. He had a way of being, and that idea of talking to him honestly about how a typical week transpired was pretty amazing." He also revealed that Maradona was ahead of his time in the fact that he had a personal fitness coach – Fernando Signorini – who trained him in a variety of areas, in addition to looking after his physical conditioning, adding: "While he [Maradona] was in a football team he had his own regime. How many players would do that? How many players would even know to think like that? 'I’m different to anyone else so I need to train at what I’m good at and what I’m weak at.' Signorini is very well read and very intelligent. He would literally say, 'This is the way I’m going to train you, read this book.' He would help him psychologically, talk to him about philosophy, and things like that." Moreover, Maradona was notorious for his poor diet and extreme lifestyle off the pitch, including his use of illicit drugs and alcohol abuse, which along with personal issues, his metabolism, medication that he was prescribed, and periods of inactivity due to injuries and suspensions, led to his significant weight–gain and physical decline as his career progressed; his lack of discipline and difficulties in his turbulent personal life are thought by some in the sport to have negatively impacted his performances and longevity in the later years of his playing career.


title: Diego Maradona

text: A controversial figure in the sport, while he earned critical acclaim from players, pundits, and managers over his playing style, he also drew criticism in the media for his temper and confrontational behaviour, both on and off the pitch. However, in 2005, Paolo Maldini, described Maradona both as the greatest player he ever faced, and also as the most honest, stating: "He was a model of good behaviour on the pitch – he was respectful of everyone, from the great players down to the ordinary team member. He was always getting kicked around and he never complained – not like some of today's strikers." Franco Baresi stated when he was asked who was his greatest opponent: "Maradona; when he was on form, there was almost no way of stopping him," while fellow former Italy defender Giuseppe Bergomi described Maradona as the greatest player of all time in 2018. Zlatan Ibrahimović said that his off-field antics did not matter, and that he should only be judged for the impact he made on the field. "For me Maradona is more than football. What he did as a footballer, in my opinion, he will be remembered forever. When you see number 10 who do you think about? Maradona. It is a symbol, even today there are those who choose that number for him."


title: Diego Maradona

text: In 1999, Maradona was placed second behind Pelé by "World Soccer" in the magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century". Along with Pelé, Maradona was one of the two joint winners of the "FIFA Player of the Century" award in 2000, and also placed fifth in "IFFHS' Century Elections". In a 2014 FIFA poll, Maradona was voted the second-greatest number 10 of all-time, behind only Pelé, and later that year, was ranked second in "The Guardian"s list of the 100 greatest World Cup players of all-time, ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, once again behind Pelé. In 2017, "FourFourTwo" ranked him in first place in their list of "100 greatest players", while in 2018, he was ranked in first place by the same magazine in their list of the "Greatest Football Players in World Cup History"; in March 2020, he was also ranked first by Jack Gallagher of "90min.com" in their list of "Top 50 Greatest Players of All Time". In May 2020, Sky Sports ranked Maradona as the best player never to have won the UEFA Champions League/European Cup.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Hounded for years by the press, Maradona once fired a compressed-air rifle at reporters whom he claimed were invading his privacy. This quote from former teammate Jorge Valdano summarizes the feelings of many:


title: Diego Maradona

text: In 1990, the Konex Foundation from Argentina granted him the Diamond Konex Award, one of the most prestigious culture awards in Argentina, as the most important personality in Sports in the last decade in his country.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In April 1996, Maradona had a three-round exhibition boxing match with Santos Laciar for charity. In 2000, Maradona published his autobiography "Yo Soy El Diego" ("I am "The Diego""), which became a best-seller in Argentina. Two years later, Maradona donated the Cuban royalties of his book to "the Cuban people and Fidel".


title: Diego Maradona

text: In 2000, he won FIFA Player of the Century award which was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury. Maradona won the Internet-based poll, garnering 53.6% of the votes against 18.53% for Pelé. In spite of this, and shortly before the ceremony, FIFA added a second award and appointed a "Football Family" committee composed of football journalists that also gave to Pelé the title of best player of the century to make it a draw. Maradona also came fifth in the vote of the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics). In 2001, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) asked FIFA for authorization to retire the jersey number 10 for Maradona. FIFA did not grant the request, even though Argentine officials have maintained that FIFA hinted that it would.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona has topped a number of fan polls, including a 2002 FIFA poll in which his second goal against England was chosen as the best goal ever scored in a World Cup; he also won the most votes in a poll to determine the All-Time Ultimate World Cup Team. On 22 March 2010, Maradona was chosen number 1 in 'The Greatest 10 World Cup Players of All Time' by the London-based newspaper "The Times". Argentinos Juniors named its stadium after Maradona on 26 December 2003. In 2003, Maradona was employed by the Libyan footballer Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, as a "technical consultant", while Al-Saadi was playing for the Italian club, Perugia, which was playing in Serie A at the time.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 22 June 2005, it was announced that Maradona would return to former club Boca Juniors as a sports vice-president in charge of managing the First Division roster (after a disappointing 2004–05 season, which coincided with Boca's centenary). His contract began 1 August 2005, and one of his first recommendations proved to be very effective: advising the club to hire Alfio Basile as the new coach. With Maradona fostering a close relationship with the players, Boca won the 2005 Apertura, the 2006 Clausura, the 2005 Copa Sudamericana, and the 2005 Recopa Sudamericana.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host of a talk-variety show on Argentine television, La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the no. 10"). His main guest on opening night was Pelé; the two had a friendly chat, showing no signs of past differences. However, the show also included a cartoon villain with a clear physical resemblance to Pelé. In subsequent evenings, he led the ratings on all occasions but one. Most guests were drawn from the worlds of football and show business, including Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, but also included interviews with other notable friends and personalities such as Cuban leader Fidel Castro and boxers Roberto Durán and Mike Tyson. Maradona gave each of his guests a signed Argentina jersey, which Tyson wore when he arrived in Brazil, Argentina's biggest rivals. In November 2005, however, Maradona rejected an offer to work with Argentina's national football team.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In May 2006, Maradona agreed to take part in UK's Soccer Aid (a program to raise money for UNICEF). In September 2006, Maradona, in his famous blue and white number 10, was the captain for Argentina in a three-day World Cup of Indoor Football tournament in Spain. On 26 August 2006, it was announced that Maradona was quitting his position in the club Boca Juniors because of disagreements with the AFA, who selected Alfio Basile to be the new coach of the Argentina national team. In 2008, Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica made "Maradona", a documentary about Maradona's life.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 1 September 2014, Maradona, along with many current and former footballing stars, took part in the "Match for Peace", which was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with the proceeds being donated entirely to charity. Maradona set up a goal for Roberto Baggio during the first half of the match, with a chipped through-ball over the defence with the outside of his left foot. Unusually, both Baggio and Maradona wore the number 10 shirt, despite playing on the same team. On 17 August 2015, Maradona visited Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian referee of the Argentina–England quarter-final match at the 1986 World Cup where Maradona scored his Hand of God, and paid tribute to him by giving him a signed Argentine jersey.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona began his managerial career alongside former Argentinos Juniors midfield teammate Carlos Fren. The pair led Mandiyú of Corrientes in 1994 and Racing Club in 1995, with little success. In May 2011 he became manager of Dubai club Al Wasl FC in the United Arab Emirates.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona was sacked on 10 July 2012. In August 2013, Maradona moved on to become 'spiritual coach' at Argentine club Deportivo Riestra. Maradona departed this role in 2017 to become the head coach of Fujairah, in the UAE second division, before leaving at the end of the season upon failure to secure promotion at the club. In May 2018, Maradona was announced as the new chairman of Belarusian club Dynamo Brest. He arrived in Brest and was presented by the club to start his duties in July. In September 2018, he was appointed manager of Mexican second division side Dorados. He made his debut with Dorados on 17 September with a 4–1 victory over Cafetaleros de Tapachula. On 13 June 2019, after Dorados failed to clinch promotion to the Mexican top flight, Maradona's lawyer announced that he would be stepping down from the role, citing health reasons.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 5 September 2019, Maradona was unveiled as the new head coach of Gimnasia de La Plata, signing a contract until the end of the season. After two months in charge he left the club on 19 November. However, two days later, Maradona rejoined the club as manager saying that "we finally achieved political unity in the club". Maradona insisted that Gabriel Pellegrino remain club president if he were to stay with Gimnasia de La Plata. However it was still not clear if Pellegrino, who declined to run for re-election, would stay on as club President. Originally scheduled to be held on 23 November, the election was delayed 15 days. On 15 December, Pellegrino, who was encouraged by Maradona to seek re-election, was re-elected to a three-year term. Despite having a bad record during the 2019–20 season, Gimnasia renewed Maradona's contract on 3 June 2020 for the 2020–21 season. In November 2020, Maradona died in post. His coaching staff resigned from the club following his death.


title: Diego Maradona

text: After the resignation of Argentina national team coach Alfio Basile in 2008, Maradona immediately proposed his candidacy for the vacant role. According to several press sources, his major challengers included; Diego Simeone, Carlos Bianchi, Miguel Ángel Russo, and Sergio Batista. On 29 October 2008, AFA chairman Julio Grondona confirmed that Maradona would be the head coach of the national team. On 19 November, Maradona managed Argentina for the first time when they played against Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which Argentina won 1–0.


title: Diego Maradona

text: After winning his first three matches as the coach of the national team, he oversaw a 6–1 defeat to Bolivia, equalling the team's worst ever margin of defeat. With two matches remaining in the qualification tournament for the 2010 World Cup, Argentina was in fifth place and faced the possibility of failing to qualify, but victory in the last two matches secured qualification for the finals. After Argentina's qualification, Maradona used abusive language at the live post-game press conference, telling members of the media to "suck it and keep on sucking it". FIFA responded with a two-month ban on all footballing activity, which expired on 15 January 2010, and a CHF 25,000 fine, with a warning as to his future conduct. The friendly match scheduled to take place at home to the Czech Republic on 15 December, during the period of the ban, was cancelled. The only match Argentina played during Maradona's ban was a friendly away to Catalonia, which they lost 4–2.


title: Diego Maradona

text: At the World Cup finals in June 2010, Argentina started by winning 1–0 against Nigeria, followed by a 4–1 victory over South Korea on the strength of a Gonzalo Higuaín hat-trick. In the final match of the group stage, Argentina won 2–0 against Greece to win the group and advance to a second round, meeting Mexico. After defeating Mexico 3–1, however, Argentina was routed by Germany 4–0 in the quarter-finals to go out of the competition. Argentina was ranked fifth in the tournament. After the defeat to Germany, Maradona admitted that he was reconsidering his future as Argentina's coach, stating, "I may leave tomorrow." On 15 July, the AFA said that he would be offered a new four-year deal that would keep him in charge through to the summer of 2014 when Brazil staged the World Cup. On 27 July, however, the AFA announced that its board had unanimously decided not to renew his contract, and instead awarded the job to 1978 World Cup winning captain and his 1986 teammate, Daniel Passarella. Afterwards, on 29 July, Maradona claimed that AFA president Julio Grondona and director of national teams (as well as his former Argentine national team and Sevilla coach) Carlos Bilardo had "lied to", "betrayed", and effectively sacked him from the role. He said, "They wanted me to continue, but seven of my staff should not go on, if he told me that, it meant he did not want me to keep working."


title: Diego Maradona

text: Born to a Roman Catholic family, his parents were Diego Maradona Senior and Dalma Salvadora Franco. Maradona married long-time fiancée Claudia Villafañe on 7 November 1989 in Buenos Aires, and they had two daughters, Dalma Nerea (born 2 April 1987) and Gianinna Dinorah (born 16 May 1989), by whom he became a grandfather in 2009 after she married Sergio Agüero (now divorced).


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona and Villafañe divorced in 2004. Daughter Dalma has since asserted that the divorce was the best solution for all as her parents remained on friendly terms. They travelled together to Naples for a series of homages in June 2005 and were seen together on other occasions, including the Argentina games during 2006 World Cup. During the divorce proceedings, Maradona admitted that he was the father of Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on 20 September 1986). The Italian courts had already ruled so in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests to prove or disprove his paternity. Diego Junior met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Italy where Maradona was playing. Sinagra is now a footballer playing in Italy.


title: Diego Maradona

text: After the divorce, Claudia embarked on a career as a theatre producer, and Dalma sought an acting career; she previously had expressed her desire to attend the Actors Studio West in Los Angeles.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona's relationship with his immediate family was a close one. In a 1990 interview with "Sports Illustrated" he showed phone bills where he had spent a minimum of $15,000 US per month calling his parents and siblings. Maradona's mother, Dalma, died on 19 November 2011. He was in Dubai at the time, and desperately tried to fly back in time to see her, but was too late. She was 81 years old. His father, "Don" Diego, died on 25 June 2015 at age 87.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In 2014, Maradona was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Rocío Oliva, allegations which he denied. In 2017, he gifted her a house in Bella Vista, but in December 2018 they split up. Maradona's great-nephew Hernán López is also a professional footballer.


title: Diego Maradona

text: From the mid-1980s until 2004, Maradona was addicted to cocaine. He allegedly began using the drug in Barcelona in 1983. By the time he was playing for Napoli, he had a full-blown addiction, which interfered with his ability to play football. In the midst of his drug crisis in 1991, Maradona was asked by journalists if the hit song "Mi enfermedad" (lit. "My Disease") was dedicated to him. Maradona was banned from football in both 1991 and 1994 for abusing drugs.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona had a tendency to put on weight and suffered increasingly from obesity, at one point weighing . He was obese from the end of his playing career until undergoing gastric bypass surgery in a clinic in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on 6 March 2005. His surgeon said that Maradona would follow a liquid diet for three months in order to return to his normal weight. When Maradona resumed public appearances shortly thereafter, he displayed a notably thinner figure.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 29 March 2007, Maradona was readmitted to a hospital in Buenos Aires. He was treated for hepatitis and effects of alcohol abuse and was released on 11 April, but readmitted two days later. In the following days, there were constant rumours about his health, including three false claims of his death within a month. After being transferred to a psychiatric clinic specializing in alcohol-related problems, Maradona was discharged on 7 May. On 8 May, Maradona appeared on Argentine television and stated that he had quit drinking and had not used drugs in two and a half years. During the 2018 World Cup match between Argentina and Nigeria, Maradona was shown on television cameras behaving extremely erratically, with an abundance of white residue visible on the glass in front of his seat in the stands. The smudges could have been fingerprints, and he later blamed his behaviour on consuming lots of wine. In January 2019, Maradona underwent surgery after a hernia caused internal bleeding in his stomach.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona showed sympathy to left-wing ideologies. He supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and condemned Israel's military strikes in the Gaza Strip during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, saying: "What Israel is doing to the Palestinians is shameful." He became friends with Cuban leader Fidel Castro while receiving treatment on the island, with Castro stating, "Diego is a great friend and very noble, too. There's also no question he’s a wonderful athlete and has maintained a friendship with Cuba to no material gain of his own." Maradona had a portrait of Castro tattooed on his left leg and one of Fidel's second in command, fellow Argentine Che Guevara on his right arm. In his autobiography, "El Diego", he dedicated the book to various people, including Castro. He wrote, "To Fidel Castro and, through him, all the Cuban people."


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona voiced support for Bolivia's president Evo Morales and was also a supporter of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In 2005, he came to Venezuela to meet Chávez, who received him in the presidential Miraflores Palace. After the meeting, Maradona said that he had come to meet a "great man" ("un grande", which can also mean "a big man", in Spanish), but had instead met a gigantic man ("un gigante"). He also stated, "I believe in Chávez, I am a Chavista. Everything Fidel does, everything Chávez does, for me is the best." Maradona was Chávez's guest of honour at the opening game of the 2007 Copa América held in Venezuela.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In 2004, Maradona participated in a protest against the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Maradona declared his opposition to what he identified as imperialism, particularly during the 2005 Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. There he protested George W. Bush's presence in Argentina, wearing a T-shirt labelled "" (with the "s" in "Bush" being replaced with a swastika) and referring to Bush as "human garbage". In August 2007, Maradona went further, making an appearance on Chávez's weekly television show "Aló Presidente" and saying, "I hate everything that comes from the United States. I hate it with all my strength." By December 2008, however, Maradona had adopted a more pro-U.S. attitude and expressed admiration for Bush's successor, then-President-elect Barack Obama, for whom he had great expectations.


title: Diego Maradona

text: With his poor shanty town (villa miseria) upbringing, Maradona cultivated a man-of-the-people persona. During a meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1987, they clashed on the issue of wealth disparity, with Maradona stating, "I argued with him because I was in the Vatican and I saw all these golden ceilings and afterwards I heard the Pope say the Church was worried about the welfare of poor kids. Sell your ceiling then, amigo, do something!" In September 2014, Maradona met with Pope Francis in Rome, crediting Francis for inspiring him to return to religion after many years away; he stated, "We should all imitate Pope Francis. If each one of us gives something to someone else, no one in the world would be starving."


title: Diego Maradona

text: In December 2007, Maradona presented a signed shirt with a message of support to the people of Iran: it is displayed in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' museum. In April 2013, Maradona visited the tomb of Hugo Chávez and urged Venezuelans to elect the late leader's designated successor, Nicolás Maduro, to continue the socialist leader's legacy; "Continue the struggle," Maradona said on television. Maradona attended Maduro's final campaign rally in Caracas, signing footballs and kicking them to the crowd, and presented Maduro with an Argentina jersey. Having visited Chávez's tomb with Maradona, Maduro said, "Speaking with Diego was very emotional because comandante Chávez also loved him very much." Maradona participated and danced at the electoral campaign rally during the 2018 presidential elections in Venezuela. During the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, the Mexican Football Federation fined him for violating their code of ethics and dedicating a team victory to Nicolás Maduro.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona in his 2000 autobiography "Yo Soy El Diego", linked the "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup to the Falklands War: "Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas [Falklands] War, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge." In October 2015, Maradona thanked Queen Elizabeth II and the Houses of Parliament in London for giving him the chance to provide "true justice" as head of an organization designed to help young children. In a video released on his official Facebook page, Maradona confirmed he would accept their nomination for him to become Latin American director for the non-governmental organization Football for Unity.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In March 2009, Italian officials announced that Maradona still owed the Italian government €37 million in local taxes, €23.5 million of which was accrued interest on his original debt. They reported that at that point, Maradona had paid only €42,000, two luxury watches and a set of earrings.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 2 November 2020, Maradona was admitted to a hospital in La Plata, supposedly for psychological reasons. A representative of the ex-footballer said his condition was not serious. A day later, he underwent emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural hematoma. He was released on 12 November after successful surgery and was supervised by doctors as an outpatient. On 25 November, at the age of 60, Maradona suffered cardiac arrest and died in his sleep at his home in Dique Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Maradona's coffin – draped in Argentina's national flag and three Maradona number 10 shirts (Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Argentina) – lay in state at the Presidential Palace, the Casa Rosada, with mourners filing past his coffin. On 26 November, Maradona's wake, which was attended by tens of thousands of people, was cut short by his family as his coffin was relocated from the rotunda of the Presidential Palace after fans took over an inner courtyard and also clashed with police. The same day, a private funeral service was held and Maradona was buried next to his parents at the Jardín de Bella Vista cemetery in Bella Vista, Buenos Aires.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In a statement on social media, the Argentine Football Association expressed "its deepest sorrow for the death of our legend", adding: "You will always be in our hearts." President Alberto Fernández announced three days of national mourning. UEFA and CONMEBOL announced that every match in the Champions League, Europa League, Copa Libertadores, and Copa Sudamericana would hold a moment of silence prior to kickoff. Boca Juniors' game was postponed in respect to Maradona. Subsequently, other confederations around the world followed suit, with every fixture observing a minute of silence, starting with the 2020 AFC Champions League's fixtures. In addition to the minute of silence in Serie A, an image of Maradona was projected on stadium screens in the 10th minute of play.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In Naples, the Stadio San Paolo—officially renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on 4 December 2020—was illuminated at night in honour of Maradona, with numerous fans gathering outside the stadium placing murals and paintings as a tribute. Both Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis and the mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris expressed their desire to rename their stadium after Maradona, which was unanimously approved by Naples City Council. Prior to Napoli's Europa League match against Rijeka the day after Maradona's death, all of the Napoli players wore shirts with "Maradona 10" on the back of them, before observing a minute of silence. Figures in the sport from every continent around the world also paid tribute to him. Celebrities and other sports people outside football also paid tribute to Maradona.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 27 November 2020, the Aditya School of Sports in Barasat, Kolkata, India named their cricket stadium after Maradona. Three years earlier Maradona had conducted a workshop with 100 kids in the stadium and played a charity match at the same venue with former Indian cricket captain, Sourav Ganguly. The AFA announced that the 2020 Copa de la Liga Profesional, which is the debut season of Copa de la Liga Profesional, would be renamed "Copa Diego Armando Maradona". On 28 November, Pakistan Football Federation's main cup PFF National Challenge Cup honoured Maradona along with Wali Mohammad. In a rugby union test match between Argentina and New Zealand on 28 November, as the New Zealand team lined up to perform the haka their captain Sam Cane presented a black jersey with Maradona's name and his number 10. On 29 November, compatriot Lionel Messi scored in Barcelona's 4–0 home win over Osasuna in La Liga, dedicating his goal to Maradona by revealing a Newell's Old Boys shirt worn by the latter under his own, and subsequently pointing to the sky.


title: Diego Maradona

text: On 30 November, after Boca Juniors opened the scoring against Newell's Old Boys at La Bombonera, the club's players paid an emotional tribute by laying a Maradona jersey in front of his private suite where his daughter Dalma was present.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In May 2021, seven medical professionals were charged with homicide over Maradona's death, in violation of their duties, and could face between 8 and 25 years in prison if convicted. On 25 June, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov was summoned by the Prosecution Office of San Isidro and faced a formal questioning, where she agreed to answer more than 100 queries regarding the medical treatment given to Maradona in that medical field. After seven hours of questioning, Cosachov's lawyer Vadim Mischanchuk addressed the press and denied that Cosachov's prescription medication could have worsened Maradona's heart condition, and Cosachov further denied any responsibility in the death. On 28 June, multiple arrest warrants were requested by a plaintiff lawyer against Cosachov, personal doctor Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Díaz, and doctor Nancy Forlini in direct connection with Maradona's alleged negligent death. On 1 July, the prosecutors in the case refused to ask a judge to issue arrest warrants against all the aforementioned professionals, on the basis that they considered the request had been a media stunt ("incursión mediática") for the case, coinciding with personal doctor Luque's interrogation.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In June 2022, a judge ruled that eight medical personnel should face trial for criminal negligence and homicide in regards to Maradona's death.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In Argentina, Maradona is considered an icon. Concerning the idolatry that exists in his country, former teammate Jorge Valdano said, "At the time that Maradona retired from active football, he left Argentina traumatized. Maradona was more than just a great footballer. He was a special compensation factor for a country that in a few years lived through several military dictatorships and social frustrations of all kinds." Valdano added that "Maradona offered to Argentines a way out of their collective frustration, and that's why people there love him as a divine figure." In leading his nation to the 1986 World Cup, and in particular his performance and two goals in the quarter-final against England, Guillem Balagué writes: "That Sunday in Mexico City, the world saw one man single-handedly – in more than one sense of the phrase – lift the mood of a depressed and downtrodden nation into the stratosphere. With two goals in the space of four minutes, he allowed them to dare to dream that they, like him, could be the best in the world. He did it first by nefarious and then spellbindingly brilliant means. In those moments, he went from star player to legend."


title: Diego Maradona

text: Since 1986, it has been common for Argentines abroad to hear Maradona's name as a token of recognition, even in remote places. The Tartan Army sing a version of the Hokey Cokey in honour of the Hand of God goal against England. In Argentina, Maradona is often talked about in terms reserved for legends. In the Argentine film "El hijo de la novia" ("Son of the Bride"), somebody who impersonates a Catholic priest says to a bar patron, "They idolized him and then crucified him." When a friend scolds him for taking the prank too far, the fake priest retorts, "But I was talking about Maradona." He is the subject of the film "El camino de San Diego", though he himself only appears in archive footage.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona was included in many cameos in the Argentine comic book "El Cazador de Aventuras". After the closing of it, the authors started a new short-lived comic book titled "El Die", using Maradona as the main character. Maradona has had several online Flash games that are entirely dedicated to his legacy. In Rosario, Argentina, locals organized the parody religion of the "Church of Maradona". The organization reformulates many elements from Christian tradition, such as Christmas or prayers, reflecting instead details from Maradona. It had 200 founding members, and tens of thousands more have become members via the church's official web site.


title: Diego Maradona

text: Many Argentine artists performed songs in tribute to Diego, such as "La Mano de Dios" by El Potro Rodrigo, "Maradona" by Andrés Calamaro, "Para siempre Diego" (Diego Forever) by Los Ratones Paranoicos, "Francotirador" (Sniper) by Attaque 77, "Maradona Blues" by Charly García, "Santa Maradona" (Saint Maradona) by Mano Negra, and "La Vida Tómbola" by Manu Chao, among others. There are also other films, such as: "Maradona, La Mano de Dios" (Maradona, the Hand of God), "Amando a Maradona" (Loving Maradona), and "Maradona by Kusturica".


title: Diego Maradona

text: By 1982, Maradona had become one of the biggest sports stars in the world and had endorsements with many companies, including Puma and Coca-Cola, earning him an additional $1.5 million per year on top of his club salary. In 1982, he featured in a World Cup commercial for Coca-Cola, and a Japanese commercial for Puma. In 1984 he earned $7m a year at Napoli, and sponsorships included $5m from Hitachi. In 1984, a poll from IMG named Maradona the best known person in the world. In 2010 he appeared in a commercial for French fashion house Louis Vuitton, indulging in a game of table football with fellow World Cup winners Pelé and Zinedine Zidane. Maradona featured in the music video to the 2010 World Cup song "Waka Waka" by Shakira, with footage shown of him celebrating Argentina winning the 1986 World Cup.


title: Diego Maradona

text: A 2006 television commercial for Brazilian soft drink Guaraná Antarctica portrayed Maradona as a member of the Brazil national team, including wearing the yellow jersey and singing the Brazilian national anthem with Brazilian players Ronaldo and Kaká. Later on in the commercial he wakes up realizing it was a nightmare after having too much of the drink. This generated some controversy in the Argentine media after its release (although the commercial was not supposed to air for the Argentine market, fans could see it online). Maradona replied that he had no problem wearing the Brazilian national squad jersey despite Argentina and Brazil's tense football rivalry, but that he would refuse to wear the shirt of River Plate, Boca Juniors' traditional rival. There is a documented phenomenon of Brazilians being named in honour of Maradona, an example being footballer Diego Costa.


title: Diego Maradona

text: In 2017, Maradona featured as a legendary player in the football video games "FIFA 18" and "Pro Evolution Soccer 2018". In 2019, a documentary film titled "Diego Maradona" was released by Academy Award and BAFTA Award winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia, director of "Amy" (on singer Amy Winehouse) and "Senna" (on motor racing driver Ayrton Senna). Kapadia stated that "


title: Diego Maradona

text: ...Maradona is the third part of a trilogy about child geniuses and fame." He added, "...I was fascinated by his journey, wherever he went there were moments of incredible brilliance and drama. He was a leader, taking his teams to the very top, but also many lows in his career. He was always the little guy fighting against the system... and he was willing to do anything, to use all of his cunning and intelligence to win."


title: Diego Maradona

text: Maradona made 694 appearances and scored 354 goals for club and country combined, with a goalscoring average of 354/694 round 2.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The Umbrella Academy is an American superhero television series based on the comic book series of the same name written by Gerard Way, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, and published by Dark Horse Comics. Created for Netflix by Steve Blackman and developed by Jeremy Slater, it revolves around a dysfunctional family of adopted sibling superheroes who reunite to solve the mystery of their father's death and the threat of an imminent apocalypse. The series is produced by Borderline Entertainment (season 1–2), Irish Cowboy (season 3), Dark Horse Entertainment, and Universal Content Productions. Netflix gave seasons 1 & 2 a TV-14 rating while season 3 received a TV-MA rating.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The cast features Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, Mary J. Blige, John Magaro, Adam Godley, Colm Feore, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, Yusuf Gatewood, Marin Ireland, Kate Walsh, Genesis Rodriguez, and Britne Oldford. The adaptation began development as a film optioned by Universal Pictures in 2011. It was eventually shelved in favor of a television series in 2015, before being officially greenlit by Netflix in July 2017. The series is filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, both of which are located in Ontario.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The first season was released on Netflix on February 15, 2019. In April 2019, Netflix reported that 45 million households had watched season one during its first month of release, thus becoming one of the most-streamed series of the year. That same month, following the success of the first season, the series was renewed for a second season, which was released on July 31, 2020. In November 2020, the series was renewed for a third season, which was released on June 22, 2022. In August 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: All three seasons received positive reviews from critics, and the series has received a number of accolades, including six Emmy nominations.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: "The Umbrella Academy" is set in a universe where 43 women around the world give birth simultaneously at noon on October 1, 1989, although none had shown any sign of pregnancy until labor began. Seven of the children are adopted by eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves and turned into a superhero team that he calls "The Umbrella Academy." Hargreeves gives the children numbers rather than names, but their robot-mother, Grace, later names six of them: Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Ben, and Vanya. Reginald puts six of the children to work fighting crime but keeps Vanya apart from her siblings' activities, claiming she demonstrates no powers of her own.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The first season is set in the present day, where Luther is part ape and has lived on the Moon for four years, Allison is a famous actress, Vanya is a violinist, Klaus has a drug addiction, Five disappeared sixteen years earlier, Ben, now deceased, is a ghost able to converse only with Klaus, and Diego has become a vigilante. The estranged siblings learn that Reginald has died and gather for his funeral. Five returns from the future, revealing that a global apocalypse is imminent, but is chased by time-travelling Commission operatives Hazel and Cha-Cha. The reunited siblings try to uncover the secrets behind Reginald Hargreeves' life and their dysfunctional relationships are strained. They band together to try to prevent the impending apocalypse.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The second season sees the siblings scattered in Dallas at different times in the early 1960s (as a result of the events of the first season), establishing lives for themselves. Five arrives there on November 25, 1963, minutes before a nuclear doomsday that is linked to JFK not being assassinated, but with the help of Hazel manages to travel back ten days. Five is hunted by a trio of Swedish assassins but finds his siblings, who have all made new lives, and attempts to reunite them in order to stop this new apocalypse.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: In the third season the siblings realize their actions in the past created a new timeline and returning to 2019 is vastly different where they have been replaced by another Hargreeves superhero group adopted by Reginald, dubbed "The Sparrow Academy". They also have to find a way to stop a kugelblitz from consuming and destroying the universe created as a result of the grandfather paradox the siblings caused through their time-travel.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: A film version of the comic book series "The Umbrella Academy" was optioned by Universal Studios. Originally, screenwriter Mark Bomback was hired to write the screenplay; Rawson Marshall Thurber reportedly replaced him in 2010. There had been little talk of the film from that time. In an interview with Newsarama at the 2012 New York Comic Con, Way mentioned that there have been "good talks" and a "really good script", but that it was "kind of up to the universe".


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: On July 7, 2015, it was announced that "The Umbrella Academy" would be developed into a television series produced by Universal Cable Productions, rather than an original film. On July 11, 2017, it was officially announced that Netflix had greenlit a live-action series adaptation of "The Umbrella Academy" with Way and Bá acting as executive producers, to premier in 2019. Jeremy Slater wrote the script for the pilot episode, and Steve Blackman serves as showrunner. The first season of "The Umbrella Academy" was released on Netflix on February 15, 2019.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: On April 2, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season, which was released on July 31, 2020. It was also confirmed that the second season would consist of ten episodes, like the first season. The season release date remained unknown until May 18, 2020, when a teaser trailer concept was released where the main cast danced to "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany. Steve Blackman confirmed to "The Hollywood Reporter" that he wanted to stay close to the content of the comics. On June 26 it was revealed that the series would be taking place at the 1960s in Dallas, due to the time travel from the end of the previous season.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: On November 10, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a third season, which was released on June 22, 2022. While the series initially had a "TV-14" rating for its first two seasons, the maturity rating was increased to "TV-MA" for its third season, mainly due to an increase in profanity.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: In June 2022, Blackman revealed that, should the series get renewed for a fourth season, it would most likely serve as the end to the series. Although he did not rule out the possibility of Netflix pursuing further installments. In August 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a fourth and final season, with Jesse McKeown serving as co-showrunner with Blackman.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: In June 2022, it was revealed, according to series creator Steve Blackman, that the Season 3 scripts were complete when Elliot Page called him to share the news of his transition, with Blackman feeling it was "very important" that he and Page collaborate on incorporating Viktor's transition into the existing scripts. This led to Thomas Page McBee, who previously worked with Page on 2019's "Tales of the City", being brought onboard to ensure that the storyline where Viktor comes out as trans was handled with care and respect.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: On November 9, 2017, Netflix confirmed that Elliot Page had joined the cast and that he would play Vanya Hargreeves (now Viktor Hargreeves), also known as the White Violin. On November 30, 2017, it was revealed that Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan and Aidan Gallagher had joined the cast as the rest of the Hargreeves siblings. On February 12, 2018, Netflix announced that Academy Award nominee Mary J. Blige would appear in the series as the sadistic time-travel assassin Cha-Cha. Colm Feore joined the cast as Sir Reginald Hargreeves, the adoptive father of the siblings, on February 16, 2018, alongside Cameron Britton, Adam Godley and Ashley Madekwe. On February 28, 2018, it was announced that John Magaro has been cast as a series regular character.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: In January 2020, Justin H. Min and Kate Walsh were promoted to series regulars for the second season, following their recurring roles in the first season. On September 10, 2019, Netflix announced that three additional actors — Ritu Arya, Marin Ireland and Yusuf Gatewood — would join the cast. On October 17, 2019, John Kapelos announced that he would be joining the recurring cast as Jack Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald. On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Justin Cornwell, Britne Oldford, Genesis Rodriguez, Cazzie David, and Jake Epstein joined the cast as part of the Sparrow Academy for the third season. In January 2022, Javon Walton revealed in an interview he joined the cast in an undisclosed role for the third season.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: Principal photography for the first season began on January 15, 2018, in Toronto. Gerard Way's Instagram account shared an illustration by Fabio Moon of the cast and crew doing the first table read of the script in Toronto. Way also revealed a picture of the first day on the set. Additional filming took place in Hamilton, Ontario.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The theatre scene of Vanya performing was filmed at the Elgin Theatre and the Winter Garden Theatre. Mazzoleni Concert Hall was used to represent the theatre's exterior. The exterior of the mansion was filmed at a building in Hamilton, while the interiors were filmed in studio. The Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre was filmed for an outside scene and LIUNA Station was used for a bank robbery scene. A laboratory at the University of Toronto was filmed to represent the Meritech Prosthetics building. The filming concluded on July 18, 2018.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: Filming for the second season began on June 16, 2019. Like the previous season, it was filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, despite the series taking place in Dallas, Texas. Exterior shots, including scenes in Dealey Plaza, were taken in Dallas. Filming concluded on November 23, 2019.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: Visual effects for the series are handled by SpinVFX, Weta Digital, Folks VFX, Soho VFX, Pixomondo, Deluxe VFX, Digital Film Tree, BOT VFX, Studio 8, Exceptional Minds and MARZ.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: VFX supervisor Everet Burrell confirmed that he used traditional art techniques for early concept art and referenced great actors with iconic faces. Burrell called Weta Digital, who previously worked for the rebooted "Planet of the Apes" series, to develop the visual effects for the character of Pogo. Ken Hall provided the motion capture for Pogo using a gray suit to later make additions to his captures to create the CGI of the chimpanzee, with Adam Godley making the facial expressions and voice acting of the character.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: SpinVFX confirmed that they delivered at least 563 shots for the series. To make the effects of the show, the team required a series of complex effect simulations, creature development, and massive destructions.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: For the effects of Number Five jumping through time and space, Burrell wanted to make the effects look organic, and liquidy, representing how much time and the world bends around him when he jumps, and how quick it should be. For these effects, he used more than 30 frames in the first episodes, however with the progress of the series, this reduced to only 10 frames. To that footage, the team iterated on several kinds of spatial jump effects, all the way from heavy distortion to subtler images. The visual effects team started with some R&D tests. At the end, the final effect, called the "jelly vision", was used to make the series, with Burrell expressing: "as if you're pushing your hand through a jelly membrane, just for a few seconds, and then it pops. It's really, really subtle, but you get a little bit of texture, you get a little bit of striations, almost like the universe is bending as he does his spatial jumps."


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: In an interview with Burrell he confirmed that to develop the sequences where time is frozen, they took several background shots on location before returning to their stage to shoot the dialogue between Five and The Handler in front of a green screen. They called this effect "Three-Strip" in honor of the Technicolor process used in the 1930s.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The second season used 400 shots from the Folks VFX Montreal team under the guidance of VFX supervisor Laurent Spillemaecker to create time portal effects seen throughout the season, particularly Five's special ability. Meanwhile, Spillemaecker's crew recreated events surrounding JFK's fateful Dallas visit, while including The Umbrella Academy's superpower interactions. Pictures and references from the 1960s were provided to create and later to be used as digital matte paintings and CG environments, to transform Canada into the show's setting, 1960s Dallas.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The opening scene of the second season, where the siblings fight the Soviets on a Dallas street, was the most complicated to do, being nearly completely CGI. It was realised on a 360 degree bluescreen backlot set which was 15 feet tall and 200 feet by 60 feet. The only real things that were not made of CGI, were the tank, soldiers, cast and the rubble on the ground. The set was LiDAR scanned so that the director, Sylvian White could walk around using a VR edition of the iPad. They used a Phantom running at 700 frames per second on a camera stick. The scene was also divided in seven parts, beginning with Number Five's arrival at 1963, and concluding before Diego's first lines. For safety reasons the crew could not fire the AK-47s at Diego so they were forced to do multiple passes.


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: The show's score albums were released for seasons 1 and 2. Jeff Russo was hired to compose the show's score. During an interview he revealed that the he "needed to use a subtle hand with the score" and that they "wanted the score to be thematic, by not trying to push too much on the weird and too much on the horrific aspect of the show and the story".


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: On April 16, 2019, Netflix announced that the series had been streamed by over 45 million viewers on its service within its first month of release, with people at least having watched 70% percent of one episode of the series. It was the third most popular TV series on Netflix in 2019. On September 3, 2020, Netflix revealed the show broke numerous records in viewerships, following the second season debut. During the second season first week, the show was the most watched television series show on Netflix, being atop of the Nielsen ratings and thus confirming that 3 billion minutes of the show's two seasons were viewed. On October 21, 2020, Netflix published the Nielsen ratings and revealed that the show's second season was streamed by over 43 million viewers in its first 28 days. It made it the 6th most watched show of that year, falling behind shows like "The Queen's Gambit" and "Ratched".


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 93 critic reviews are positive for the first season, with an average rating of 7.2/10. Critics' consensus on the website reads, ""The Umbrella Academy" unfurls an imaginative yarn with furtive emotion and an exceptionally compelling ensemble, but the series' dour sensibility often clashes with its splashy genre trappings." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 61 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes identified 91% of 89 reviews as positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critics consensus states, "Proof that time can heal almost all wounds, "The Umbrella Academy" exhilarating second season lightens its tonal load without losing its emotional core, giving the super siblings room to grow while doubling down on the time traveling fun." The season garnered a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 from 12 critics on Metacritic, signifying "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Umbrella Academy (TV series)

text: For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.6/10, based on 46 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, ""The Umbrella Academy" unfurls a bit beyond a manageable scope in this overstuffed season, but there remains all the gonzo creativity and resonant character relationships that fans enroll for." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, including an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, three Emmy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, two Directors Guild of America Awards, an AFI Life Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Scorsese received an MA from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 1968. His directorial debut, "Who's That Knocking at My Door" (1967), was accepted into the Chicago Film Festival. In the 1970s and 1980s decades, Scorsese's films, much influenced by his Italian-American background and upbringing in New York City, center on macho-posturing insecure men and explore crime, machismo, nihilism, and Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption. His trademark styles include extensive use of slow motion and freeze frames, graphic depictions of extreme violence, and liberal use of profanity.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: His 1973 crime film "Mean Streets", dealing with machismo and violence, and exploring Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, was a blueprint for his filmmaking styles. Scorsese won the Palme d'Or at Cannes with his 1976 psychological thriller "Taxi Driver", which starred Robert De Niro, who became associated with Scorsese through eight more films including "New York, New York" (1977), "Raging Bull" (1980) "The King of Comedy" (1982), "Goodfellas" (1990), and "Casino" (1995). In the 2000s and 2010s decades, Scorsese garnered critical acclaim and box office success with a series of collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio. These films include "Gangs of New York" (2002), "The Aviator" (2004), "The Departed" (2006), "Shutter Island" (2010) and "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013). Returning to his familiar territory of crime films, Scorsese collaborated with De Niro again on "The Irishman" (2019). Scorsese's other film work includes the black comedy "After Hours" (1985), the romantic drama "The Age of Innocence" (1993), the children's adventure drama "Hugo" (2011), and the religious epics "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), "Kundun" (1997) and "Silence" (2016).


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In addition to film, Scorsese has directed episodes for some television series including the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" (2011–2015), and "Vinyl" (2016), as well as the HBO documentary "Public Speaking" (2010), and the Netflix docu-series "Pretend It's a City" (2021). He is also known for several rock music documentaries including "The Last Waltz" (1978), "No Direction Home" (2005), "Shine a Light" (2008), and "" (2011). An advocate for film preservation and restoration, he founded three nonprofit organizations: the Film Foundation in 1990, the World Cinema Foundation in 2007, and the African Film Heritage Project in 2017.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Martin Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942, in the Flushing area of New York City's Queens borough. His family moved to Little Italy in Manhattan before he started school. Both of Scorsese's parents, Charles Scorsese and Catherine Scorsese (born Cappa), worked in New York's Garment District. Charles was a clothes presser and an actor while Catherine was a seamstress and an actress. Both of them were of Italian descent: his paternal grandparents, Francesco Paolo and Teresa Scozzese, emigrated from Polizzi Generosa, while his maternal grandparents, Martino and Domenica Cappa, emigrated from Ciminna, both in the province of Palermo, Sicily. The original surname of the family was "Scozzese", later changed to Scorsese because of a transcription error. Scorsese was raised in a predominantly Catholic environment.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: As a boy, he had asthma and could not play sports or take part in any activities with other children, so his parents and his older brother would often take him to movie theaters; it was at this stage in his life that he developed a passion for cinema. As a teenager in the Bronx, Scorsese frequently rented Powell and Pressburger's "The Tales of Hoffmann" (1951) from a store that had one copy of the reel. Scorsese was one of only two people who regularly rented it; the other was future film director George A. Romero.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Scorsese has cited Sabu and Victor Mature as his favorite actors during his youth. He has also spoken of the influence of the 1947–48 Powell and Pressburger films "Black Narcissus" and "The Red Shoes", whose innovative techniques later impacted his filmmaking. In his documentary titled "A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies", Scorsese said that he was enamored of historical epics in his adolescence, and at least two films of the genre, "Land of the Pharaohs" and "El Cid", appear to have had a deep and lasting impact on his cinematic psyche. Scorsese also developed an admiration for neorealist cinema at this time. He recounted its influence in a documentary on Italian neorealism, and commented on how "Bicycle Thieves", "Rome, Open City" and especially "Paisà" inspired him and influenced his view or portrayal of his Sicilian roots. In his documentary, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" ("My Voyage to Italy"), Scorsese noted that the Sicilian episode of Roberto Rossellini's "Paisà", which he first saw on television with his relatives who were themselves Sicilian immigrants, had a significant impact on his life. He acknowledges owing a great debt to the French New Wave and has stated that "the French New Wave has influenced all filmmakers who have worked since, whether they saw the films or not." He has also cited filmmakers including Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Federico Fellini as major influences on his career.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: He attended the all-boys Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, graduating in 1960. He had initially desired to become a priest, attending a preparatory seminary but failed after the first year. This gave way to cinema and consequently Scorsese enrolled in NYU's Washington Square College (now known as the College of Arts and Science), where he earned a B.A. in English in 1964. He went on to earn his MA from New York University's School of Education (now the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development) in 1968, a year after the school was founded.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: While attending the Tisch School of the Arts, Scorsese made the short films "What's a Nice Girl like You Doing in a Place like This?" (1963) and "It's Not Just You, Murray!" (1964). His most famous short of the period is the darkly comic "The Big Shave" (1967), which features Peter Bernuth. The film is an indictment of America's involvement in Vietnam, suggested by its alternative title "Viet '67". Scorsese has mentioned on several occasions that he was greatly inspired in his early days at New York University by film professor Haig P. Manoogian.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In 1967, Scorsese made his first feature-length film, the black and white "I Call First", which was later retitled "Who's That Knocking at My Door", with his fellow students actor Harvey Keitel and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, both of whom were to become long-term collaborators. This film was intended to be the first of Scorsese's semi-autobiographical J. R. Trilogy, which would have included a later film, "Mean Streets". Film critic Roger Ebert saw the film at the 1967 Chicago International Film Festival and in his review praised Scorsese and the film, writing, "'I Call First' brings these two kinds of films together into a work that is absolutely genuine, artistically satisfying and technically comparable to the best films being made anywhere. I have no reservations in describing it as a great moment in American movies."


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Scorsese became friends with the influential "movie brats" of the 1970s: Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. It was De Palma who introduced Scorsese to Robert De Niro. During this period, Scorsese worked as the assistant director and one of the editors on the documentary "Woodstock" (1970) and met actor–director John Cassavetes, who became a close friend and mentor. In 1972, Scorsese made the Depression-era exploiter "Boxcar Bertha" for B-movie producer Roger Corman, who also helped directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, and John Sayles launch their careers. It was Corman who taught Scorsese that entertaining films could be shot with very little money or time, preparing the young director well for the challenges to come with "Mean Streets". Following the film's release, Cassavetes encouraged Scorsese to make the films that he wanted to make, rather than someone else's projects.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Championed by influential film critic Pauline Kael, "Mean Streets" was a breakthrough for Scorsese, De Niro, and Keitel. By now the signature Scorsese style was in place: macho posturing, bloody violence, Catholic guilt and redemption, gritty New York locale (though the majority of "Mean Streets" was shot in Los Angeles), rapid-fire editing and a soundtrack with contemporary music. Although the film was innovative, its wired atmosphere, edgy documentary style, and gritty street-level direction owed a debt to directors Cassavetes, Samuel Fuller and early Jean-Luc Godard. In 1974, actress Ellen Burstyn chose Scorsese to direct her in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Although well regarded, the film remains an anomaly in the director's early career as it focuses on a central female character. Returning to Little Italy to explore his ethnic roots, Scorsese next came up with "Italianamerican", a documentary featuring his parents Charles and Catherine Scorsese.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Scorsese followed with "Taxi Driver" in 1976, which depicted a Vietnam veteran who takes the law into his own hands on New York's crime-ridden streets. The film established him as an accomplished filmmaker and also brought attention to cinematographer Michael Chapman, whose style tends towards high contrasts, strong colors, and complex camera movements. The film starred Robert De Niro as the angry and alienated Travis Bickle, and co-starred Jodie Foster in a highly controversial role as an underage prostitute, with Harvey Keitel as her pimp. "Taxi Driver" also marked the start of a series of collaborations between Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader, whose influences included the diary of would-be assassin Arthur Bremer and "Pickpocket", a film by the French director Robert Bresson. Writer–director Schrader often returns to Bresson's work in films such as "American Gigolo", "Light Sleeper", and Scorsese's later "Bringing Out the Dead". Already controversial upon its release, "Taxi Driver" hit the headlines again five years later, when John Hinckley Jr. made an assassination attempt on then-president Ronald Reagan. He subsequently blamed his act on his obsession with Jodie Foster's "Taxi Driver" character (in the film, De Niro's character, Travis Bickle, makes an assassination attempt on a senator).


title: Martin Scorsese

text: "Taxi Driver" won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, also receiving four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The critical and financial success of "Taxi Driver" encouraged Scorsese to move ahead with his first big-budget project: the highly stylized musical "New York, New York". This tribute to Scorsese's home town and the classic Hollywood musical was a box-office failure. The film was the director's third collaboration with Robert De Niro, co-starring with Liza Minnelli. The film is best remembered today for the title theme song, which was popularized by Frank Sinatra. Although possessing Scorsese's usual visual panache and stylistic bravura, many critics felt its enclosed studio-bound atmosphere left it leaden in comparison with his earlier work. Despite its weak reception, the film is regarded positively by some critics. Richard Brody in "The New Yorker" wrote:


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In 1977 he directed the Broadway musical "The Act", starring Liza Minnelli. The disappointing reception that "New York, New York" received drove Scorsese into depression. By this stage the director had developed a serious cocaine addiction. However, he did find the creative drive to make the highly regarded "The Last Waltz", documenting the final concert by The Band. It was held at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, and featured one of the most extensive lineups of prominent guest performers at a single concert, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Paul Butterfield, Neil Diamond, Ronnie Wood, and Eric Clapton. However, Scorsese's commitments to other projects delayed the release of the film until 1978. Another Scorsese-directed documentary, titled "", also appeared in 1978, focusing on Steven Prince, the cocky gun salesman who appeared in "Taxi Driver". A period of wild partying followed, damaging the director's already fragile health. Scorsese helped provide footage for the documentary "Elvis on Tour".


title: Martin Scorsese

text: By several accounts (Scorsese's included), Robert De Niro saved Scorsese's life when he persuaded him to kick his cocaine addiction to make his highly regarded film "Raging Bull". Writing for "The New Yorker" in March 2000, Mark Singer summarized Scorsese's condition stating: He (Scorsese) was more than mildly depressed. Drug abuse, and abuse of his body in general, culminated in a terrifying episode of internal bleeding. Robert De Niro came to see him in the hospital and asked, in so many words, whether he wanted to live or die. If you want to live, De Niro proposed, let's make this picture—referring to "Raging Bull", an as-told-to book by Jake La Motta, the former world middleweight boxing champion, that De Niro had given him to read years earlier. Convinced that he would never make another movie, he poured his energies into making this violent biopic of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta, calling it a kamikaze method of film-making. The film is widely viewed as a masterpiece and was voted the greatest film of the 1980s by Britain's "Sight & Sound" magazine. It received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Robert De Niro and Scorsese's first for Best Director. De Niro won, as did Thelma Schoonmaker for editing, but Best Director went to Robert Redford for "Ordinary People". From this work onwards, Scorsese's films are always labeled as "A Martin Scorsese Picture" on promotional material. "Raging Bull", filmed in high contrast black and white, is where Scorsese's style reached its zenith: "Taxi Driver" and "New York, New York" had used elements of expressionism to replicate psychological points of view, but here the style was taken to new extremes, employing extensive slow-motion, complex tracking shots, and extravagant distortion of perspective (for example, the size of boxing rings would change from fight to fight). Thematically too, the concerns carried on from "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver": insecure males, violence, guilt, and redemption.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Although the screenplay for "Raging Bull" was credited to Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin (who earlier co-wrote "Mean Streets"), the finished script differed extensively from Schrader's original draft. It was rewritten several times by various writers including Jay Cocks (who went on to co-script later Scorsese films "The Age of Innocence" and "Gangs of New York"). The final draft was largely written by Scorsese and Robert De Niro. The American Film Institute chose "Raging Bull" as the number one American sports film on their list of the top 10 sports films. In 1997, the Institute ranked "Raging Bull" as the twenty-fourth greatest film of all time on their AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list. In 2007, they ranked "Raging Bull" as the fourth greatest film of all time on their AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Scorsese's next project was his fifth collaboration with Robert De Niro, "The King of Comedy" (1983). It is a satire on the world of media and celebrity, whose central character is a troubled loner who ironically becomes famous through a criminal act (kidnapping). The film was an obvious departure from the more emotionally committed films he had become associated with. Visually, it was far less kinetic than the style Scorsese had developed previously, often using a static camera and long takes. Here the expressionism of his previous work gave way to moments of almost total surrealism. It still bore many of Scorsese's trademarks, however. The "King of Comedy" failed at the box office, but has become increasingly well regarded by critics in the years since its release. German director Wim Wenders numbered it among his 15 favorite films. Also, in 1983, Scorsese made a brief cameo appearance in the film "Anna Pavlova" (also known as "A Woman for All Time"), originally intended to be directed by one of his heroes, Michael Powell. This led to a more significant acting appearance in Bertrand Tavernier's jazz film "Round Midnight". He also made a brief venture into television, directing an episode of Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories".


title: Martin Scorsese

text: With "After Hours" (1985), for which he won a Best Director Award at Cannes, Scorsese made an esthetic shift back to a pared-down, almost "underground" film-making style. Filmed on an extremely low budget, on location, and at night in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, the film is a black comedy about one increasingly misfortunate night for a mild New York word processor (Griffin Dunne) and features cameos by such disparate actors as Teri Garr and Cheech and Chong. Along with the 1987 Michael Jackson music video "Bad", in 1986 Scorsese made "The Color of Money", a sequel to the much admired Robert Rossen film "The Hustler" (1961) with Paul Newman, which co-starred Tom Cruise. Although adhering to Scorsese's established style, "The Color of Money" was the director's first official foray into mainstream film-making. The film finally won actor Paul Newman an Oscar and gave Scorsese the clout to finally secure backing for a project that had been a longtime goal for him: "The Last Temptation of Christ".


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In 1983, Scorsese began work on this long-cherished personal project. "The Last Temptation of Christ", based on the 1955 novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, retold the life of Christ in human rather than divine terms. Barbara Hershey recalls introducing Scorsese to the book while they were filming "Boxcar Bertha". The film was slated to shoot under the Paramount Pictures banner, but shortly before principal photography was to start, Paramount pulled the plug on the project, citing pressure from religious groups. In this aborted 1983 version, Aidan Quinn was cast as Jesus, and Sting was cast as Pontius Pilate. (In the 1988 version, these roles were played by Willem Dafoe and David Bowie respectively.) However, following his mid-1980s flirtation with commercial Hollywood, Scorsese made a major return to personal filmmaking with the project; Universal Pictures agreed to finance the film as Scorsese agreed to make a more mainstream film for the studio in the future (it eventually resulted in "Cape Fear"). Even prior to its 1988 release, the film (adapted by "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull" veteran Paul Schrader) caused a massive furor, with worldwide protests against its perceived blasphemy effectively turning a low-budget independent film into a media sensation. Most of the controversy centered on the final passages of the film, which depicted Christ marrying and raising a family with Mary Magdalene in a Satan-induced hallucination while on the cross.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In 1986, Scorsese directed the 18 minute short film "Bad" featuring Michael Jackson and Wesley Snipes (in his film debut). The short also serves as a music video and was shot in the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station in Brooklyn over a 6-week period during November and December 1986. The short film's cinematographer was frequent Scorsese collaborator Michael Chapman. The dancing and filmmaking was heavily influenced by the 1961 film "West Side Story". Scorsese also noted the influence of his own film "Taxi Driver" (1976) in Spike Lee's documentary about the 25th anniversary of the short titled, "Bad 25" (2012). The short has been praised by critics as one of the most iconic and greatest videos of all time; Jackson's outfit has been cited as an influence on fashion. That year, he had signed a deal with upstart major The Walt Disney Studios to produce and direct features, following the success of "The Color of Money", and the company is currently soliciting material for possible development, and decided not to decide on projects he had hoped to produce under the company's two-year agreement with the studio, and the decision Scorsese wants to hire established directors like Elia Kazan and Arthur Penn.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: Looking past the controversy, "The Last Temptation of Christ" gained critical acclaim and remains an important work in Scorsese's canon: an explicit attempt to wrestle with the spirituality underpinning his films up until that point. The director went on to receive his second nomination for a Best Director Academy Award (again unsuccessfully, this time losing to Barry Levinson for "Rain Man"). As a separate film project, and along with directors Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola in 1989, Scorsese provided one of three segments in the portmanteau film "New York Stories", called "Life Lessons". Roger Ebert's gave the film a mixed review, while praising Scorsese's short as "really successful".


title: Martin Scorsese

text: After a decade of films considered by critics to be mixed results, some considered Scorsese's gangster epic "Goodfellas" (1990) his return to directorial form, and his most confident and fully realized film since "Raging Bull". De Niro and Joe Pesci offered a virtuoso display of Scorsese's bravura cinematic technique in the film and re-established, enhanced, and consolidated his reputation. After the film was released, Roger Ebert, a friend and supporter of Scorsese, named "Goodfellas" "the best mob movie ever". It is ranked No. 1 on Ebert's movie list for 1990, along with those of Gene Siskel and Peter Travers', and is widely considered one of the director's greatest achievements. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Scorsese earned his third Best Director nomination but again lost to a first-time director, Kevin Costner ("Dances with Wolves"). Joe Pesci earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Scorsese and the film also won many other awards, including five BAFTA Awards, a Silver Lion and more. The American Film Institute placed "Goodfellas" at No. 94 on the AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list. On the 2007 updated version, they moved "Goodfellas" up to No. 92 on the AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list (10th Anniversary Edition) and put "Goodfellas" at No. 2 on their list of the top 10 gangster films (after "The Godfather").


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In 1990, he released his only short-form documentary: "Made in Milan" about fashion designer Giorgio Armani. The following year brought "Cape Fear", a remake of a cult 1962 movie of the same name and the director's seventh collaboration with De Niro. Another foray into the mainstream, the film was a stylized thriller taking its cues heavily from Alfred Hitchcock and Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter" (1955). "Cape Fear" received a mixed critical reception and was lambasted in many quarters for its scenes depicting misogynistic violence. However, the lurid subject matter gave Scorsese a chance to experiment with visual tricks and effects. The film garnered two Oscar nominations. Earning $80 million domestically, it stood as Scorsese's most commercially successful release until "The Aviator" (2004), and then "The Departed" (2006). The film also marked the first time Scorsese used wide-screen Panavision with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1.


title: Martin Scorsese

text: In 1990, Scorsese acted in a small role as Vincent van Gogh in the film "Dreams" by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Scorsese's 1994 cameo appearance in the Robert Redford film "Quiz Show" is remembered for the telling line: "You see, the audience didn't tune in to watch some amazing display of intellectual ability. They just wanted to watch the money." De Fina-Cappa was the production company he formed that same year with producer Barbara De Fina. In the early 1990s, Scorsese also expanded his role as a film producer. He produced a wide range of films, including major Hollywood studio productions ("Mad Dog and Glory", "Clockers"), low-budget independent films ("The Grifters", "Naked in New York", "Grace of My Heart", "Search and Destroy", "The Hi-Lo Country"), and even the foreign film ("Con gli occhi chiusi" (With Closed Eyes)).


title: Martin Scorsese

text: "The Age of Innocence" (1993) was a significant departure for Scorsese, a period adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel about the constrictive high society of late-19th century New York. It was highly lauded by critics upon its original release but was a box office bomb, making an overall loss. As noted in "Scorsese on Scorsese" by editor–interviewer Ian Christie, the news that Scorsese wanted to make a film about a failed 19th-century romance raised many eyebrows among the film fraternity; all the more when Scorsese made it clear that it was a personal project and not a studio for-hire job.