Street artist unveils mural to ‘Saint’ Diego Maradona

Footballing legend Diego Maradona admits the most beautiful thing he achieved in football was winning the world cup with Argentina.

From Naples to Palestine to Florence, Neapolitan street artist Jorit is painting charismatic icons on giant walls. His murals often feature 'African tribal patterns' on the faces of his subjects.

What becomes a legend most? Flawed geniuses abound in the annals of history but how many drew the same kind of devotion as Argentine footballer Diego Armando Maradona? What made the short-in-size but larger-than-life soccer wizard a one-of-a-kind icon? As Argentina and the football-loving world grieve their pibe de oro, we ask about the ups and downs of a star whose career coincided with the rise of cable TV, the consecration of a sport gone global and the rollercoaster fortunes of a South American nation, which often mirrored those of its golden child.

Street artist Alfredo Segatori paints a huge mural of Diego Maradona in La Boca neighbourhood in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, home to the imposing Bombonera stadium where Maradona once played for domestic giants Boca Juniors. "He is , he's the patron saint of artists, of the dispossessed, and of athletes too," says Segatori, who started painting the mural immediately after the football legend's death.

One of the world's most famous contemporary artists JR reveals his new piece of artwork on the façade of the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. Symbolically entitled "The Wound," it is a reflection on the current and profound difficulties faced by the arts sector in a time of government-mandated restrictions on cultural activities due to Covid-19.

He was a legend both on and off the pitch. Diego Maradona's life has now been dramatised by Amazon, a year after the footballer's death. Alison Sargent tells us why the socio-political context in Argentina provides a compelling backdrop to the highs and lows of Maradona's eventful life.