Diego Maradona’s best football kits – ranked
Diego Maradona wore some truly iconic kits during his illustrious career – many of those have actually become so fondly remembered because of him.
Maradona, who passed away at the age of 60, played for the likes of Napoli, Barcelona, Boca Juniors and, of course, Argentina, wearing each set of colours with distinction.
Here’s a countdown ranking 20 of the kits he wore during his 21 years as a player…
One of the earliest shirts of Maradona’s lengthy international career was this one he wore for Argentina at the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship – a precursor to the Under-20 World Cup we know today.
The blue and white stripes are timeless, but the lack of symmetry in the adidas branding and Argentina logo make it difficult to like.
Maradona began his career at Buenos Aires club Argentinos Juniors as a teenager, wearing the team’s all-red strip with early distinction.
English club Sheffield United actually tried to sign him during this time.
The shirt that Boca Juniors wore in the 1995/96 season was the least attractive edition of the famous blue and yellow in Maradona’s time there, mainly as a result of the yellow collar.
Maradona moved to Spain in 1992 after serving a 15-month drug ban that had seen his Napoli career end in disgrace.
Maradona’s impact on football fans in Napoli was so huge that when Argentina faced Italy at his club’s home stadium in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals, it was he and not the host nation who had the local support.
Napoli had never won Serie A before Maradona came on the scene, but he inspired the club to a league and cup double in his third season, doing so straight off the back of winning the World Cup with Argentina.
The 1994 World Cup was one to forget for Maradona personally, marking the end of his international career in disgrace when he was sent home after testing positive for a banned substance.
The very first Napoli shirt Maradona wore in the 1984/85 campaign had quite a different look from those he would make famous in the later years of the decade. It is the only one he wore there without a fold-down collar.
Maradona began his second spell at Boca Juniors in 1995, wearing familiar colours for the first time since his departure for Europe in 1982.
A subtle striped effect and contrasting collar trim made this a strong Napoli kit in what was Maradona’s second year in Italy. By then, he was already captaining the club he would soon make history for.
His spell at Barcelona after a World Cup record transfer off the back of the 1982 World Cup was ultimately not a happy one for Maradona.
He suffered a bout of hepatitis and then a broken ankle, while his 1984 Copa del Rey final descended into a brawl. But the images of him wearing those Barcelona colours remain striking nearly 40 years later.
Argentina adopted kits made by Le Coq Sportif in the 1980s, with this classic look worn in the 1982 World Cup. Maradona announced himself on the global stage, although he was effectively kicked out of the tournament.
There were subtle differences between the 1982 and 1986 kits used by Argentina. The latter, which Maradona wore as he lifted the country’s second World Cup, featured a central white stripe and a round-neck.
Napoli shirts featuring ‚Mars‘ as the sponsor are synonymous with the Maradona era. This jersey was created for the 1988/89 season, although the team wore a new kit for the 1989 UEFA Cup final against Stuttgart.
As his career wound down in the 1990s, this Boca kit was the last that Maradona wore as a professional footballer. It features a classy-looking collar, while the additional white trim adds a certain something extra.
Argentina’s away strip at the 1994 World Cup is arguably famous for the wrong reasons. It looks good, but this was the jersey Maradona was wearing when he scored against Greece and followed the goal with an iconic but manic celebration into a television camera.
The vintage 1990s look is one that adidas have since tried to recreate.
Napoli and Maradona wore this shirt in the 1989 UEFA Cup final and continued using it for the following 1989/90 season.
A change in colour made the Mars branding stand out more than in 1988/89, while there was also a more defined classic V-neck collar.
Maradona was wearing Argentina’s blue away shirt for the single most famous game of his entire career.
The unbelievable ‚Goal of the Century‘, which saw him dribble past several England defenders, came only shortly after the infamous ‚Hand of God‘.
With Napoli reigning Serie A champions and Coppa Italia holders, this decorated home shirt worn in the 1987/88 screams ‚Maradona‘ and is iconic in terms of the success he delivered to a previously unfashionable club.
Rest In Peace, Diego Maradona ?
Photo: Bob Thomas/Getty Images, 1981 with Boca Juniors pic.twitter.com/rEGCQ5jwda
— The Antique Football (@AntiqueFootball) November 25, 2020
The best Boca jersey Maradona was the first one, which he donned during his initial stay at the club between 1981 and 1982. The wide yellow band and bright shade of blue are the more classic Boca colours than the club would go on to adopt in his second spell in the 1990s.
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