Diego Maradona Jr.

Diego Armando Maradona Jr. (né Sinagra; September 20, 1986) is an Argentine-Italian football coach, former player, and professional beach soccer player. He is the son of Cristiana Sinagra and Argentine national footballer Diego Maradona.

Biography
Born in Naples, Italy, Sinagra – nicknamed Diego Jr. or Dieguito – was the result of an out-of-wedlock affair between Maradona and a young local woman named Cristiana Sinagra. He was brought up by his mother. His paternal grandfather Diego Maradona Senior "Chitoro" (1927–2015), who worked at a chemicals factory, was of Indigenous Guaraní and Spanish descent, and his paternal grandmother Dalma Salvadora Franco, "Doña Tota" (1930–2011), had Italian and Croatian ancestry. In 1993, he was legally recognized as Maradona's son by the Court of Naples, acquiring his father's last name as a consequence. Despite that, he did not meet his natural father until 2003, during a golf tournament in Fiuggi. It was only in 2007 that Maradona publicly recognised Diego Jr. as his son according to the Italian press.

There were rumours that Pope Francis, at that time the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, asked Maradona to recognize Diego Jr. as his son. Maradona's lawyers have denied this allegation.

Maradona had a passion for football and started playing at a young age, showing promise by emulating his father's skills. At 11 he was a part of the Napoli youth squad. He represented Italy at under-17 level. In 2004, the young Maradona joined the youth squad of Genoa for a season.

On 10 June 2015, Maradona married Nunzia Pennino in a Roman Catholic church in Naples and received Pope Francis' blessing.

On 25 August 2016, Maradona publicly recognised Diego Jr. as his son in Argentina and declared in front of the media in Buenos Aires "I love him a lot and he’s very like me."

Playing in Eccellenza and Serie D
Maradona's start in first-team football came in the amateur leagues in 2005 when he joined Cervia, a team in the Eccellenza division of Emilia-Romagna, which was the subject of a national football reality show, named Campioni - Il sogno (Champions - The Dream).

He joined Internapoli from Eccellenza Campania in January 2006; after having been without a team for the first half of the 2005–06 season, he only played two games for the club as he suffered an injury which kept him sidelined. In 2007, he joined Quarto, another club in the Campanian Eccellenza; Quarto were victorious in the Eccellenza playoffs that season and were promoted to Serie D. He then agreed to stay at Quarto for the 2007–08 Serie D season, then leaving the club by mutual consent on 16 November 2007 following a head coach replacement which caused him concerns about his role in the team. He then signed for Venafro, a Molisan Serie D team, a few weeks later. On 21 January 2008, Maradona scored the first goal with Venafro from 30 metres. At the end of the season Maradona left Venafro and instead signed for a beach soccer team, A.S.D. Mare di Roma.

On 2 December 2008, he signed for Boys Caivanese of Eccellenza Campania. In August 2009 he then signed for Juve Stabia, but on 11 September 2009 he left the team. He then played for Arzanesse.

European Beach Soccer
On 29 April 2008, Maradona joined the Italy national beach soccer team for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification which was held from 11 to 18 May in Spain. On 12 May, he made his debut in the national team in the match against Greece. Maradona played four matches in the Beach Soccer World Cup's qualification and eventually placed Italy fourth, qualifying for the World Cup. In June 2008, he left Venafro, and he was bought by a beach soccer team, A.S.D. Mare di Roma. He debuted in Beach Soccer's Serie A on 27 June 2008 in a match against Alma Juventus Fano, scoring a goal. He scored six goals in three matches for Mare di Roma, convincing Italy's coach Giancarlo Magrini to include him in the squad for the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Italy eventually placed second in the World Cup, losing 5–3 in the final against Brazil. Maradona scored two goals for Italy in the competition, including one in the final. He scored a dozen goals in the championship, allowing his team, Mare di Roma, to advance to the final phase of competition for the Italian title. Mare di Roma was, however, eliminated in the quarter-finals.

In 2009, Maradona was signed by Napoli Beach Soccer. He scored eight goals, allowing his team to win the Italian beach soccer championship for the first time in its history.

Coaching career
In July 2021, he took on his first head coaching job as manager of Eccellenza amateurs Napoli United, a former team of his as a player (as Afro Napoli United). He resigned from his job on 14 March 2023, as a form of protest following the club's failure to pay on players' wages.

In June 2023, he was appointed new head coach of Eccellenza Campania club Pompei. He was dismissed from his post on 30 November 2023, with Pompei in second place in the league table.

Club
Quarto
 * Eccellenza Playoff Winner: 2006–07

International
Italy Beach Soccer
 * FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup runner-up: 2008