Diego Maradona was one of the greatest footballers of all time and the scouting report from his time at Boca Juniors shows how good he was even at a young age.
The Argentina legend, who sadly passed away on Wednesday evening, holds claim to the greatest footballer of all time.
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He is best known for helping his country win the World Cup in 1986, as well as winning two Serie A titles and the UEFA Cup with Napoli, but he also had a spell at Barcelona.
He signed for the La Liga giants in 1982, winning three cups with the side in two seasons, but the Catalan side were interested in him five years before hand.
Cesar Luis Menotti scouted the player for Barca in 1978, when Maradona was just 17-years-old, during a game for Boca Juniors against Argentinos Juniors and the report, via Marca, shows just how incredible he was.
Under 'General Technique' Menotti simply wrote, 'Unbeatable,' and in the more detailed 'Specified Technique' the former Boca manager wrote, "Extraordinary, effective and just dribbling. Excellent power. Extraordinary courage. Extraordinary efficiency. Very good shot.
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"Great passing. Total accuracy. Complete vision. Average heading. Good leadership. Very good power to retain the ball. Extraordinary ball protection."
That alone should be enough to impress a potential buying side but it went on. Under 'Individual Tactics' it noted, "Complete intelligence in football. Complete sense for football. Good view. Very good speed in efficiency."
The teenager was also given ratings out of 10 and received 9.5 for speed, starting speed, speed without the ball and agility, also getting 9.1 for speed with the ball and 8 for jump power.
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Maradona was also given the full 10 out of 10 for mental strength, concentration and personality.
Finally, as a general conclusion, Menotti wrote a glowing overall report, saying, "Young. He was born on 30/10/1960. He has prodigious technical qualities, easy dribbling. He has a straight line vision facing the goal, but he knows how to get rid of the ball for the best placed teammate.
"Extraordinary reflexes. He protects the ball very well to play it immediately with great efficiency. His short passes and shots are pure wonder. Prodigious changes of pace."
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Clearly the scout knew exactly what he was looking at when watching the 17-year-old for Boca Juniors and, whilst things didn't work out at Barcelona, he certainly was one of the best ever.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Football News, World Football, Barcelona, South American football, Diego Maradona, Argentina, Boca Juniors, La Liga
