After leading the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup and reaching the final of the same tournament four years later, Diego Armando Maradona's life did not improve.
His attitude changed. He was rarely seen on the training pitch, which infuriated his then-club, Napoli.
Napoli didn't accept Maradona's treatment of them. The club's management didn't care that Maradona was the hero who led their team to its first ever Serie A title (1986/1987) and elevated them to the ranks of Europe's leading clubs.
In January 1991, Maradona, who helped Napoli win two Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana, and one UEFA Cup, was fined US$70,000 by his team for missing training and matches. He was also accused of damaging the club's image due to personal scandals and his links to a drug trafficking ring.
Two months later, on March 17, Maradona failed a drugs test after Napoli's match against Bari. The devastating news came: cocaine was found in his urine.
News of the incident spread quickly. Italy, Argentina, and the football world were in an uproar. FIFA took decisive action, imposing a 15-month ban from all football activities, starting March 31, 1991. Just five years after his extraordinary performance at the World Cup, Maradona became a criminal.
Napoli actually wanted to keep Maradona, as his contract ran until 1993, but he declined. Once his sentence was up in June 1992, Maradona joined Sevilla, where he stayed for a year.
Media reports suggested that Maradona was under stress and overweight at the time. Born in Lanús, Argentina, on October 30, 1960, Maradona struggled to find his best form following the FIFA sanctions.
However, Newell's Old Boys was willing to accommodate him in 1993. There is information that says Maradona's weight at Newell's reached 82 kilograms, even though his height was only 167 centimeters.
With the 1994 World Cup approaching, Maradona was once again motivated to improve. He wanted to return to the national team and repeat the glory of 1986.
To that end, Maradona recruited Argentine bodybuilder Daniel Cerrini to help him lose weight. Cerrini worked alongside Fernando Signorini, a fitness trainer who had long worked with Maradona's physique.
Through his hard work, Maradona secured a place in the Argentina squad coached by Alfio Basile. His weight dropped drastically to 76.8 kilograms, but Cerrini reportedly wasn't satisfied with that.
Cerrini, who wanted Maradona to weigh at least 70 kilograms by the 1994 World Cup, then prescribed him several supplements. This is precisely where the problems began.
