Complete Story of Angel Di Maria: Full Backstory
On this planet, there are ample amounts of people who compete to be the best. But only a few of them make their way on the top charts and the rest keep grinding to be the best. However, everyone tries their best to become a winner and in this world, hard work ensures success. A successful man’s past is an inspiring history that is witnessed by the world and one such journey that we will be keeping our eyes on is Angel Di Maria’s journey.
Di Maria was born in Rosario, Argentina in a family of three children of Miguel Di Maria and Diana Hernandez. He was born and brought up in Perdriel and was observed to be more active than the infants of his age so the doctor considered him fine for playing and the young prodigy started his career at 3. He belonged to a family with a very unstable financial background and due to this, he used to help his parents by working in a local coal yard along with his two sisters. All sporting essentials including the football boots were provided by his family as they did not want to waste Di Maria’s talent.
The collective efforts made by his family are the reason he became such a great player in the game. Di Maria is a complete family man because as soon as he started earning and got a club, he told his family not to work anymore and also bought properties for his sisters and parents.
The sad part is that he is highly underrated and gets very little recognition despite giving so much to the team. Argentina won the World Cup but other players stole the highlight even though he scored for them at the most crucial time when their team was lacking and lagging in the final.
Club Career:
Di Maria started playing at a very small age ( when he was 3 years old), and he developed into an outstanding winger and attacking midfielder. The first club of his life was Rosario Central, the local club where he was born. Di Maria made his professional debut in December 2005 and his first goal for the team came out on 24 November 2006. In 2007 he was transferred to Benfica and he was given a chance to prove himself in the 2009- 10 season. He did not disappoint the team as in the Europa League group stage match against Everton he provided a hat trick of assists for the first time in his career. The improvement in his performance in every single match was noticeable and he was appreciated by the legend Diego Maradona as he considered Di Maria as the future superstar of Argentina. This was the best season in his career as he ended up being the top assist provider of the League and was also named the Player of the Month.
In the football industry, next-level performance takes the player to the next level and this next level for Di Maria was his signing with Real Madrid. After Real Madrid’s agreement to Benfica’s terms and conditions, Di Maria was finally transferred to Real Madrid at a fee of 25 million euros. The newest addition to the Real Madrid squad made his debut in August 2010 and scored for the first time against Hercules winning the match by 3-1. Sticking to his role and his typical game style Di Maria was seen playing exceptionally well increasing synergy with the players and also assisting the strikers to get the best result for the team. Di Maria scored the third and final goal in a 3-0 win to send Real Madrid into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 7 years.
Playing with a big club was not an easy task for Di Maria as the increase in his popularity also increased the amount of expectations from him. At the start of the 2011-12 season, there were a few difficulties that he faced and due to that, it was getting a bit difficult for him to adapt to the pace of the league. He also made a few mistakes on the field that caused a loss to the team. But soon he was seen improving and he was also seen at the top of the assist table. The season turned out to be pretty good for Di Maria and Real Madrid as they lifted their 32nd League Title. His journey with Real Madrid was great as he won the La Decima and Copa del Rey titles as well.
| Games | 723 |
| Goals | 167 |
| Assists | 255 |
In 2014 he signed a 5 year deal with Manchester United at a fee of 59.7 million pounds which made him one of the most expensive transfers of all time. In October he won Manchester United’s Player of the Month award for September because of his two crucial goals and assists in the first four matches with the club. He made his return from the injury in January 2015 and scored a goal in a 2-0 win against Yeovil Town in the third round of the FA Cup.
Injuries, low performance, and a small controversy made his journey with Manchester United very unpleasant. In a matter of one year, he was transferred to PSG and his transfer fee was undisclosed but was believed to be around 44 million pounds for a four-year contract. He played his first Ligue 1 match in August against Monaco as a 66th-minute substitute and assisted in the final goal winning the match by 3-0. Di Maria turned up with exceptional performance setting a new record in Ligue 1 for most assists in a season. In 2020 he was ranked as the third most assist provider in the history of UEFA Champions League with a tally of 32. He finally ended his spell at PSG after playing 295 matches scoring 92 goals and 112 assists.
He joined Juventus in July 2022 and he signed the annual contract as a free agent. His 100th Champions League appearance was made with Juventus and was also his debut match with the club. He was widely appreciated for his hat-trick of assists against Maccabi Haifa winning the match by 3-1. He also scored a hat trick against Nantes in the Europa League winning the match by 3-0. Now he plays for SL Benfica and is continuing to perform the same way he did throughout his career.
The journey led by Di Maria is exceptional as he would have never thought that he would play for some of the biggest clubs in the football world.
International Career Of Di Maria:
In 2007 Di Maria was selected to play for the Argentina under-20 team and was kept for the 2007 South American under-20 Championship in Paraguay. He was also called up for the 2007 FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Canada and Argentina won the tournament with De Maria scoring three goals in the campaign. In 2010 Diego Maradona selected him in the 23-man Squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He is performance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign was satisfactory and he also provided assists and scored a goal. He was also named on the 10-man shortlist for the FIFA Golden Ball Award for the tournament’s best player. Di Maria was widely appreciated by fans around The World due to his performance in the 2015 Copa America.
In June 2021 De Maria was selected for the national team of 2021 Copa America in Brazil and his performance and hard work with Team progressed Argentina to the quarter-finals. Consistently performing and playing in form, he was named in the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad and he recorded an assist on Messi’s opening goal. Di Maria scored his iconic second goal against France in the World Cup final. Argentina defeated France by 4-2 on penalties and Di Maria, the boy from Rosario, Argentina lifted the World Cup.
A Legend of the Game:
Di Maria started playing football when he was 3 years old and he was unusually active than the other kids of his age. So It wouldn’t be wrong if we say that Di Maria created the difference between himself and other players just 3 years after his birth. His journey throughout his career has been successful except for his signing with Manchester United because of a small controversy and his injury as well. Talking about his international career he has been performing exceptionally well in international tournaments and he is one of the best players of Argentina right now. And most importantly we can never forget his performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Many outstanding players in the industry have been playing for a very long time but did not win the World Cup in their career. Di Maria is one of those players who has lifted the World Cup and scored in the neck-to-neck final against France as well.
Di Maria is undoubtedly one of the best players in the current time and his contribution to the World Cup victory will forever be remembered by the world. He is a hidden gem of the football world, one that will only be valued once they retire. The glory secured by him was always stolen by other big players but the real football fans know that Di Maria is a legend of the beautiful game.
