1976: Makes first division debut for Argentinos Juniors, 10 days before 16th birthday.
1977: Full international debut for Argentina.
1978: Fails to make squad for World Cup finals in Argentina.
1979: Captains Argentina to victory in World Youth Cup in Japan.
1981: Wins Argentinian league title with Boca Juniors.
1982: Moves to Barcelona for £1.875m after World Cup finals. Two seasons with the Spanish club are marred by illness and injury.
1984: Joins Italian giants Napoli for £4.68m.
1986: Scores infamous 'hand of God' goal then adds brilliant second in 2-1 World Cup quarter-final defeat of England in Mexico. Leads Argentina to 3-2 triumph over West Germany in final.
1987: Helps Napoli to their first Italian league title.
1989: Clinches UEFA Cup winners' medal - Napoli's first triumph in Europe. Spends two months in Argentina, failing to return for start of Italian league season. Demands a transfer.
1990: Leads Napoli to their second Italian title before captaining Argentina to World Cup final in Italy, where they lose 1-0 to Germany. Misses Napoli training and matches, complaining of stress, and runs up more than £30,000 in fines for indiscipline. Becomes involved in paternity suit. Refuses to travel to Moscow for European Cup tie, turning up 24 hours later in a private jet.
1991: Fails drug test for cocaine and is investigated in connection with Naples vice ring and banned from game for 15 months. Arrested for taking cocaine shortly after return to Argentina and ordered by a judge to quit the habit under medical supervision.
1992: Refuses to return to Napoli after drugs ban and demands transfer. Joins Spanish club Sevilla for £4.68m.
1993: Returns to captain his country against Brazil in game marking 100th anniversary of the Argentinian FA. Sevilla refuse to pay outstanding £625,000 because he had "not met his obligations to the club". Quits and returns to Argentina. Sacked by Sevilla. Joins Argentinian club Newell's Old Boys. Makes international return in first leg of World Cup play-off against Australia. Also plays in second leg.
1994: Sacked by Newell's for missing training. When besieged by reporters at his home, fires airgun, wounding four. Scores penalty in friendly against Morocco, one of five internationals in build-up to World Cup. Appears in Argentina's opening two matches before testing positive in a drug test. Banned for 15 months and fined around £10,000 by FIFA for taking cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs.
1995: After two unsuccessful coaching stints with lower division Argentinian clubs, returns to playing action with Boca Juniors with a 1-0 win over Colon. Claims in a documentary to have kicked his bad habits and that he is totally devoted to his family.
1996: Books into a Swiss drugs clinic to try to finally combat his cocaine addiction. Specialist Dr Ricardo Grimson, who has been overseeing Maradona's addiction, says the star is in danger of sudden death.
1997:Plays his final match for Boca on October 25th against River Plate winning 2-1 having played 30 matches and scoring 7 goals.
2000: Admitted to hospital in Uruguay with a severe heart condition after cocaine use.
2001: Begins discussions about playing in a friendly for Dundee alongside friend and former international team-mate Claudio Caniggia before eventually opting against travelling to Scotland.
2002: Ordered to pay £18m in taxes and interest by a Naples court. Escapes punishment for a scuffle with a photographer but given a suspended two-year jail sentence for shooting journalists in 1994.
2003: Meets his son Diego Armando Jr for the first time in 17 years.
2004: Admitted in a critical condition to a Buenos Aires hospital with breathing difficulties.