Tragedy continues to plague the Maradona family. Just over a year after the death of Diego Armando, his brother Hugo passed away at age 52 due to cardiac arrest Tuesday morning. He resided in Monte di Procida, a small town near Naples, Corriere della Sera reports.
Hugo arrived in Italy when he was 18. Napoli signed him from Argentinos Juniors and quickly loaned him out to Ascoli. The two brothers faced each other in 1987. Later that year, the Maradona trio, including Lalo, played their only game together, a friendly between Granada and Malmoe. Hugo then spent time at Rayo Vallecano and in Austria, Japan, and Canada as a footballer.
After retiring, Hugo Maradona started his coaching career in Costa Rica in 2014. He permanently moved back to Italy in 2016 and worked for multiple amateur youth sides. His three kids, Nicole, Thiago and Melina, live in Miami. Hugo Maradona almost ran for office as a town counselor in a recent local election. However, his candidacy fell through late, also because Diego Junior called him out for exploiting his name.
Diego Armando recalled Hugo’s contribution to the legendary goal against England in an interview: “In 1980, in a friendly at Wembley, I dribbled past half of their team and shot without trying to get around their goalie. The ball went just wide. My brother scolded me and told me I should have gone all the way. I had his words in my mind in Mexico City. I took everybody on, including Peter Shilton, and scored.”