Buenos Aires: Diego Maradona turned 50 on Saturday with little fanfare, calling it the “saddest birthday of my life.”

Despite some pressure from his family, the former Argentina coach said he intended to spend the day quietly at his home in the Buenos Aires suburb of Ezeiza.

It has been a difficult year for the famous No. 10, who led Argentina into the World Cup only to be ousted by Germany in a humiliating 4-0 loss in the quarter finals. The loss led the Argentina Football Association to drop him as coach. Interim coach Sergio Batista — Maradona’s teammate on the Argentina’s World-Cup-winning team in 1986 — is expected to be confirmed Tuesday as Maradona’s replacement.

“It is the saddest birthday of my life,” Maradona said in an interview with a sports daily. “One that I don’t wish to celebrate.”

It has been three months since the AFA declined to renew Maradona’s contract. The AFA was willing to have Maradona back, but not most of his assistants. Maradona refused to budge, and the AFA let him go.

“The best gift would have been (continuing with) the national team,” Maradona said. “When we were knocked out of the World Cup I began my mourning period.”

Since being released, Maradona has recanted and said he might be willing to return without his assistants. The plea has fallen on deaf ears.

Similar to his playing career, his almost-two-year stint as coach had many ups and downs. Argentina won 18 of 24 games with Maradona as coach. But several of the losses were the worst in history. One was a 6-1 hammering by Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier and the other was the lopsided loss to Germany in South Africa.

Maradona has made few appearances since the World Cup. The latest was Thursday when he attended the funeral at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires for former president Nestor Kirchner.

Meanwhile, Juventus captain Alessandro del Piero has hailed Maradona. A note on Del Piero's official website re-tells the story of a man who inspired many a generation to go on and become greats themselves.

It's Maradona’s big day, and Del Piero’s message was one of football passion for one of the best.

“For those of my generation, and not just for us, Diego Armando Maradona was a reference point for the world of football. When he arrived at Napoli I was ten, and as you know, my football faith was another, but he was a phenonmenon for all football fans. He used to do incredible things with the ball. He made so many people happy and he represents this the best. On his 50th birthday I want to unite with the thousand messages that are arriving on this kind of ‘Maradona day’.

“I still remember his kind words when I scored a double against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. I want to thank him, not just for his words, but for the great moments he gave the lovers of our game. And, Happy Birthday!”