Year 2020: A tribute to the legends who passed away this year

This year, the world has sadly said goodbye to many legends.

With the stretch of unfortunate events kicking off in 2020, the year has been cruel to the entire globe.

As the this year is coming to end, here is a tribute to some these leader.

Maradona

Diego Maradona, the Argentine who became a national hero as one of soccer's greatest players, performing with a roguish cunning and extravagant control while pursuing a personal life rife with drug and alcohol abuse and health problems, died on Wednesday in Tigre, Argentina, in Buenos Aires Province. He was 60.

His spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said the cause was a heart attack. Maradona had undergone brain surgery several weeks ago.

News of the death brought an outpouring of mourning and remembrance in Argentina, becoming virtually the sole topic of conversation. Such was his stature - in 2000, FIFA, soccer's governing body, voted him and Pelé of Brazil the sport's two greatest players - that the government declared three days of national mourning.

At Maradona's feet, the ball seemed to obey his command like a pet. (He was said to do with an orange what others could only do with a ball.) And he played with a kind of brilliant camouflage, seeming to be somnolent for long stretches before asserting himself at urgent moments with a mesmerizing dribble, astounding pass or stabbing shot.

Kobe Bryant

Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13, were among the nine killed when the aircraft came down in Calabasas.

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, played for the LA Lakers throughout his career and is considered one of the greatest players in the game's history.

There were no survivors from the crash which happened in foggy weather.

The reports by the Los Angeles County coroner's office provide a clinical but unvarnished look at just how brutal the crash was, describing broken bones, dismembered body parts and a stench of fuel on what remained of clothing that burned.

Bryant had to be identified by his fingerprints after his body was found in the dirt outside the wreckage of the chopper.

Sean Connery

James Bond legend Sir Sean Connery died at the end of October.

The star, who first portrayed 007 in Dr No, passed away at the age of 90 peacefully in his sleep overnight while in the Bahamas, having been 'unwell for some time'.

The Scottish actor starred in seven of the spy films, including You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, between 1962 and 1983.

Sir Sean's other films included Indiana Jones, The Hunt for Red October, Rising Sun, A Bridge Too Far, Highlander, and The Rock.

His five-decade acting career won him two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes.
Sean was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.

Chadwick Boseman

The Black Panther star died on AUgust 28, surrounded by his wife and family, his team said in a statement.

"Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last four years as it progressed to stage IV," the statement began. "It was the honor of his career to bring King T'Challa to life in Black Panther."

Boseman again assumed the role of a revered African American figure when he starred as soul singer James Brown in the 2014 film Get on Up.

His most recent film was Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods, which arrived in June. He played a US soldier killed in action during the Vietnam War and was widely lauded for the performance.

Boseman is set to make a posthumous appearance alongside Viola Davis in upcoming drama film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Dean Jones

Dean Jones, the former Australia batsman, has died of a heart attack aged 59.
Jones was in Mumbai as part of the commentary team at Star Sports for IPL 2020 when he passed away on Thursday, 24 September.

Jones was a prolific batter playing in 52 Tests and 164 ODIs and was part of the 1987 Australia team who won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. He had an significant impact on the game of cricket as a player, as an advocate for the development of the sport as a coach and latterly in his role as a broadcaster.

A gritty, attacking player, the Victorian made 3631 runs at an average of 46.55 in Tests, while in ODIs he made 6068 runs, at 44.61, with seven hundreds and 46 fifties. He also remains No.5 on the all-time ICC Batting Rankings in the format.