OLDER, PLUMPER and a little slower on his feet, Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona returned to the field yesterday to play his farewell match in front of 50,000 devoted fans.
Maradona, who quit the game four years ago, joined a host of soccer stars from around the world for one last game. Playing with Argentina's current national squad and wearing the No 10 jersey, Maradona scored two goals as his team beat a "Rest of the World" side 6-3 at Boca Juniors' Bombonera stadium.
"I'm never going to forget this ... It was an incredible experience," said the tearful ex-player, adding, "I could never have expected so much."
Among the big names taking part were Colombia's Carlos Valderrama, Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov, Peru's Nolberto Solano, Uruguay's Enzo Francescoli, France's Eric Cantona and Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron, Walter Samuel, Juan Roman Riquelme and Kily Gonzalez. But everything about this day was Maradona as the sunny afternoon left the sky blue and white the colours of the Argentine national team.
The stadium is the same Boca Juniors ground where Maradona had risen to fame as a sprightly 21year-old striker, steering Boca Juniors to the title in 1981.
{{/usCountry}}The stadium is the same Boca Juniors ground where Maradona had risen to fame as a sprightly 21year-old striker, steering Boca Juniors to the title in 1981.
{{/usCountry}}For hours before the match, the streets were packed full of fans decked out in Maradona T-shirts, shorts, scarves and hats, with shouts of "Di-ego, Di-ego" reverberating from every street corner and every bar.
Visibly moved, he stood erect for the national anthem for one last time in the No 10 jersey of the Argentina team, his first clutched to his puffed out chest and a tear in his eye.
Argentina: German Burgos, Roberto Ayala, Mauricio Pochetino, Walter Samuel, Javier Zanetti, Juan Sorin, Matias Almeyda, Jua Veron, Diego Maradona, Cristian Gonzalez, Julio Cruz.
Rest of the World: Oscar Cordoba (Colombia), Ciro Ferrara (Italy), Jorge Bermudez (Colombia), Ivan Cordoba (Colombia). Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay), Nolberto Solano (Peru), Juan Riquelme (Argentina), Carlos Valderrama (Colombia), Enzo Francescoli (Uruguay). Hrtsto Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Davor Suker (Croatia).
Uruguay's Fabian Carini, Alvaro Recoba and Carlos Aguilera; Brazil's Careca and Leonardo Rodriguez; France's Eric Cantona; Germany's Lothar Matthaus, and Colombia's Mauricio Serna all came on in the second half.