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Day Maradona was centre of attention 30 years on from football heroics

Adrian Rutherford

Watching Argentina play in the 2018 World Cup in Russia

November 26 2020 06:46 AM

Even after all these years, Diego Maradona was still able to draw the cameras, still the centre of attention.

I saw it for myself - at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Three days into the competition, and his beloved Argentina were playing Iceland at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow.

Thirty-plus years had passed since his greatest triumph at the 1986 tournament in Mexico.

This was a different time, a very different place, but Maradona was lighting up a World Cup one more time.

The anticipation that had been building ahead of kick-off suddenly surged with the first sighting of the great man.

As he shuffled to his seat, photographers rushed forward, while the crowd's eyes shifted from the pitch to the VIP box.

Even with a World Cup game about to start, everyone wanted a glimpse.

All around, they chanted 'Diego, Diego, Diego'.

From the stands, banners paid homage to this genius of a past era. One had his face silhouetted against the flag of his homeland, declaring him a national hero.

The world's press focus on Maradona - and not the football at the World Cup. Pic Adrian Rutherford.

Even in the age of Lionel Messi, there was a special and enduring bond between Maradona and Argentinian people, as seen that hot Saturday afternoon in Moscow.

For some it was the story of the local boy made good - the prodigious talent, born and raised in a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, who became a global superstar.

They recall with affection the genius which transformed the class of '86 into world champions.

But with genius can come flaws, and with Maradona came chaos and controversy.

He was dragged down by a cocaine addiction and banned from club and international football for failed drug tests.

His final shot at World Cup glory in 1994 ended in disgrace after testing positive for doping.

In later years Maradona's health suffered - a major heart attack in 2004 left him in intensive care.

But he was still idolised by the people of his homeland, who have never forgotten the genius who defined a generation.

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Day Maradona was centre of attention 30 years on from football heroics

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