Diego Maradona was forced to stub out his fat cigar but no one could take the smile off his face -- or stop him talking -- after Argentina's 3-1 last 16 World Cup defeat of Mexico on Sunday.
Argentine football great Diego Maradona said on Wednesday he wants to fight the "mafia" responsible for the corruption scandal that has rocked FIFA, but he stopped short of saying he wants to be the next president of global soccer's governing body.
The cases made on both sides came with a host of subtexts: the Argentine versus the Brazilian, the man of the people versus the establishment figure, the party animal versus the quiet man, and the rebel versus the conformist.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
It is a very different victory of Maradona that fascinates me even more, notes ad guru Sandeep Goyal.
FIFA says it 'strongly rebukes' Argentina great Diego Maradona's comments that England's win over Colombia was a robbery
They were two small Argentina players with the same enormous challenge -- to meet the expectations of a soccer-mad country. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi have both proved themselves to be skilful giants on the world soccer stage despite their diminutive frames of 1.65 and 1.70 metres respectively.
The trend has generated a wave of social media memes and satire, and even the creation of an app that allows you to track where to get the coveted stickers. New stock has been selling out in a matter of hours.
An estimated 10,000 Napoli supporters, including the team's most famous player Diego Maradona, are expected to make the trip to the Spanish capital for the first competitive meeting with Real Madrid since the 1987.
A summary of Monday's action in LaLiga and Serie A.
He was among the millions left speechless by Sachin Tendulkar's farewell speech and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said the retired legend can only be compared to football great Diego Maradona when it comes international sporting icons.
Two of the most intimidating strikers in world football, Argentina's 35-year-old Lionel Messi and Poland's 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski, line up against each other on Wednesday with a last 16 place at stake in the World Cup.
The storyline underpinning the match for most of the world is whether Lionel Messi can get his hands on the trophy in his fifth attempt to finally lift himself up alongside, never above, Diego Maradona in the hearts of his nation.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
'It's useless trying to make a leader out of a man who goes to the toilet 20 times before a game'
'It was a signal really, because it was the first goal in a tight game. When he cheated, a lot of the players as well as me complained... I was chasing the referee. But it stood.'
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
Lionel Messi's passionate performances at the Qatar World Cup are earning him oodles of love from Argentines, but their old favouritism for Diego Maradona may resurface unless he brings home the trophy on his final attempt.
The Argentine forward's glittering resume has one major omission -- a World Cup winner's medal.
An Argentine football club has recreated the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of its gymnasium, with Diego Maradona as God, Lionel Messi as Adam and a host of angels that include Mario Kempes, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Batistuta.
Soccer fans watch the telecast of the World Cup game between Argentina and Saudi Arabia on a Kolkata street with the God Of Football (Diego Maradona holding the 1986 World Cup trophy poster) to keep them company.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The autopsy, which was based on blood and urine samples and released by the Buenos Aires Scientific Police, said Maradona had problems with his kidneys, heart and lungs.
Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho will visit to Kolkata in October.
Scenes from the champion team's homecoming...
Messi's Instagram post with the Copa America trophy has become the platform's most-liked sports photograph.
Several thousand Argentinians are expected to descend on Qatar for the tournament starting next month but not all are having an easy ride.
Antonella Roccuzzo and her children stole the show during Argentina's 2022 World Cup last 16 clash against Australia on Saturday night.
Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho on Sunday arrived in Kolkata on a two-day visit.
The warmth and respect for India were evident wherever I went and noticed how most Latin Americans have Indian gurus either directly or online and yoga was very much in vogue, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Emiliano Martinez said he had always wanted to come to India.
IMAGES from the South American World Cup qualifiers played on Tuesday.
Ronaldo's 130 goals for his country is also way out on its own at the head of most scored in international football
Global sales of soccer gear were up more than 700% for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar versus the 2018 World Cup in Russia across the Fanatics network of online stores.
Lionel Messi kept his dream of winning his first World Cup alive by rifling in the opening goal in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Mexico in World Cup Group C, proving he was far from done in the tournament.
Diego Maradona's Argentina finally clinched a place in the 2010 World Cup finals following a tortuous qualifying campaign with a 1-0 away win over bitter rivals Uruguay on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi does not need a World Cup winners' medal to be considered among soccer's all-time greats, fellow Argentine Diego Maradona has said.
Olympic golds medal-winning coach Sergio Batista was poised on Monday to succeed Diego Maradona and lead Argentina to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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