In the early hours Monday, his body arrived under fireworks in the city of about 430,000 people from Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital.
Lionel Messi stepped out of Diego Maradona's shadow by leading Argentina to World Cup victory last year and a statue of the diminutive forward will stand alongside those of his predecessor and Brazil great Pele at the South American federation's museum.
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.
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.
Roundup of the Champions League matches played on Wednesday night
Scenes from the champion team's homecoming...
FIFA launched proceedings against the players who angrily harangued the referee after crashing out of the tournament in Qatar, despite beating Ghana 2-0 in their final group match on December 2.
Former Barcelona defender Alba to sign for Inter Miami
Antonella Roccuzzo and her children stole the show during Argentina's 2022 World Cup last 16 clash against Australia on Saturday night.
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his infamous "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup is expected to sell for at least 4 million pounds ($5.23 million
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.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
Several thousand Argentinians are expected to descend on Qatar for the tournament starting next month but not all are having an easy ride.
'I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final'
Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni said.
A round-up of Sunday's matches in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A
Lionel Messi drew level with Diego Maradona's number of World Cup goals and appearances on Saturday, but the current No. 10 knows that only winning the trophy at long last will earn him the same eternal love of his fellow Argentines.
Germany's Tatjana Maria was named the Comeback Player of the Year after reaching her first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon after missing three majors last year due to the birth of her second daughter.
The Argentine forward's glittering resume has one major omission -- a World Cup winner's medal.
Alexander Zverev continued to rebuild his confidence on clay with a straight sets win over Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the Monte Carlo Masters second round.
Pochettino, who is well aware of Messi's game-changing abilities having worked with the 35-year-old last season, said he was still the best player in the world.
Diego Maradona's fans will have a chance to snap up memorabilia from the soccer star in an auction on Sunday, just over a year after his death, which will include his iconic cigars, a pair of BMW cars and a luxury villa that Maradona bought his parents.
The Maradonian religion has spread to several countries around the world and has more half a million followers.
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.
But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
Reactions to the death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who died on Wednesday.
"The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change."
The accused person was working as a security guard at a company in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates that was storing the belongings of the late Argentinian footballer.
Emotional crowds bid soccer legend Pele a final farewell on Tuesday
The Argentines suffered one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history
Maradona's lawyer had said earlier he was in good health and willing to fight his disease.
Many flocked to Buenos Aires's tattoo parlors to commission designs depicting Lionel Messi.
ATK Mohun Bagan entered the semifinals of the Indian Super League with a win over Hyderabad FC in Kolkata on Saturday.
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.
At one stage, police deployed pepper spray.
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets to mourn him, leaving flowers and messages at his childhood home and former soccer club Boca Juniors.
China on Tuesday angrily denounced the nuclear-powered submarine deal announced by the US, UK and Australia, saying the pact violates the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the three countries are travelling "further down the dangerous and wrong path."
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
According to the zoo, two of the gorillas had started coughing on Wednesday, following which San Diego Zoo Global initiated the process of testing fecal samples from them for SARS-CoV-2 through the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System.
A sense of euphoria was in the air in the country, particularly in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, where thousands of jubilant fans crowded to watch the match on a giant screen in the park.
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