Diego Maradona insisted that his visit to the Caribbean city of Cartagena was for nothing more than a holiday.
A relaxed and lucid Diego Maradona said on Monday he was waiting for doctors' approval to permanently bolt the Cuban drug rehabilitation clinic.
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Although Lionel Messi scored yet another fantastic goal, it was the Barcelona forward's defensive work that earned him praise from Argentina coach Diego Maradona following a 2-0 defeat of France on Wednesday. Messi, who has netted 16 goals from 19 Primera Liga this season, slalomed through the French defence, wrongfooted centre back William Gallas before coolly slotting the ball past keeper Steve Mandanda to double his team's tally seven minutes from time.
The 43-year-old wants Argentine President Nestor Kirchner to help free him from a psychiatric clinic where he is being held against his will.
'Since Maradona I haven't seen anyone strike the ball like Beckham, said Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano.
Argentina coach Diego Maradona will appear before a FIFA disciplinary committee on Sunday over his foul-mouthed outburst last month, soccer's world governing body said on Tuesday. Maradona could be sidelined from matches in next year's World Cup if FIFA decide to hand him a stadium ban for his rant at the end of the 1-0 win in Uruguay that guaranteed his team a place at the finals in South Africa.
Diego Maradona faces a last chance to cure himself of drug addiction after being forced to enter a private clinic against his wishes.
Diego Maradona is delighted by plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams and Argentina's former captain said on Monday that it would rekindle interest in the tournament.
Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi, gave Diego Maradona what he described as a perfect home and competitive debut as coach by beating Venezuela 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday. Messi scored the first goal and then set up the second for Carlos Tevez before Maximiliano Rodriguez and Sergio Aguero completed an easy win for the hosts.
The duo has constantly been compared in terms of their playing style, in addition to having represented Spanish giant club Barcelona and captained Argentina.
'He is a little better than yesterday,' family doctor Alfredo Cahe said at the private Buenos Aires clinic where Maradona was taken on Sunday.
Diego Maradona took over as Argentina coach and brushed aside the possibility of failure in the role. 'I'm not afraid of losing my crown,' Maradona, one of football's all-time greatest but most troubled players, told reporters after being officially presented by the Argentina Football Association (AFA). 'We've had a mini-crisis and I would be a coward if I did not take this on.'
Diego Maradona said on Friday he would like to coach Argentina following the surprise resignation of Alfio Basile the previous day. 'I would be really delighted, who wouldn't, to coach the national team," he said in a telephone interview with the TyC Sports cable channel when asked if he would like a chance. '
Diego Maradona has been invited by Colombia's FARC to play for their team in a soccer 'Game for Peace' during talks in Cuba between the rebels and the Colombian government looking to settle a decades-old conflict.
Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona was released from the hospital at around midnight on Tuesday after a nearly two-week stay for alcohol abuse treatment, a source at the Guemes clinic told Reuters.
Blackburn Rovers' owners on Wednesday dropped a bombshell when they admitted that that they are considering former Argentina coach Diego Maradona to succeed Sam Allardyce.
Diego Maradona criticised a ban on international matches at high altitude on Monday after playing a charity game in Bolivia's national stadium at 3,600 metres above sea level. FIFA on Friday ruled that international matches can only be played above 2,750 metres if visiting teams are given one week to acclimatise and above 3,000 metres if they are given two weeks.
Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona arrived in Kunnur, Kerala to a tumultuous welcome from thousands of football crazy fans from all over the state.
Diego Maradona could decide his future on Wednesday when he is expected to meet Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona.
Diego Maradona, one of soccer's most gifted players, said he was "enjoying" the spectacle of several of the world governing body's top officials charged with corruption after US and Swiss authorities announced investigations on Wednesday.
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.
A broken Diego Maradona, his demeanour far removed from the exuberance of his previous World Cup news conferences, said Argentina's 4-0 thrashing by Germany on Saturday was the hardest day of his life.
'Messi is the best player in the world, along with Ronaldinho. I see him as very similar to me,' Maradona said.
Former Argentina football captain Diego Maradona has paid his respects to his Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro who died on Friday night.
Legendary footballer Diego Maradona wants to coach a Premier League club and Blackburn could be the favourites to get him.
Diego Maradona provided a show apart at Argentina's Davis Cup semi-final against Australia as he jumped up and down in the stands
Maradona was visiting the Central American nation on Wednesday where he was due to meet directors of the Honduran federation.
The end of Diego Maradona's tenure at the helm of Argentina's national team has dealt a hard blow to his fans, even though his performance as coach was a far cry from his genius as a player.
Argentina president Mauricio Macri has personally contacted star striker Lionel Messi and urged him not to call it quits to the national team.
Diego Maradona fights for his future as Argentina's World Cup coach when he sends his team out against Peru on Saturday. Maradona, whose side are flirting with elimination in a playoff berth, believes his players will get the victories they need to remain on course for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
Football great Diego Maradona has won a 30-year battle over tax evasion charges in Italy and will soon return to Naples, the scene of some of his greatest sporting triumphs, his lawyer said on Friday.
Diego Maradona, scorer of the infamous Hand of God goal in the finals of 1986, made a strong plea for fair play on the opening day of the World Cup on Friday. 'Let there really be fair play, let the referees understand what the words fair play mean,' Argentina's coach, targeting fouling, told a news conference.
The pair exchange gifts for the cameras when they met in Tunis on Monday with Bennaceur handing the former Argentina skipper a framed photo of himself, Maradona and Shilton, who captained England, before the match at the Azteca Stadium.
Argentina forward Lionel Messi did not deserve to win the World Cup 'Golden Ball' as the tournament's best player, according to his compatriot and former great Diego Maradona.
He also said he would like to tour the world to thank those who prayed for his health.
Diego Maradona's Argentina are dangerous because of the players he has regardless of the team's struggles in the World Cup qualifiers, Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez said on Tuesday. Argentina face Uruguay in a River Plate classic at the iconic Centenario on Wednesday in their final 2010 qualifier looking to get at least the draw that will send them to the South Africa finals.
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