OneFootball
Dan Burke·30 October 2019
OneFootball
Dan Burke·30 October 2019
There is rolling out the red carpet for a legend of the game and then there is this.
On Tuesday evening, Diego Maradona took his Gimnasia de La Plata side to face Newell’s Old Boys on what was the eve of his 59th birthday.
Gimnasia went into the game having won just once in their last nine games but Maradona was given a hero’s welcome on his return to the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, where he had a short spell as a player in 1993/94.
A huge tifo in tribute to the Argentine icon was unfurled in the stands before kick-off …
Before El Diego came out onto the pitch and was led over to a throne bearing the word ‘God’ at the side of the pitch …
The 1986 World Cup winner watched the whole game while sitting in the throne and fans could tune into a special Diego Cam to follow his every move.
And it had the desired effect for Gimnasia, who won 4-0 thanks to a flurry of goals early in the second half.
We knew Maradona was revered in his homeland, but this is really something else.
Oh, and lest we forget. Happy birthday Diego! Here’s to many more.