'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What’s the story?
It was ‘Dada’ vs ‘God’, as the Sourav Ganguly XI came face to face against the Maradona XI in an exhibition match at the Aditya Birla Sports Complex, near Kolkata, on Tuesday. While the latter may have won a number of laurels for Aurentina back in his heydays, it was the Ganguly XI that won 3-1 in the end.
However, Maradona himself skipped the match, as he performed the ceremonial kickoff, shook everybody's hands, and headed off to the stands to watch the game.
In case you didn’t know...
Diego Maradona had mesmerised the world of football back in the 1980s and the 1990s, with both club and country. One of his greatest wins in the footballing arena came in 1986, when he led his country to the World Cup win in Mexico.
The legendary footballer, who enjoys a lot of popularity in Kolkata, landed in the City of Joy earlier this week.
Heart of the matter
The match was scheduled to take place after a workshop with some of the junior football players at the Aditya Birla Sports Complex. According to reports, the Argentine legend was too jaded after the workshop, and could not play the match.
The two sides were studded with a number of stars from the yesteryears of Indian football.
While the likes of Hemanta Dora, Shishir Ghosh, Biswajit Bhattacharya, and Dipendu Biswas played for the Maradona XI, the likes of Abhijit Mondal, Prasun Banerjee and Shyam Thapa played for the Ganguly XI.
What’s next?
Icons like Maradona are an ambassador to the beautiful game, and their presence can inspire young kids to do great things for the sport in the future. Indeed, he was seen helping a number of the kids during the workshop that they had before the match.
Author’s take
Such events need better organisation. Maradona may have marauded around the pitch with the ball in his heydays, but we cannot expect him to do the same at the age of 57.
