NEWS: Diego Maradona will open the Copa America by kicking the first ball of the tournament in Venezuela at the end of the month.
The legendary Argentina striker (pictured above), who is a great admirer of Venezuela president Hugo Chavez, is expected to appear on the pitch for the host nation’s opening match against Bolivia in San Cristobal on Tuesday, June 26.
The 46-year-old is recovering after spending the early part of the summer in hospital battling hepatitis and the effects of consuming excessive levels of alcohol.
Maradona will no doubt be keen to see how his fellow countrymen get on in the tournament, especially Barcelona star Leo Messi (right), who in recent weeks has gained global attention by emulating Maradona’s goals against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.
Argentina went on to win football’s premier trophy after a superb solo goal by Maradona — widely hailed as the best of all time — which followed his controversial fisting of the ball into the net, later dubbed the “hand of God”.
Incredibly, Messi has scored near identical goals this season for Barcelona: a weaving run against Getafe in the Spanish Cup, and a handled goal against Espanyol on Saturday evening in the league.
See the goals:
July 20, 2007 at 10:50 pm
MESSI IS A SPITEN IMAGE OF MARADONA AND WILL BE REMEMBERED FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! everyone loves the hand of god!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!