Fans at World Cup pay homage to football great Diego Maradona with shirts and chants

24.11.2022 - 13:47 arabnews.com

DOHA: Javier Maluf will quietly put on a shirt worn by Diego Maradona against England, but other fans at the World Cup have more noisy plans for Friday’s second anniversary of the death of the flawed genius.

Argentina’s legion of supporters may also be praying to the sporting gods that the late football great can still inspire his country to victory over Mexico on Saturday to keep their hopes in Qatar alive.

Maluf is like many Argentina fans who have never fully recovered from Maradona’s death from a heart attack at the age of 60.

The shirt that Maradona wore during a game against England at Wembley in 1980 is the prized item in Maluf’s collection of 1,000 game-worn football jerseys that he estimates is worth $1 million. “I will put it on for a while as a sign of respect,” he said at his Doha home, where the shirts and other souvenirs are kept. “We all know his story but we all know his impact on the game.” A respected memorabilia sleuth, Maluf, 56, also has a blood-stained Argentina shirt worn by Mario Kempes in a 1978 World Cup game against France.

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Lionel Messi and Luka Modric face off in a mouthwatering World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia on Tuesday, desperate to seize their final chance to win football's ultimate prize.

Argentina and Messi in World Cup showdown with Modric’s Croatia

DOHA: Argentina and Lionel Messi face Croatia on Tuesday in a World Cup semifinal that pits South American flair against the guile of Luka Modric and a remarkable fighting spirit. In the second semifinal on Wednesday, reigning champions France take on giant-killing Morocco, the first African team ever to reach the last four of a World Cup. But first all eyes will be on the cavernous Lusail Stadium, where Messi, now 35, will attempt to guide Argentina into the final for the second time in eight years against the beaten finalists in 2018. Messi, who suffered defeat to Germany in the 2014 final, is desperate to crown an extraordinary career by finally winning the World Cup and emulating another Argentinian legend, the late Diego Maradona. The Paris Saint-Germain forward was a pivotal figure in Friday’s stormy quarter-final win over the Netherlands, when a record 18 yellow cards were shown and players from both sides were involved in a melee as the referee fought to regain control. The match ended with Argentina players appearing to taunt their distraught Dutch opponents before sprinting away to celebrate after a penalty shoot-out win. Even the normally mild-mannered Messi was caught up in the bad blood, shouting abuse at Dutch players while he was being interviewed after the game. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his players’ conduct in an eve-of-game news conference on Monday, insisting they had nothing to apologize for. “The game the other day was played in the right way by both teams. That is football,” said the 44-year-old Argentina coach. “I don’t buy this idea that we don’t know how to win. The game was played in the right way.”

Argentina, Croatia ready for World Cup clash as semifinals kick off

DOHA: Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni brushed off accusations of poor sportsmanship on Monday as the South Americans prepared for a World Cup semifinal showdown against Croatia.