Maradona's Refusal To Cut Football-Shaped Cake Showed His Love For Game: Vijayan Recalls Cherished Moment With Soccer Legend

One of India's greatest strikers IM Vijayan rolled back the years to re-collect one of his most cherished moments of his life when he meet Maradona, while the Argentine soccer legend visited Kerala a few years agoVijayan's vivid impression about Maradona immense love for football was completely in line with former English striker Gary Lineker's description of Maradona's romance with football.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 10, 2015 Argentina's legendary ex-footballer Diego Maradona waves at the crowd during the "Game for Peace" to support Colombia's ongoing peace process, in Bogota. - Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020. (Photo by Luis ACOSTA / AFP)

A pall of gloom descended on world soccer as Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona passed away at the age of 60 post suffering a cardiac arrest on Wednesday (Nov 25). Widely hailed as arguably the greatest footballer to have graced the 'Beautiful Game', Diego Maradona was not just a player but an institution of sorts of the most popular and widely followed sport globally. Maradona's popularity soared to tectonic heights all around the world after he led soccer-crazy Argentina to their second World Cup title in the 1986 edition of the showpiece event at Mexico. While Maradona's passing away has surely left a massive void among the soccer fraternity which will be tough to fill, soccer stars around the world drew some consolation by recalling and sharing some prized moments they spent with the Argentine legend. One of India's greatest strikers IM Vijayan rolled back the years to re-collect one of his most cherished moments of his life when he meet Maradona, while the Argentine soccer legend visited Kerala a few years ago Vijayan was one of the lucky few ones to meet Maradona in person, play a bit of football and even embrace the soccer great with a hug at a private event in Kerala. Vijayan's vivid impression about Maradona immense love for football was completely in line with former English striker Gary Lineker's description of Maradona's romance with football. "He has such an incredible passion for the game. I have never seen anyone have such a beautiful affection with a football. Diego is incredible," Lineker said in a heartfelt tribute, which has gone viral online. That is Diego Maradona, that is his impact, said the scorer of one of the fastest goals in competitive football. IM Vijayan Shares An Incident From His Meeting With Maradona In Kerala Which Reflects How Dearly The Soccer Legend Loved Football  "In 2012 in Kannur, I saw first-hand what football meant to Maradona. As part of festivities, a cake was designed like a ground with a football on top of it. The moment Maradona saw it, he refused to cut it," Vijayan told PTI recalling the incident. Vijayan said that the incident "told me" how much the football and the ground meant to Maradona who died on Wednesday following a cardiac arrest. He was 60. "He agreed to cut only the outer part of the cake. I can say that playing two minutes of football with him on the stage remains one of my biggest achievements in life," he added. Vijayan also felt Maradona's outspoken nature and child-like enthusiasm could have triggered a lot of problems for him in his personal life, which were full of ups and downs and marred by controversies . "I always felt he had the heart of a child. And his forthright approach may have created all the problems for him. "He is open about things and say them as they are, on the face," Vijayan said. His death resonated beyond football with sporting icons such as Mike Tyson and Magic Johnson paying rich tributes and recalling their encounters with the football wizard. "He may have died but in the hearts of us footballers, he will live on forever. To me, Maradona is God, and God doesn''t die," said Vijayan. "Like so many other footballers across the world and India, I too started playing football after watching him play in the 1986 World Cup and lift the trophy, almost singlehandedly, with his dazzling game," he recalled. Inputs from PTI