Diego Maradona: Know About His 'India' Connection & The Time He Played Against Sourav Ganguly

Maradona in his lifetime, visited Kolkata the football capital of India, twice. First in 2008, which was a two-day tour, and then nine years later in 2017, which was a three-day trip.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 06, 2008 Argentina's national team coach and former football star Diego Armando Maradona gestures as he attends a felicitation programme at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. - Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020. (Photo by Deshakalyan CHOWDHURY / AFP)

Diego Maradona, the Argentinian football legend on Wednesday, November 25, passed away after suffering a heart attack at his home in Tigre Argentina. Maradona in his lifetime, visited Kolkata the football capital of India, twice. First in 2008, which was a two-day tour, and then nine years later in 2017, which was a three-day trip. In 2008, when the football legend, reached Kolkata on the midnight of December 5, 2008, where he was welcomed by more than 15,000 football fans. In his two-day short trip, Maradona inaugurated the Indian Football School in Maheshtala, 13 km south of Kolkata. The player later went on the fields of Mohan Bagan football club where he played a 10-minute match with the club juniors. Later, he went to Mother Teresa’s grave to offer his prayers and tributes. ‘El Diego’ in his trip also met former CM of West Bengal Jyoti Basu, who was a friend of Fidel Castro and while seeing the pictures of both the communists together, he said that friend of Fidel Castro is a friend of mine, so Jyoti Basu is my friend too. Friendly match with Sourav Ganguly The next and the last visit the greatest footballer made to India, was in 2017, again in December. In the three-day trip, the footballer played a friendly match with the former Indian captain of the cricket team, Sourav Ganguly. The trip was originally scheduled for October in 2017 but was later postponed to December. The major attraction of the trip was the 12-foot bronze statue of the legendry footballer which was unveiled at the charity event, the statue was supposed to feature a 25-year-old Maradona, sporting curly locks, and clutching the World Cup trophy he captained his country to in 1986. After which, ‘El Diego’ handed out cheques to 11 cancer patients at the event, which was attended by around a thousand people, some of whom were standing on rooftops of the adjoining buildings. Before concluding his trip, a smiling Maradona said through an interpreter after the unveiling of the statue said, “I am not the god of football but a simple footballer, I’m happy to be here in Kolkata again. “It’s amazing to have my statue here.”