Former Indian captain IM Vijayan opened up about his meet with Diego Maradona who passed away recently.
Maradona, 60, passed away due to cardiac arrest at his residence recently. Mourning his death, the Indian legend recalled the time he spent with Maradona in India.
“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,” the 51-year-old Vijayan told PTI recalling the incident.
“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.
“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.
