Maradona mesmerises school kids

Diego Maradona showed glimpses of his famous dribbling skills, his deft left-footed touches and even crooned Spanish songs as he mesmerised a bunch of school children during an event on Tuesday.

On an unusual muggy winter afternoon, the workshop with about 60 school children, including girls, at a private sports academy at Kadambagachi   turned out to be an elaborate one.

The 57-year-old, who turned up in shorts, enjoyed every bit of the gruelling session even though it literally drained him.

But the 'God of football' had no complaints and was eloquent in his three-minute speech in Spanish. "I'm here for football. It is a big step, that we take with the minister  - to uplift football in India," he said about his three-day private trip which was co-sponsored by Trinamool Congress MLA Sujit Bose, among others.

"India really has good players and a football school of boys. Your minister and I must stop this notion that football wants India and India wants football. Together with the minister and the people we will bring football," he signed off.

He also obliged the school children with photographs and did not mind sitting on the pitch for that perfect frame.

The Argentine football legend was seen shouting and making the 'young guns' make two queues as he played passes for them to shoot from the spot.

Sporting Maradona's No. 10 jersey, the boys and girls came one by one and tried out their skills. Even a few of them were seen dribbling past the 1986 World Cup hero.

Maradona was visibly ecstatic and could not control his emotions and tried out his left-footers, enthralling about 7000-odd crowd and also took a few shots.

It was also a memorable occasion for Barasat people who had a glimpse of one of the greatest football icons of all time.

"We all had been waiting for this event to take place for three months now. Our wish has finally fulfilled. I saw him doing the 'Hand of God' and he's here in front of us. I can't believe my eyes," 58-year-old Jiten Chowdhury said watching the proceedings from the galleries with an umbrella.

In his second visit to Kolkata after 2008, Maradona was originally slated to arrive on September 19, on the auspicious Mahalaya day in the build-up to the Durga Puja festival but his trip was mired in several postponements.