<p class="title">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 57-year-old, who turned up in shorts, enjoyed every bit of the gruelling session even though it literally drained him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also obliged the school children with photographs and did not mind sitting on the pitch for that perfect frame.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was also a memorable occasion for Barasat people who had a glimpse of one of the greatest football icons of all time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>
<p class="title">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 57-year-old, who turned up in shorts, enjoyed every bit of the gruelling session even though it literally drained him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also obliged the school children with photographs and did not mind sitting on the pitch for that perfect frame.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was also a memorable occasion for Barasat people who had a glimpse of one of the greatest football icons of all time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>