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Maradona arrives to hero’s welcome in Scotland

Argentina coach Diego Maradona is seen during a training session on Monday at Celtic Park, Glasgow. PHOTO: AP

The match between England and Germany at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin may be the most high-profile international friendly this week but much attention will also be on Diego Maradona’s Argentina, who take on Scotland in his first match in charge.

Maradona arrived in Scotland to a hero’s welcome at the weekend with Scottish fans clambering for autographs, many clutching a picture of his “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup.

Maradona is revered in Scotland for putting one over on the “Auld Enemy” and will get a warm reception from fans at Hampden Park.

Scotland boss George Burley will have his work cut out to achieve a result, especially as he will be missing the likes of Rangers striker Kenny Miller, Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher and Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

Meanwhile, Maradona congratulated a schoolboy player who found a St Christopher medallion that Argentine midfielder Fernando Gago had lost on the field during a practice session at Parkhead.

Maradona hoisted 13-year-old Adam Brown into the air and posed for photos before presenting the winger with his hat and gloves.

“It was a wee gold medallion with a face on it, but I don’t know whose face,” Brown said. “It was brilliant when he lifted me up.”

“Maradona’s a legend, so when he lifted me up it was brilliant,” he said.

After well-publicized health scares and battles against addiction, the diminutive legend was a less sprightly figure than the one who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title, but he jogged occasionally and appeared increasingly interested as play unfolded.

His occasional touches of a stray ball during stretching exercises heralded a flurry of closing camera shutters, but Maradona resisted temptation to indulge in his old tricks and seemed only to speak to players when he felt it necessary — at one point raising his voice in a heated chat with Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze.

Also See: Former England star still angry over ‘Hand of God’ goal
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