Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi arrived here on Saturday with the Argentina squad to prepare for a World Cup they are among the favourites to win.
Clear skies and cool early morning autumn conditions greeted the third team to land in South Africa after Asia powerhouse Australia and five-time champions Brazil for the June 11-July 11 international football showcase.
Maradona blew a kiss to reporters at the O. R. Tambo international airport, saying “Hola, South Africa. I love South Africa.”
After a brief session with select TV crews and photographers, Maradona, Messi and a mix of foreign-based and domestic stars left in a brightly painted luxury coach for their Pretoria base.
Maradona — who is bidding to add World Cup glory as coach to the 1986 trophy he won as a player — drew huge crowds wherever he went during a pre-tournament inspection visit to South Africa and is set to be among the most colourful characters at the first African World Cup.
The 49-year-old considered by many critics the greatest footballer the game has seen created headlines this week by demanding a special heated loo seat and promising to run naked through central Buenos Aires if he lifts the Cup. A $450 heated loo seat with a warm-air blow dryer and front and rear bidet wands was ordered for the room where Maradona will stay, South African reports said. And the naked-run boast came during an Argentine radio show the day after his team outclassed Canada 5-0 in a warm-up for World Cup Group B fixtures against Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. He captained his country to World Cup glory in 1986 — the tournament in which he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England.
He has a challenge ahead. Criticisms include favouring an overly cautious system that includes only two strikers, usually Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, while leaving Champions League hero Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez and son-in-law Sergio Aguero on the bench, though Maradona did suggest after the mauling of Canada that he could deploy three strikers. — AFP