Soccer: Maradona shines for one last time in farewell match

Diego Maradona returned to the field to play his farewell match in front of 50,000 devoted fans in Buenos Aires.

Maradona, who quit the game four years ago, joined a host of soccer stars from around the world for one last game.

Playing with Argentina's current national squad and wearing the number 10 jersey, Maradona scored twice as his team beat a Rest of the World side 6-3.

Among the big names taking part were former Manchester United legend Eric Cantona - who has declared his admiration for Maradona many times - Colombia's Carlos Valderrama, German hero Lothar Matthaus, Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov, Newcastle United star Nolberto Solano of Peru, Uruguay's Enzo Francescoli, plus Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron, Walter Samuel, Juan Roman Riquelme and Kily Gonzalez.

Watching the game from the stands were Brazilian legend Pele and Michel Platini, the former French captain, both representing Fifa, soccer's world governing body.

But everything about this day was Maradona as the sunny afternoon left the sky blue and white - the colors of the Argentine national team - at Boca Juniors' Bombonera stadium.

The ground is the same one at which Maradona had risen to fame as a sprightly 21-year-old striker, steering Boca Juniors to the Argentine title in 1981.

The following year, he transferred to Spanish giants Barcelona for the then huge sum of 10m US dollars.

For hours before the match, the streets were packed full of fans decked out in Maradona T-shirts, shorts, scarves and hats, with shouts of "Di-ego, Di-ego" reverberating from every street corner and every bar.

Maradona, who had worked to shed 44lbs (20kg) in recent months to be fit for Saturday's game, came out to a chorus of fireworks, drum beats and wild cheers.

Visibly moved, he stood erect for the national anthem for one last time, his fist clutched to his puffed out chest and a tear in his eye.

As for the game, that was almost a side-issue as the Argentina team won easily.

Pablo Aimar also scored two goals while Claudio Lopez and Lucas Castorman got the other two. Davor Suker, Cantona and Higuita knocked in the Rest of the World's strikes.

More important for the fans, Maradona showed some of the old magic - the dinking passes, the clever runs, the near-perfect ball control, that instinctive reading of the game.

Eighteen minutes in, Maradona shimmied away from his marker and his shot flew just over the bar. Soon after, he curled a free kick around the wall that nearly struck its target.

After 27 minutes, looking a little sharper, the diminutive striker received a pass from Veron, stepped away from his defender and rifled in a shot from the edge of the box that just flew wide of the right post.

Early in the second half, Maradona collected a pass outside the area, stopped the ball, shifted into space and curled a 25-yard drive just wide.

But the crowning moment came in the 63rd minute. Pablo Aimar won a highly suspicious penalty and up stepped the 41-year-old to drill the spot-kick past former Colombia goalkeeper Rene Higuita.

The Bombonera exploded in celebration, all the more so when Maradona, jogging away in celebration, tore off his Argentina jersey to reveal a Boca Juniors shirt underneath.

Another - even more suspicious - penalty was tucked away by Maradona in the last minute.

It was a well-deserved festival of soccer for Maradona, who during a 23-year career played in 692 games and scored 352 goals in the Argentine, Spanish and Italian leagues.

He also led Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986 and to the runners-up spot in 1990.

Argentina: German Burgos, Roberto Ayala, Mauricio Pochetino, Walter Samuel, Javier Zanetti, Juan Sorin, Matias Almeyda, Juan Veron, Diego Maradona, Cristian Gonzalez, Julio Cruz.

Rest of the World: Oscar Cordoba (Colombia), Ciro Ferrara (Italy), Jorge Bermudez (Colombia), Ivan Cordoba (Colombia), Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay), Nolberto Solano (Peru), Juan Riquelme (Argentina), Carlos Valderrama (Colombia), Enzo Francescoli (Uruguay), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Davor Suker (Croatia).

Uruguay's Fabian Carini, Alvaro Recoba and Carlos Aguilera; Brazil's Careca and Leonardo Rodriguez; France's Eric Cantona; Germany's Lothar Matthaus; and Colombia's Mauricio Serna all came on in the second half.