IT was the tournament that launched a million footballing passions on this side of the world, as Mario Kempes, Daniel Passarella and Leopoldo Luque stole our hearts en route to their first World Cup triumph in 1978.

Diego Maradona headed a ball with fellow soccer legend Pele as his top guest, hobnobbed with movie stars and entertainers and made a splashy debut as a TV talk show host.

ARGENTINE football legend Diego Maradona was fighting for his life yesterday after suffering acute heart failure.

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