’Pool stars queue to meet Maradona as Benitez holds ‘positive’ talks
Maradona travelled down the M62 from his meetings at Manchester United’s training ground earlier in the day to bring Liverpool’s Melwood HQ to a standstill.
Liverpool’s star-stuck players queued outside Benitez’s office to have their pictures taken with one of the world’s greatest players and even members of Jamie Carragher’s family arrived to get in on the act.
Benitez said: “I was having a discussion with Maradona in my office, but it was very difficult. There was a constant stream of our biggest players wanting to meet him. Probably our two most famous were first in the queue.”
Steven Gerrard, Carragher and Robbie Keane headed the line of players wanting to meet the 1986 World Cup winner.
Benitez said: “Maradona was great, he was very patient with all the requests. Even some of Carragher’s family turned up.
“Xabi Alonso also wanted to meet him, his father had played alongside Maradona at Barcelona.
“We also had lots of the youngsters here who were just speechless and wanted to meet him.”
Maradona spent almost two hours at the training ground, and held talks with Mascherano regarding the possibility of him taking over as captain of Argentina.
Mascherano was the last player to leave the training ground, but refused to discuss details of his meeting with Argentina’s new coach.
Benitez said: “We talked about what Maradona wants from us and from Javier. The talks were positive, it was helpful to know what he was thinking.
“I did not discuss Javier becoming captain. But he has all the right credentials if he wants to do the job. He would make a great captain.”
Earlier Maradona presented Rio Ferdinand with a signed shirt as a 30th birthday gift in front of an awe-struck Manchester United dressing room.
Maradona stopped off at United’s Carrington training ground as part of a whistle-stop tour of Europe as he gets to grips with his new job as Argentina coach.
“We were like schoolkids around a star coming to school,” said Ferdinand.
“In my eyes he is the best footballer ever. He is one of my heroes, if not the shining beacon when I was a kid.
“I had all his videos. He was the player everyone wanted to be. He was the best. He was my idol and part of the reason why I started to play football.
“I can’t hold him in higher esteem than that. To be able to shake his hand, get a cuddle off him and a picture, it made my birthday. Everyone was trying to impress him. I hope he will go back to Argentina and say he’s seen a great player — Rio Ferdinand!”
Ferguson can understand the reaction completely. As he stated last week, he still regards Maradona as the only player who can challenge Pele’s status as football’s number one.
“It was good. The players were all delighted to see him,” said the United boss.
“It is arguable who is the best player in the world but without a doubt, he is in the best two or three.”
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