Players of Manchester City and Olympiakos on Wednesday held a minute's silence ahead of their UEFA Champions League match to pay tribute to Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 60. He suffered a heart attack two weeks after being released from a Buenos Aires hospital following brain surgery.
Earlier, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferins aid, "I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Diego Maradona, one of world football’s greatest and most iconic figures. He achieved greatness as a wonderful player with a genius and charisma of his own."
"Diego Maradona was a hero in his native Argentina," added the UEFA president, "with whom he enjoyed World Cup glory, and became an eternal idol for the supporters of Napoli, who will never forget the successes he brought to the club during his memorable spell in Italy."
Čeferin said: "He will go down in history as someone who set football alight and thrilled fans young and old with his brilliance and skill. I have instructed UEFA to hold a minute's silence in memory of Diego at this week's matches."
Maradona inspired Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, as a skipper, the edition that had witnessed arguably one of the great World Cup goals ever and also the infamous 'Hand of God'. For more than two decades, Maradona ruled the hearts of football lovers with people idolising his unique style of football, such that his fame failed to get tarnished amid his addictions and a poor run as the coach of the Argentine national team. He continues to be celebrated in his nation as the “Pibe de Oro” or “Golden Boy.”
At the club level, Maradona gained success mostly with Napoli whom he led to Serie A title win and the Italian Cup victory in 1987. He also won the league title in 1990 and the UEFA European Cup in 1991.
