Diego Maradona

Commuters heading downtown from the ritzier suburbs speed past billboards with the smiling face of "Dieguito," or "Little Diego," a cartoon figure advertising an Argentine snack that amounts to the nutritional equivalent of a Twinkie. Just inside the city limits, the traffic slows. Drivers crane to get a look at a nondescript high-rise apartment building, not-so-discreetly guarded by a street full of plainclothes cops.

In the two weeks since Diego Maradona checked into a $350-a-night villa at La Pradera Spa to kick his cocaine habit, the 40-year-old Argentine soccer legend has: * Dyed his hair shock orange. * Punched out the car window of a Reuters photographer, spraying his face with glass. * Pelted a television crew with a water balloon and strutted up to the soaked camera lens, filling it with his bare, bulging belly.

Diego Maradona acknowledged that he struck the ball with his hand in the famous "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals. Speaking on his local television talk show Monday night, Maradona called one of soccer's most controversial goals "something that just came out of me. It was a bit of mischief." Maradona punched the ball into the net, and officials allowed the goal to stand despite protests by the English team.

Former soccer great Diego Maradona returned to Cuba on Monday to resume treatment for cocaine addiction after a relapse confined him to a psychiatric hospital in his native Argentina and sparked unsuccessful attempts by his family to keep him at home. Maradona, 43, declined to address reporters at Havana, greeting them only with a hasty "good night" before he smiled and left.

Former soccer great Diego Maradona surprisingly checked out of a hospital after 11 days in intensive care for heart and lung problems. He departed the Suizo-Argentina hospital in near-secrecy, leaving in a car with tinted windows. Maradona, 43, left to seek "more personalized treatment" from his own doctor, his medical team said. Maradona was listed in critical condition for much of last week, breathing with the help of a respirator.

Diego Maradona was in critical condition Monday, breathing with the help of a respirator but showing signs of improvement after heart and blood pressure problems. The former star, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, was hospitalized in the intensive care unit Sunday, hours after watching his former team, Boca Juniors, play in Buenos Aires. The medical team treating Maradona, 43, said his "progress has been satisfactory" and his blood pressure was stabilizing.

Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup soccer championship, will play for a team from the Americas in the FIFA-UNICEF World All-Star game July 27 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Franz Beckenbauer, former star and now coach of the World Cup runner-up team from West Germany, will coach a team of all-stars representing the rest of the world. Argentine Coach Carlos Bilardo, who will have the nucleus of his team on hand, will guide the Americas squad.

Diego Maradona's manager said the soccer player has begun psychological treatment and will soon start medical treatment to rid himself of a drug problem.

Diego Armando Maradona was last seen in public on Sunday, leaning from the railing of his private box at La Bombonera soccer stadium. On the field, his old team, Boca Juniors, was winning easily. But the usually animated Maradona looked bad: sweaty, bloated and depressed. The youthful Maradona was considered the greatest soccer player of his era, a mop-haired ragamuffin with a magical left foot. Now, at 43, he is a tragic and troubled figure.

Once there was a boy with a magic left foot. His name was Diego Armando Maradona. He was a poor boy from a poor neighborhood. At 10, he dazzled stadiums with juggling exhibitions during halftime at professional soccer games. He danced with the ball, making it float with his foot, his knee, his head, lost in impish rapture. When the referees tried to stop the boy and resume the games, the crowds booed. At 19, he led Argentina's national youth team to a world championship.

Diego Maradona acknowledged that he struck the ball with his hand in the famous "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals. Speaking on his local television talk show Monday night, Maradona called one of soccer's most controversial goals "something that just came out of me. It was a bit of mischief." Maradona punched the ball into the net, and officials allowed the goal to stand despite protests by the English team.

Former soccer great Diego Maradona returned to Cuba on Monday to resume treatment for cocaine addiction after a relapse confined him to a psychiatric hospital in his native Argentina and sparked unsuccessful attempts by his family to keep him at home. Maradona, 43, declined to address reporters at Havana, greeting them only with a hasty "good night" before he smiled and left.

Former soccer great Diego Maradona surprisingly checked out of a hospital after 11 days in intensive care for heart and lung problems. He departed the Suizo-Argentina hospital in near-secrecy, leaving in a car with tinted windows. Maradona, 43, left to seek "more personalized treatment" from his own doctor, his medical team said. Maradona was listed in critical condition for much of last week, breathing with the help of a respirator.

Diego Armando Maradona was last seen in public on Sunday, leaning from the railing of his private box at La Bombonera soccer stadium. On the field, his old team, Boca Juniors, was winning easily. But the usually animated Maradona looked bad: sweaty, bloated and depressed. The youthful Maradona was considered the greatest soccer player of his era, a mop-haired ragamuffin with a magical left foot. Now, at 43, he is a tragic and troubled figure.

Diego Maradona was in critical condition Monday, breathing with the help of a respirator but showing signs of improvement after heart and blood pressure problems. The former star, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, was hospitalized in the intensive care unit Sunday, hours after watching his former team, Boca Juniors, play in Buenos Aires. The medical team treating Maradona, 43, said his "progress has been satisfactory" and his blood pressure was stabilizing.

In the two weeks since Diego Maradona checked into a $350-a-night villa at La Pradera Spa to kick his cocaine habit, the 40-year-old Argentine soccer legend has: * Dyed his hair shock orange. * Punched out the car window of a Reuters photographer, spraying his face with glass. * Pelted a television crew with a water balloon and strutted up to the soaked camera lens, filling it with his bare, bulging belly.

File this one under "When Pigs Fly and Americans Beat Germany, 1-Nil": Diego Maradona, perhaps the single-most hated soccer villain by the English after his infamous "Hand of God" goal eliminated their country from the 1986 World Cup, has been offered a position as a player-coach in the English First Division, according to the former Argentine star's agent.

It's a bit late, but maybe it's the thought that counts, not the timing. Diego Maradona has reportedly apologized for his infamous "Hand of God" handball goal against England. For years, the legality of the first goal he scored for Argentina against England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup has been debated.

Once there was a boy with a magic left foot. His name was Diego Armando Maradona. He was a poor boy from a poor neighborhood. At 10, he dazzled stadiums with juggling exhibitions during halftime at professional soccer games. He danced with the ball, making it float with his foot, his knee, his head, lost in impish rapture. When the referees tried to stop the boy and resume the games, the crowds booed. At 19, he led Argentina's national youth team to a world championship.

Diego Maradona celebrated a goal by Boca Junior teammate Claudio Caniggia last Sunday in Buenos Aires by kissing him on the lips. Velez Sarsfield goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert said the kiss set a bad example for spectators: "I don't agree with two men kissing each other on the lips. Football is cause for joy, but let's not confuse matters." The euphoria proved short-lived for Maradona, as his team gave up five goals and he was ejected for arguing with the referee.