China furious with Maradona’s antics

On his first visit to China, Diego Maradona passed on the Great Wall, skipped meetings to play golf and turned down interviews so he could e...

On his first visit to China, Diego Maradona passed on the Great Wall, skipped meetings to play golf and turned down interviews so he could eat chicken and watch soccer in his hotel suite. The former Argentine soccer star’s sponsors say things couldn’t have gone better. The ex-champion came to China to promote a sportswearline that bears his name. His antics ensured him heavy press coverage — even if not all reviews were positive. “Taking advantage of Chinese football fans’ admirable tolerance, Maradona’s China tour is fast becoming a farce,” the Shanghai Star newspaper said in an article headlined “Prima Maradona.”

Maradona, who left yesterday for Paris, spent three weeks in Beijing and Shanghai to meet with investors and fans and discuss opening a soccer school on the southern island of Hainan.

Few financial details were available, but Chen Honglei, the Italian-based Chinese businessman whose company sponsored the visit, declared it a resounding success.

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The visit added a strange new chapter to the career of the mercurial soccer genius who emerged from childhood poverty to became one of the game’s greatest forwards, winning the sort of cachet internationally that Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods enjoys in the United States.

Retired since 1997, Maradona has struggled to find a role off the field, travelling restlessly and frequently stirring controversy.

Now a resident of Cuba, where Maradona went to quit cocaine and receive heart treatment, he has worked occasionally as a sports commentator but his finances are reported to be unsteady.

An Italian court last year upheld a $34 million tax bill. He is reported to also be fighting for custody of his two daughters. China beckoned this spring, when the star signed on with Chen, who registered a Maradona sportswear company in Italy this year.

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Maradona holds 20 per cent of the partnership and agreed to licence his image and name, Chen said.

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