Adios to a football original

WITH Diego Armando Maradona's sudden death on Wednesday, due to a heart attack at the age of 60, football fans around the world have lost someone special.

It is easy to call him a "drug cheat" and point out the notorious "Hand of God" incident from the 1986 World Cup as proof. Was he a cheat? Yes, at least once. Was he a drug addict? Everybody knows his well-documented problems with cocaine. Was he an alcoholic wreck after his playing days? Indeed, he was.

But Maradona was also a textbook example of a maverick. He was someone who took the global game to another level. We should celebrate that irrefutable fact, while not forgetting his numerous flaws as a human being. I always call him a football artist - and that is not something I say lightly.