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Maradona tells Cuba he'll lead anti-Bush march
Argentine soccer hero Diego Maradona promised Cuban President Fidel Castro on Thursday he would be at the front of an anti-Bush march in Argentina next week.
U.S. President George W. Bush will attend a summit of leaders from all countries from the Americas -- except Cuba -- in Mar del Plata, Argentina, November 4-5.
"I think Bush is a murderer. ... I'm going to head the march against him stepping foot on Argentine soil," Maradona said, appearing on Cuban television with Castro.
"I promised the 'Comandante' that I would do it and I will," the 44-year-old football legend said, referring to Castro.
"For me he is a god," Maradona said of the 79-year-old left-wing Cuban leader, whom he considers a friend and a father figure who helped him kick drugs.
Maradona was in Havana to interview Castro for his weekly television show in Argentina, which has brought the fallen star back to the limelight after years battling cocaine addiction.
He thanked Cuba for giving him a haven for almost four years at a health farm where he still has a house and plans to rest when his television contract ends next year.
Maradona, one of the finest soccer players of all times, captained Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, but drug abuse undermined his career and health.
Following an operation this year to staple his stomach and cut his ballooning weight, a much slimmer Maradona launched a new career in August as television host. His first guest was Brazilian soccer great Pele.
The Castro interview is "icing on the cake" for his top-rated show, Maradona said.
"I was missing the greatest one, and now I have him."
"I think Bush is a murderer. ... I'm going to head the march against him stepping foot on Argentine soil," Maradona said, appearing on Cuban television with Castro.
"I promised the 'Comandante' that I would do it and I will," the 44-year-old football legend said, referring to Castro.
"For me he is a god," Maradona said of the 79-year-old left-wing Cuban leader, whom he considers a friend and a father figure who helped him kick drugs.
Maradona was in Havana to interview Castro for his weekly television show in Argentina, which has brought the fallen star back to the limelight after years battling cocaine addiction.
He thanked Cuba for giving him a haven for almost four years at a health farm where he still has a house and plans to rest when his television contract ends next year.
Maradona, one of the finest soccer players of all times, captained Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, but drug abuse undermined his career and health.
Following an operation this year to staple his stomach and cut his ballooning weight, a much slimmer Maradona launched a new career in August as television host. His first guest was Brazilian soccer great Pele.
The Castro interview is "icing on the cake" for his top-rated show, Maradona said.
"I was missing the greatest one, and now I have him."
For more information:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle....
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The Argentine football legend Diego Maradona looks set to crown his new career as a television interviewer by landing a rare, exclusive interview with a man not used to being asked awkward questions - Fidel Castro. Maradona, whose successful television work comes with a newly slimmed-down look achieved with the help of Cuban doctors, was yesterday reported to have landed in Havana with a film crew ready for the interview.
Maradona is an admirer of the 79-year-old president, who has put Cuban doctors at the former footballer's service over the years to help him shake off an addiction to cocaine that, until recently, looked as though it might kill him.
Article continues
An employee at La Pradera health spa, a retreat where Maradona lived for four years, yesterday told Reuters that he was back in town with a team of television producers.
"Maradona arrived yesterday and looks like a young boy he is so thin," said the spa employee.
The turnaround in Maradona's appearance this year has been spectacular; he is believed to have weighed up to 18 stone at one point. Last year he was rushed to hospital with heart and lung problems. But after reportedly having a stomach-stapling operation earlier this year, the 44-year-old is looking better than he has done since he stopped playing football.
More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/argentina/story/0,11439,1602499,00.html
Maradona Interviews Fidel Castro for Argentine TV
Havana, Oct 27 (AIN) Soccer superstar Diego Armando Maradona will feature an interview with Cuban President Fidel Castro for his program aired Monday's on Buenos Aires, Argentina channel 13 television.
During a special round table program being broadcast live Thursday evening in Havana, Maradona said he considers the Cuban president the world's leading statesman and expressed his satisfaction with interviewing him for his program "La Noche del 10" (The Night of 10) in reference to Maradona's No.10 soccer jersey.
Maradona said he is working hard on his highly rated program, aired weekly since its premiere on August 15. He said he had been well aware that his ability to play soccer would end some day, and that his new endeavor as a talk show host has been a big challenge.
More
http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/2005/oct27maradona-entrevista.htm
The former Argentinian World Cup hero made his pledge to the Cuban leader on television in Havana yesterday. "I think Bush is a murderer. ... I’m going to head the march against him stepping foot on Argentine soil," Maradona said.
President Bush will be in Mar del Plata, Argentina, as part of a summit of leaders from the Americas next week. Señor Castro, 79, has not been invited.
The former Barcelona player was in the Cuban capital to interview Señor Castro for his weekly popular Argentine television show, La Noche del 10 (The Night of 10), a reference to the former player’s football shirt number.
Señor Castro, dressed in his typical olive green uniform, used his appearance to expound on a variety of subjects, from regional politics to Hurricane Wilma's assault on the Caribbean island this week.
Maradona, 44, has labelled the Cuban President as "the greatest one who decides things in the world". He regards Señor Castro as a friend and a father figure who helped him to kick his cocaine habit. Maradona has a house on the island as well as a tattoo of Señor Castro's face on his leg.
Maradona’s star is rising once again in Argentina with his weekly television show. He has successfully beaten a drug addiction and a stomach-stapling operation has cut his ballooning weight. This is not Maradona's first foray into politics – he was an outspoken critic of England during the Falklands war.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1847566,00.html
The former Argentina football captain told Cuban television interviewing Mr Castro had been his dream. The two men have known each other for many years.
"For me he is a god," Maradona said of the veteran communist leader.
The interview is due to be broadcast on Argentina's Canal 13 television channel on Monday. The contents of the programme have not been revealed.
Maradona became friends with Mr Castro during his stays in Cuba to receive treatment for cocaine addiction.
He has a tattoo of the Cuban leader's face on his leg.
The football star also said he would lead a march against US President George Bush when the US leader attends the "Summit of the Americas" in Argentina in November.
Leaders from all the countries in the Americas will attend the summit - except Mr Castro.
'The greatest'
Maradona's popular television show is called La Noche del Diez - The Night of the Number Ten - in reference to the number 10 shirt Maradona wore for the national side.
The show has provided a return to the limelight for Maradona since he retired from football in 1997. Brazilian football legend Pele was his first guest.
He is widely regarded as one of the finest football players of all times, and captained Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, but cocaine addiction took its toll on his career and health.
The interview with Mr Castro is "icing on the cake" for the show, Maradona said.
"I was missing the greatest one, and now I have him," he added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4385228.stm