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Ailing Maradona hospitalised

Diego Maradona. — Photo: AFP

Buenos Aires: Argentine football hero Diego Maradona was taken by ambulance to a Buenos Aires clinic late on Wednesday after suffering an unspecified "imbalance" in his health, the clinic said in a statement.

Maradona, 47, was taken to the Guemes health clinic in the Argentine capital and was followed few minutes later by his two daughters, Dalma and Giannina. It was the latest of two hospitalisations since 2000, raising alarms about his health.

Argentina's 1986 World Cup hero "has entered the sanatorium for medical studies following an imbalance he suffered today," the clinic said in a statement. It did not specify what the "imbalance" was, but said it "was not related to an addiction to dangerous drugs." Argentine television newscasts overnight went live with local anchors broadcasting from the clinic and uniformed police stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the front entrance as Maradona fans rushed there for a vigil as the news spread across this football-mad nation. "Maradona is hospitalised," read the top headline of leading daily Clarin in its online edition. Maradona led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup championship and went on to become one of football's greatest players. He later battled cocaine addiction and obesity. In 2001, he was named by FIFA as one of the greatest players in football history, alongside Brazil's Pele.

Countless prayers

Fan Adrian Alonso, 31, said he would stay outside the clinic for days if necessary.

"When he feels bad, I feel bad," Alonso said. "He is the greatest of all time."

He said he wouldn't even go to work this week.

"I have to see Maradona and I don't care if they fire me. The first and most important is Number 10" — a reference to Maradona's famous No. 10 jersey.

Another man brought a baby in his arms and others unfurled blue-and-yellow banners of Maradona's Boca Juniors' club where he starred years ago.

"Everyone loves him and as a Boca Juniors fan he is the greatest that has ever walked the Earth," said one Maradona fan, Juan Martin. "We hope by being here that we give him strength."

In 2005, Maradona underwent a gastric bypass surgery in Colombia and soon after sported a thinner look.

Over the weekend, Argentine newspapers reported that Maradona had put on weight and was considering taking a "vacation" in Switzerland to help shed the extra kilos.

Maradona's doctor, Alfredo Cahe, was quoted as telling leading sports daily Ole in last Sunday's edition that he was worried about the former football star's weight, comments that generated alarm in Argentina because of his history of drug- and weight-related heart problems.

But late Wednesday, Cahe had no comment as he was shown leaving a back exit of the hospital. He refused to answer questions as he departed.

Maradona was hospitalised in Uruguay in 2000 and again in 2004 in Buenos Aires amid concern about his health. Soon after his release from the hospital in 2004, Maradona was counseled for drug abuse in Argentina and in September of that year travelled to Cuba for treatment at Havana's Centre for Mental Health.

World Cup hero

Maradona is one of the country's most revered sports heroes.

Among his feats, he also led Argentina to the 1990 World Cup final and won Italian and Argentine league titles. But in 1991, Maradona failed a drug test and was banned for 15 months, and failed another drug test at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He retired in 1997. — AP

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