Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma
Football fans in Kolkata are divided into two groups – The Brazil fans and the Argentina fans. When the World Cup comes around, this division, sometimes proves to be more set in stone than the traditional East Bengal-Mohun Bagan rivalry that the city is famous for.
The Brazil supporters have always sworn by Pele and for the Argentinian fans, Diego Armando Maradona, has been nothing short of a diety.
In his lifetime, Maradona visited the City of Joy twice. Once in 2008, by invitation of the Left Front government and then again in 2017, by invitation of the Sreebhumi Sporting Club.
Both times, the legend was met with a maddening response from the people of the city, to whom he was not an Argentinian, but one of their own.
In this video, Maradona fans from Kolkata – young and old – recall their fondest memories of the footballer and pay their tribute to him.
From getting an East Bengal fan to the Mohun Bagan Club, to transforming a 22-year-old from a Messi fan to a Maradona fan, the legend has done it all. Take a look!
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