Livid Maradona offers reward over ‘death’ report

BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona has offered a $10,000 reward to identify the source of reports he had died after Argentina’s World Cup match against Nigeria, his lawyer said Thursday.

The reports, circulated via WhatsApp voice messages from a man with an Argentine accent, said the 57-year-old star had been hospitalized and had died of cardiac arrest.

“I gave instructions to make public the decision to offer a reward of 300,000 pesos (around $10,000) to anyone who can provide true and accurate information about the author of the audios,” lawyer Matias Morla told Argentina’s Clarin daily from Russia.

The Argentine star took ill at the end of the match and had to be helped from his seat.

But he denied rumors of ill health the day after, telling reporters: “I’m perfect. I’ve never been better.” Morla said Maradona had suffered “a spike” in blood pressure.

“It’s a subject that at one time alarmed him. It’s no secret how he lives through a game. How he lived them as a player is how he lives them as a fan.” According to Morla, Maradona shouldn’t even have been at the stadium for the second half of the game, in which a late goal secured Argentina’s World Cup.

“The doctors told him to rest, not to stay for the second half of the Argentina-Nigeria match, but asking that of Maradona is like asking a son not to love his mother.” “For Diego, the team is Dona Tota (his mother), and he will never let her on her own,” he said.

The audio messages spread on social media after the match.

“Maradona’s sisters heard the news, they could not communicate with me nor with their brother, and one of them suffered a weakness, and the truth is that we cannot let such an outrage go by,” Morla told Clarin.—AFP

Argentina’s Messi is different from Barca’s Messi

ISTRA: France’s chance against Argentina in the World Cup last 16 might be that Lionel Messi does not benefit from the same support with the national team than at Barcelona, his club team-mate Samuel Umtiti said on Thursday.

The France centre back has been Messi’s team-mate for two years and he will cross the forward’s pass when Les Bleus take on Argentina in a mouth-watering second round tie on Saturday.

Umtiti, who is expected to start at the Kazan Arena after being rested in France’s last group game against Denmark, said: “I see him every day. It is very hard to stop him. He’s got outstanding qualities. We will try to stop him but he’s not the only one in this Argentina team, they have other strikers.”

But while Messi can rely on a reliable Luis Suarez at Barca, he is a bit more on his own with Argentina, with Gonzalo Higuain having notably not scored in his last eight outings with the national team.

He also has to deal with the weight of a whole nation expecting him to win the World Cup in what is likely to be his last shot at the biggest trophy in football. “He is different with Argentina than with Barcelona,” said Umtiti. “He does not have the same players with him and their way of playing is different but he has saved them on several occasions. The Argentineans are tough on him, but he cannot do everything on his own.”—Reuters

Iran’s Azmoun quits citing insults

ST PETERSBURG: Iran striker Sardar Azmoun announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, saying he had decided to quit the national team because insults aimed at the 23-year-old had ruined his mother’s health.

Iran were knocked out of the World Cup with a win, a defeat and a draw in their three Group ‘B’ matches, and Azmoun, Iran’s top scorer in qualifying, did not replicate his best form in Russia, where he failed to score a single goal.

“Playing in my national team has been a great honour for me and I will be proud of myself to the end of my days,” Azmoun said in a post on social media. “Unfortunately... I have come to the decision to say goodbye to my national team.

“This is one of the most painful and significant life decisions for a youth of 23, who faced great hardships to get here.”

Although Iran left the World Cup with their heads held high, beating Morocco in their first match and narrowly losing to Spain before securing a gritty draw with Portugal, Azmoun said he had been subjected to abuse for his performances.

“There are some things in life that will speak first to you,” he added. “My mother had overcome a serious illness and I was happy, but unfortunately because of the unkindness of some people, and the insults that me and my team-mates in no way deserved, her illness has become severe. This has put me in a difficult position where I must pick one or the other — and as a result I pick my mother.”—Reuters

Kolarov, Matic ponder future after Serbia’s exit

MOSCOW: Serbia’s captain Aleksandar Kolarov and midfielder Nemanja Matic are considering their international futures after a 2-0 defeat by Brazil in Moscow eliminated the national side from the World Cup.

“I will speak with the people from the football federation, whether they see me in the national team,” the AS Roma and former Manchester City defender Kolarov, 32, was quoted as saying by Blic newspaper. “If I can’t contribute to what the national side needs, I won’t be selfish. “It will be hard for me but I will stay away.”

“First I need a rest,” the 30-year-old Matic said, noting he had played more than 60 games this season for Manchester United and his country. “I’m drained, both emotionally and physically. We’ll see. If I feel I cannot give my maximum, I’ll pull out.”

The Belgrade press largely echoed coach Mladen Krstajic’s praise for his team’s fighting spirit in being outclassed by the five-times world champions; Blic called them ‘heroes’.

“We went out to win against a powerhouse in modern football and we came up short,” Krstajic said. “I congratulate my players for their brave efforts. That’s how it goes in football. We have to up our game. The players gave their all,” added Krstaji.—Reuters

‘Germany exit won’t end bonanza’

FRANKFURT: German sporting goods maker Adidas said on Thursday it expects to sell around eight million football shirts this year even after former champions Germany’s shock exit from the World Cup.

“Of course we’re disappointed, but that’s sport, we’re sponsors, we’re there in good and in bad moments,” a spokeswoman said. “Together [with Germany] we’ve become world champions four times and European champions three times in the past.”

Bavaria-based Adidas sponsors some 12 teams taking part in this year’s Russia World Cup, six of them definitely qualified for the knockout stage: Russia, Sweden, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Belgium. Colombia and Japan could also still make it past the group games.

The firm expects combined sales of all its sponsored teams’ kits to reach around eight million, more than during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Looking to competitors, US-based Nike boasts England, Brazil, Croatia, Portugal and France among its remaining lineup.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2018