Anyone who arrived in Kannur on Tuesday could have easily mistaken it for Buenos Aires or any other Argentinian city. Every vantage point in this northern district of Kerala had been taken over by one man, Diego Maradona.
Some of the cutouts on display were twice the size of the diminutive football great.
"For people of Malabar, football is a religion and Maradona is our god. Today our 'football god' has come to visit us. On Wednesday morning he will bless us," said Nizam AH as he was giving finishing touches to one of the cutouts outside the Kannur Municipal stadium, where Maradona will make his public appearance on Wednesday morning.
Maradona arrived in Kerala 12 hours ahead of schedule for Wednesday's private function. Fearing inclement weather in the evening, the organisers of the event requested the football legend to advance his visit and he duly obliged.
He arrived at the Cochin International Airport in the early Tuesday morning and headed straight to Kannur via a private chopper. He landed at the army helipad here and was quickly whisked away to the hotel by security staff.
At the hotel, Maradona spent most of the day trying to overcome jet lag. But he did take some time out to shoot for an advertisement.
"Since Maradona landed in Kannur earlier than expected, we decided to complete the shooting of our advertisement on Tuesday itself. But he spent most of the day sleeping. So we couldn't complete the shoot," said Shaji JS, advertising manager of Chemmanur group, which facilitated Maradona's trip to Kerala.
Maradona stepped out in the balcony of his hotel room in the evening and waved at his thousands of fans who had assembled near the hotel - waiting to get a glimpse of the superstar - since dawn.
Efforts are on to present Maradona in public in mundu, a traditional Kerala attire. An organiser told TOI that Maradona even tried wearing it on Tuesday.
"He tried to wear a mundu a couple of times, but on both occasions, he couldn't tie it properly. Hence, one isn't sure whether he will risk wearing it in public on Wednesday," said the organiser not willing to be named.
However, the football legend will begin his address in Malayalam before moving on to Spanish. He is expected to showcase some of his footballing skills too.
A crowd of over a lakh is expected to throng the stadium which has a capacity of 50,000. Security has been beefed up as Kannur gears up for its date with El Diego.
Some of the cutouts on display were twice the size of the diminutive football great.
"For people of Malabar, football is a religion and Maradona is our god. Today our 'football god' has come to visit us. On Wednesday morning he will bless us," said Nizam AH as he was giving finishing touches to one of the cutouts outside the Kannur Municipal stadium, where Maradona will make his public appearance on Wednesday morning.
Maradona arrived in Kerala 12 hours ahead of schedule for Wednesday's private function. Fearing inclement weather in the evening, the organisers of the event requested the football legend to advance his visit and he duly obliged.
He arrived at the Cochin International Airport in the early Tuesday morning and headed straight to Kannur via a private chopper. He landed at the army helipad here and was quickly whisked away to the hotel by security staff.
At the hotel, Maradona spent most of the day trying to overcome jet lag. But he did take some time out to shoot for an advertisement.
"Since Maradona landed in Kannur earlier than expected, we decided to complete the shooting of our advertisement on Tuesday itself. But he spent most of the day sleeping. So we couldn't complete the shoot," said Shaji JS, advertising manager of Chemmanur group, which facilitated Maradona's trip to Kerala.
Maradona stepped out in the balcony of his hotel room in the evening and waved at his thousands of fans who had assembled near the hotel - waiting to get a glimpse of the superstar - since dawn.
Efforts are on to present Maradona in public in mundu, a traditional Kerala attire. An organiser told TOI that Maradona even tried wearing it on Tuesday.
"He tried to wear a mundu a couple of times, but on both occasions, he couldn't tie it properly. Hence, one isn't sure whether he will risk wearing it in public on Wednesday," said the organiser not willing to be named.
However, the football legend will begin his address in Malayalam before moving on to Spanish. He is expected to showcase some of his footballing skills too.
A crowd of over a lakh is expected to throng the stadium which has a capacity of 50,000. Security has been beefed up as Kannur gears up for its date with El Diego.
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