For the first time since he slipped out like a thief in the night back in April 1991, former Argentine superstar Diego Armando Maradona takes to the pitch back in Italy tonight when he lines out in an "inter-religious" peace match which comes complete with the approval of no less a football fan than Pope Francis.
"The Match Of Peace" will be played this evening at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, just a long walk up the banks of the Tiber from Vatican City. The brainchild of former Argentine and Inter Milan player Javier Zanetti, the game is described as "an explicit wish" of Pope Francis, a supporter of current Argentine champions San Lorenzo.
Given that approximately 50 players from different cultural and religious backgrounds - Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians - are expected to play in the game, the match obviously represents the chance to send a strong signal in favour of religious tolerance and peaceful cohabitation.
Furthermore, the game will raise money for Zanetti's Pupi Onlus NGO in Argentina, which essentially provides food and logistical support for deprived children in remote rural areas of Argentina.
Speaking in St Peter’s Square at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer yesterday, the pope greeted all those involved in the organisation of tonight’s game, saying: “Continue with your good work for children and with young people, helping them develop through education, through sport and through cultural initiatives. I wish you a good game at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow night (tonight)...”
Ahead of the fixture today, the pope met Maradona at the Vatican's Paul VI hall and was presented with an Argentina jersey by the man known to many for his "Hand of God" in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final defeat of England.
Among the many famous past and present names expected to turn out tonight are men like Roberto Baggio, Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, Ukraine star Andry Shevchenko and Argentine Diego Simeone as well as current stars Gigi Buffon, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o, German Mesut Ozil and Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Arguably, no former glory is greater than Maradona, however, who as a player famously led Napoli to its first ever Serie A title in 1987. By the time he departed Italian football in disgrace, Mardona had helped Napoli win a second league title and a UEFA Cup.
On previous occasions when 53-year-old Maradona has returned to Italy, he has been dogged by a series of polemics, many of them related to the fact that Italian Inland Revenue services believe he owes them up to €40 million in unpaid income tax.
It remains to be seen if, in the interests of this game’s charitable peace initiative, the tax men will turn a blind eye this time. After all, Maradona has already proudly stated that he has been “invited” to this game by his illustrious compatriot, Pope Francis himself.
