Maradona said fans rescued him from death
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-05-01 17:08

Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona said on Friday he stared death in the face just before his 12-day hospitalization for heart and lung trouble and that Argentina's soccer fans helped him pull through.

Argentine former soccer star Diego Maradona gestures during the match between Boca Juniors and Nueva Chicago in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in this April 18, 2004 file photo. [AP]

"I was dying," a dumpy Maradona told TV talk show host Susana Gimenez in his first public appearance since the illness, speaking slowly and sometimes incoherently.

One day after leaving the hospital seceretly, Maradona played golf at a plush country getaway outside Buenos Aires.

Just days before, doctors said he was in critical condition, heavily sedated and on an artificial respirator.

"I was hanging by a thread," said the 43-year-old World Cup-winner, regarded as one of the greatest players in soccer history.

"I started to enter the tunnel (of death) and Boca fans pulled me back, and behind them came fans of River, San Lorenzo, Racing, Huracan, Independiente," the former Boca Juniors club player said.

"It would be unfair not to give my respect and admiration to all of Argentina's soccer fans for their support," he said in the exclusive interview with local TV station Telefe.

Hundreds of fans had left cards and pictures of their hero outside the clinic where Maradona was hospitalized, while others prayed with Rosary beads.

Maradona said he planned to stay in Buenos Aires for another week and travel to Cuba and Italy afterward. He has lived in Cuba for most of the past four years while being treated for cocaine addiction.

Asked what he wanted from life, Maradona responded, "I just want to continue living without bothering anyone, without getting involved with anybody."

He also said he would like to tour the world to thank those who prayed for his health, and he hopes to visit Iraq and Afghanistan soon to show solidarity with people there.

Maradona's health problems may have eased, but his father was hospitalized on Friday with a respiratory problem.

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