Fans vigil as Maradona 'near death'

Tearful fans are today holding a vigil outside the Buenos Aires hospital where Diego Maradona is in a critical condition.

Passing car drivers sounded their horns and local television and radio was dominated by the news that the country's most famous footballer was near death.

Outside the clinic fans held aloft photographs of the player in his prime and a banner reading "Diego, Argentina loves you".

But the future was looking bleak for the 43-year-old who was rushed to the private hospital suffering from high blood pressure and has had to be hooked up to a breathing machine.

It marks the latest stage of the growing decline of the man once described as "the greatest footballer on the planet" and who became infamous to England fans following the "Hand of God" goal that knocked England out of the quarter-finals of the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

A genius on the pitch, who rose from the slums of Argentina, he was the original footballing playboy. Throughout his career he was dogged by accusations of drug abuse, wild partying and using prostitutes.

He was suspended for 15 months after testing positive for cocaine while playing for Italian club Napoli. He was subsequently given a 12-month suspended jail sentence for drug possession and trafficking. He was kicked out of the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for stimulant drugs.

In 1996, Maradona was admitted to a Swiss clinic and took part in an anti-drugs campaign. But in 1997 he tested positive again for cocaine and eventually retired from the game. Two years later he admitted: "I want to stop. I know I want to stop. I don't want to die for nothing, but the bad things I have done to my body make me feel I have chosen death."

In 2000, in Uruguay, Maradona suffered severe heart problems due to a cocaine overdose.

He then began a long recovery treatment in Cuba, but since an overweight Maradona returned to Argentina, speculation has grown over his health.

A child prodigy, Diego was just three when he first displayed a precocious talent and only 10 when he put on a breathtaking display of ball-juggling during the half-time interval of a top game in Buenos Aires. The ball never touched the ground, and nor, after that, did Diego's feet. By the age of 22, he was a millionaire.

In 1982, he was signed by Barcelona, then made a £7m move to Napoli two years later.

He was introduced to cocaine in 1983 and by his own admission, he was "hooked" immediately.

The habit grew insatiable in the six years he enjoyed the Mafiasustained-dolce vita of Naples and eventually led to disgrace.

He spent six of his finest years at Napoli as a player, turning the side from the laughing stock of Italian football to the national champions.

In 1986 he captured the ultimate victory - captaining Argentina to World Cup glory. But to English fans, he will still be remembered as villain, not hero for his role in the quarter-final match. Argentina won 2-1, with Maradona scoring both goals - including the "Hand of God" incident.

"Our win in 1986 was revenge for the Falklands," he said recently. 'It was like beating a country, not a football team. Lots of young Argentinians died there, mown down like little birds."