Maradona's ties with China

July 25, 1996
Diego Maradona, as captain of Argentine Boca Juniors, plays in a match against Beijing Guo'an in Beijing.

November 2003
Maradona comes to China and visits the Great Wall in Beijing.

August 23, 2008
Maradona witnesses Argentina win Olympic gold by beating Nigeria 1-0 in front of 89,102 fans at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.

November 2010
Maradona comes to Beijing for a 10-day charity tour China.

He visits China several times after that, and even gives his blessing for Chinese soccer: China is a crouching lion at soccer and I believe Chinese football will succeed one day.

Chinese fans mourn the passing of soccer legend Diego Maradona at the Argentine embassy in Beijing on Nov 26, 2020. 

(Photo by Wei Xiaochen/chinadaily.com.cn)

Tributes have been pouring in for Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona, who has died at the age of 60.

Maradona, who is regarded as one of the game's greatest players of all time, died of a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires.

He captained Argentina's 1986 World Cup-winning team, memorably scoring two goals in the quarter-final win over England, including the infamous "Hand of God" goal.

(Edited by Ye Ke)