Watch: Tribute paid to Maradona ahead of Argentina’s Copa America opener

Before the start of Argentina’s opening match against Chile in Copa America 2021, a video featuring Diego Maradona was played in the stadium as a tribute to the Argentine football legend. In the video, a hologram of Maradona was shown doing kick-ups sporting jerseys of the teams he played for.

Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell’s Old Boys and Argentina. The tribute was organised by CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation governing body. There were no fans at the Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. 

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The three-minute video was shared by CONMEBOL on social media platforms. It had a soundtrack of ‘Live is Life’ by Opus, which is also the song Maradona warmed up with before the match UEFA Cup semifinal against Bayern Munich in 1989 when he was a Napoli player.

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“We are paying our respects to one of the greatest players in history”, said CONMEBOL in a statement.

Maradona died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020. He made 91 appearances for Argentina during 1977-94. He famously led Argentina to world cup glory in 1986. He is regarded by many as one of the best footballers of all time.