MARADONA’S ANTICS BRINGING DOCUMENTARY TO LIFE

DIEGO MARADONA is providing remarkable footage at the World Cup for a documentary on his life, which is being produced by an acclaimed film-maker and partly funded by Channel 4. London-born director Asif Kapadia, who made the iconic

Senna documentary in 2010 and an Oscar-winning film on the short life of singer Amy Winehouse, sees his Maradona work as the third part of a trilogy on child geniuses and fame. And Maradona’s crazy behaviour in Russia will give the project involving Film Four unrivalled publicity before its cinema release late next year. Maradona talks in a clip about how he would drink and take cocaine from Sunday to Wednesday and then prepare for a weekend game — probably when at Napoli, whom he led to the Serie A title — from the Thursday onwards. And he is living up to that lifestyle here. His wild antics, including gesturing at fans, were such that he needed attention from paramedics in Argentina’s win over Nigeria on Tuesday. The 57-year-old even had to publicly deny claims by online hoaxers that he had suffered a heart attack after his country’s dramatic victory. ‘I am fine. I swear on the lives of my mum, my grandson Benjamin and my son Dieguito Fernando’s life that nothing happened,’ said Maradona after reaching Moscow on a private jet in the early hours of yesterday morning. He did admit, though, to bingeing on white wine during the game. In a WhatsApp recording sent to a friend, Maradona confessed: ‘Where we were, they were only serving white wine. Yes, we drank all the wine, but now I’m talking to you and I’m telling you the truth.’ A video, meanwhile, is doing the rounds of Maradona on a private jet during the tournament. He is drinking a glass of vodka balanced on his biceps after a massive meal, and with a suspicious packet of white powder by his side. All this while supposedly being an ambassador for FIFA, who pay him £10,000 a day.