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The day Kobe Bryant met Diego Maradona: what did he tell him

By Fredi Roman

The NBA legend lived an extraordinary moment in which he met the soccer star some years ago. Both admired each other and had a nice chat.

The NBA legend lived an extraordinary moment in which he met the soccer star some years ago. Both admired each other and had a nice chat.

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Being already the first year after Kobe Bryant’s death, lots of tributes arrived from around the world. The NBA star died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash. Alongside him was his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. His soccer counterpart Diego Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, after suffering a heart attack. Both were hugely idolized in every continent.

Bryant always spoke about his admiration for some soccer players. He raised in Reggio Calabria, Italy, the town chosen by his father after his retirement from basketball. Mamba learn to speak fluent Italian since he lived since he was 6 until 13 years old. There, he gained big interest in soccer, and of course, Diego Maradona.

Fate took both of them to the top of the world, and allowed them to meet each other, as Bryant remembered. Argentina and Brazil played the men’s soccer semifinal in the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing. Since he was playing the basketball tournament for United States, he was able to attend the game. On his way to there, he met both Pelé and Diego Maradona.

“I felt as a kid, I saw him playing for Napoli so I had big eyes and asked him for a picture together and an autograph. I have that in my office”, he recalled in 2009 speaking to sports journalist Enrique Gutiérrez from Univision. Argentina would went on to win that match 3-0 and later beat Nigeria 1-0 in the Gold Medal match.

 


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