ARGENTINA: SOCCER - Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona gives a television interview in his first public appearance after his most recent bout of health problems

Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona gives a television interview in his first public appearance after his most recent bout of health problems. A clean-shaven, well-dressed Diego Maradona vowed to get fit and stay healthy on Monday (May 7) night, in his first public appearance since he was hospitalized for alcohol-induced hepatitis. The Argentine soccer hero, who has also struggled with drug abuse and obesity in the past, added he would find out who spread the rumour that he had died while he was in treatment -- a rumour which the media scrambled to confirm. Maradona entered the live television interview on Argentina's Channel 13 in amidst a cloud of confetti and the cheers of viewers. Sitting down at a desk with celebrity talk-show host Marcelo Tinelli, Maradona spoke at length about his most recent health problems as pictures of him during different phases of his career flashed on huge screen in the background. Maradona admitted that excessive drinking may have harmed his health, but he said a previous bout with hepatitis in the early 1980s compounded the problem. "I was sick - I recognize I was sick when they took me in," he told Tinelli. "I had hepatitis in 1983 in Barcelona and well, I suffered. It's very strange to get hepatitis again. When you have it once, you don't have it again, but it happened to me and here I am. I'm sad because they [the media] didn't show any respect for my parents or my daughters. My daughters are older - they understand everything. I don't know why they want to see me dead. The only fear I have is to not be able to get on a good training programme, more than anything for my liver. But I've always had a good response from my body. I've punished my body my entire life. As I said to you on another show: what a player I'd have been if I hadn't done cocaine," he said, chuckling at the last comment. Speaking more slowly than usual, Maradona said he was still taking medication but he did not say what kind. He was alert enough to crack jokes, however, and spoke emotionally about his fans and the rumours of his death. "Thanks to everyone for praying for me when they said I was sick. And if I stole tears from anyone when they said I was dead, I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart. But I'm strong and they are not going to kill me so easily. I'm not going to die," he said. Recognized by many as one of the world's most brilliant soccer players, Maradona led Argentina to its 1986 World Cup victory and is revered in his own country and around the world. On Sunday (May 6), Maradona left the psychiatric clinic where he was treated for two weeks after being hospitalized. His personal doctor told Reuters Maradona will continue going to the clinic three times a week for follow-up treatment. The 46 year-old Maradona said he has been off drugs for two-and-a-half years and off alcohol since he fell ill in March.

ITN Source | May 10, 2007

Tags:. .drinking. .career. .victory. .treated. .id