Maradona's drama continues

The Argentine soccer star has been admitted again to an intensive care unit, after leaving the hospital a week ago without medical authorization. During the last days the 1986 World Champion spent his time playing golf in the countryside.

The world famous Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona Wednesday was rushed into the same clinic in Buenos Aires that he left without medical authorization a few days ago, after nearly two weeks of emergency treatment in an intensive care unit due to a critical heart and lung condition. Maradona is now under observation as, according to reports, he faced breathing problems last night, but doctors declined to comment.

Maradona had left the Suizo-Argentine Clinic last week, by his own means and without doctors’ approval after being between life and death for almost two weeks. “I saw death”, he said to a popular TV show from the mansion of a rich local businessman in the countryside where he spent the last days playing golf and cheering his fans.

Maradona, visibly affected by his health conditions also commented, half seriously, that he went into “a tunnel”, but football fanatics took him out. PRAVDA.Ru sources confirmed that the interview, broadcasted alive by TV in prime time, was not for free.

Wednesday morning, a TV network said Maradona's personal physician, Alfredo Cahe, had accompanied Maradona to the hospital but that there was no further medical report. Local reports said Maradona left the ambulance and walked into the hospital under his own power.

Maradona had left the Suizo-Argentina Clinic last week amid statements by his medical team that he would seek "more personalized treatment" with his own physician. The soccer idol and his collaborators had reserves to flight back to Cuba to go on with his treatment for Tuesday, but suddenly he pulled them off for Thursday. However, it is not certain now whether he will return to the Caribbean Island or not.

Four years ago, Maradona moved to Cuba, where he has been undergoing drug rehabilitation for cocaine addiction. He returned to Argentina on personal business more than a month ago when he was forced to undergo his second emergency hospitalization in four years (the first one in Uruguay). However, his family said drugs had nothing to do with his latest medical problems.

Since then, Maradona has been living in Cuba for the last four years to treat the addiction that prematurely ended with his European sport career. Maradona is a well known Communist leader Fidel Castro’s admirer, but in Argentina he supports Carlos Menem, the conservative, free market and pro-US president that ruled the South American nation all through the nineties.