Maradona invited as 'guest of honor' (18 Feb 2006 20:42 GMT)
Franz Beckenbauer, head of the 2006 World Cup organizing committee, said Diego Maradona would be welcome as a "guest of honor" at the tournament in Germany.
"I'm a great fan of Maradona's," Beckenbauer said Wednesday on the latest stop of his tour to the 31 nations that will join host Germany at the June 9-July 9 showpiece. "I would really love it if he'd come, but I don't know if he will."
Maradona had not responded publicly to the invitation Thursday, but previously said he would like to go.
Beckenbauer, the only person to have won the World Cup as a player and coach, said he'd request the former Argentina captain travel to Germany as a guest of FIFA.
"In any world championship, the best have to be on hand, and Maradona is one of them," Beckenbauer said.
The highlight of Maradona's career came when he led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup. His greatest performance may have been against England in the quarterfinals when he scored both goals in a 2-1 win - the latter still regularly voted the greatest ever.
Beckenbauer also lauded Argentina's young players such as FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi, saying he expected Argentina to rival five-time champion Brazil, Italy and England for this year's World Cup title.
Beckenbauer also visited Argentine President Nestor Kirchner at the Government House in Buenos Aires, where they exchanged German and Argentine team jerseys.
Beckenbauer had just come from Paraguay and was heading for a Thursday stopover in Brazil en route to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States.
source : FOXSports