Soccer Legend Displays Every Mood Known to Man With His Dramatic World Cup Reaction

2 minute read

Soccer legend Diego Maradona of Argentina is at the 2018 World Cup this year to watch his country’s team in their attempt to claim world dominance — and in true icon style, he’s already making waves even just as a spectator in the audience.

During Tuesday’s Argentina match against rival Nigeria in St. Petersburg, photographers snapped Maradona in the stands displaying every mood known to man. There was unfiltered passion, utter exhaustion, intense frustration and every shade of emotion in between on this spectrum of experiences.

Considered one of the sport’s finest players of past decades, Maradona assisted Argentina in its second, memorable World Cup win in 1986. Following his retirement from playing, he also coached a number of teams, including the 2010 World Cup Argentina squad during that tournament in South Africa, although they ultimately came up short.

The famously larger-than-life personality’s grand emotional display on Tuesday tracked the dramatic twists and turns of the game, which saw Lionel Messi score a beautiful goal early on before Argentina’s play began to falter. By the end, however, they brought it back and managed to clinch victory over Nigeria, ensuring their continued play in Russia for this World Cup. They face France in the round of 16 next.

Before the game even commenced, however, Maradona was clearly in a great mood, even taking a minute to dance with another spectator wearing rival Nigeria’s colors. Perhaps he’ll have to make this a good-luck routine as the tournament continues.

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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com