Beijing - The man standing on the pitch and watching from afar the medal ceremony after Argentina defeated Nigeria 1-0 in the final of the Olympic football tournament could have been anybody.

Wearing short pants, a sleeveless blue shirt and shoes without socks, the slightly overweight stocky man held his hands clasped behind his back, a plastic bag stuck between his right arm and body.

He looked as if he had just walked off a beach and by mistake ended up on the football pitch in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium.

But as the Argentine players started celebrating on the podium after receiving their medals, the stocky man started jumping up and down in time with them. Clearly, then, an Argentina fan.

Once the celebrations had finished, the Nigerian players rushed up to have their photographs taken with him.

After all, it is not every day that you can have your picture taken with, arguably, the best-ever footballer that played the game - even if he looks like he just stepped off a beach.

Looking a far cry from the obese man who last year was reportedly close to death, Diego Maradona is obviously still a crowd favourite.

When his image was shown on the giant screen in the stadium, he got probably the biggest cheer of the afternoon.

Even former World Footballer of the Year Ronaldinho walked up to Maradona and gave him a hug. And when Argentina captain Juan Riquelme walked past with a huge Argentine flag, Maradona embraced the Boca Juniors players and the flag was wrapped around them.

Argentina coach Sergio Batista, who was Maradona's team-mate in 1986 when Argentina won the World Cup, beating Germany in the final, paid a tribute to Maradona after the victory against Nigeria.

"He was here to support us. He is a very important person in terms of Argentina football and a close friend of mine. Diego is there when you need him.

"He provided support to coaches and players and joined in some of the training sessions. He simply comes in and helps. That is what he does," Batista said. (dpa)