City honours Maradona

2005-03-17 10:20

Bogota - Looking happy and healthy, Diego Maradona on Wednesday was given the keys to the Colombian seaside city of Cartagena, where he had his stomach stapled earlier this month in an effort to lose weight.

In what was his first public appearance since the March 5 gastric bypass surgery, Maradona received the keys at a simple ceremony in the office of the tourist city's mayor, Alberto Barbosa.

"I appreciate the kindness of the mayor in giving me the keys to the city and I'd like to say that I don't even have the keys to my own house," the 44-year old Argentine said, which got hearty laughs from the crowd.

Maradona, a former World Cup hero, had become unrecognisably obese in recent years as he struggled to overcome cocaine addition at a clinic in Cuba.

The stomach stapling surgery aims to reduce his weight by 50kg within a year. Before the operation, the 1.68m Argentine weighed 121kg. He's expected to stay several more days in Cartagena while he recovers from the operation.

In 2000, Fifa chose Maradona Brazil's Pele as the sport's greatest.

- AP