foxsports
Diego Maradona was among thousands who paid respects Thursday to former president Nestor Kirchner as his body lay in state at Argentina's presidential palace.
Maradona, who coached Argentina four months ago in the World Cup, gave a long embrace to Kirchner's widow - Argentina President Cristina Fernandez - and placed his hand on Kirchner's flag-draped coffin.
Maradona afterward called Kirchner a ''gladiator'' and compared him to Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara, the Argentina-born revolutionary who played a key role in Cuba's 1959 revolution.
Kirchner, who steered Argentina out of crisis and political instability, died suddenly of a heart attack Wednesday with his wife by his side.
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