Maradona Plays Again After 18-Month Exile

Diego Maradona, showing glimpses of the moves that made him the world’s No. 1 soccer player before his downfall over drug use, returned to the game Monday after an 18-month suspension and assisted on the winning goal of Sevilla’s 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich in Seville, Spain.

The Spanish first-division club bought the Argentine’s transfer from Napoli last week for $7.5 million after Maradona refused to return to the Italian club for the final year of his contract.

“It’s a dream for me,” Maradona said as he held back tears. “More than anything else, I owe it to the people that believed in me . . . like the people in Seville. But this is just a beginning. It was a very beautiful beginning but we have to press on.”