British Maradona lookalike backs England to win

A professional Diego Maradona impersonator from Derby says he will not be wearing his Argentina shirt in the build-up to their World Cup semi-final with England.

Hairdresser Sid Kumar realised how much he resembled the football icon when crowds of Argentinian fans bowed at his feet outside Wembley as he watched them play Italy in the Finalissima 2022.

The England and Derby County fan has since signed up to a lookalike agency but plans to keep a low profile ahead of the crunch clash on Wednesday.

"I shall wear my Maradona top when things have died down a little bit, assuming we beat them. If we lose, I won't be wearing it for a week or two because I'll probably get mugged," he said.

Sid told the BBC he had allowed his hair to grow long and curly during the Covid lockdowns, making him look increasingly similar to the footballing great.

"People stopped me, saying 'come over here, this is Maradona - look, it's Maradona' and I thought it was a joke but then it spiralled everywhere," he said.

Strangers continued to ask for his photograph but his unexpected fandom peaked when he watched Argentina beat Italy 3-1 at Wembley.

"I wore my Argentina shirt, so I was actually looking to look like him. Argentinian fans were bowing, singing 'Diego Diego Diego' and I got that all afternoon," he said.

Sid described Maradona as one of the few true "Galacticos" of the game and said he would "rather look like him than Peter Crouch".

"There are geniuses. Maradona was one of them. What he could do with a football on a football pitch was simply beautiful to watch," he said.

When asked if he replicated Maradona's wild lifestyle off the pitch, Sid replies "absolutely", before clarifying: "No, I don't. I'm joking. My life is work and home."

Sid, who has spent four decades cutting hair, recently signed up to an agency, offering his services for meet-and-greet events and football keepy-up competitions at parties.

"It's given me the incentive, not just to play football, but to get fit and I'm enjoying it," he said.

Despite his cameo appearances, he insisted he will be in full support of Thomas Tuchel's men as they look to beat the South Americans.

"I think it's gonna be a tough one. If we win outright in 90 minutes, I'll take that any day of the week," he said.

"But I think it'll be a draw and go to penalties - hopefully we'll just sneak it."

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