BUENOS AIRES, July 10: Diego Maradona awoke to rave reviews after scoring one of Boca Juniors' goals in a 2-0 friendly win against Newell's Old Boys on his fourth comeback to Argentine soccer yesterday.`Maradona: The legend lives on!' screamed the front page of Clarin newspaper. Rival daily La Nacion proclaimed: `He's back with a goal' and Pagina 12 newspaper celebrated `Maradona's return with a goal like the old days'.

Pagina's sports pages went right over the top, calling the 36-year-old player `The Sun King' and suggesting he ``wants his throne back in France'' predicting Maradona would make it to the 1998 World Cup.Maradona was given a rapturous reception by a crowd of 20,000 at the Rosario City Club Newell's, where he played when he made his second comeback in 1993. Fans from both sides chanted ``Ole, ole, Diego, Diego!'' and waved banners proclaiming him ``the envy of the world''.

He rewarded them with a goal five minutes into the game, from a free-kick after he had been fouled just outside the area.Making his first professional appearance in nearly a year, Maradona looked fitter than for a long time, thanks to training in the Andes and in Canada with sprinter Ben Johnson, with whom he shares the shame of a drugs ban.

Maradona has shed 24 pounds (11 kg) and his hair is plain black rather than dyed in the blue and yellow Boca colours as it was a year ago.``I felt great and I'm very happy to be back in the shirt that I love,'' he said after the game, which he punctuated with acts of showmanship such as popping off the pitch to shake hands with Newell's coach mario Zanabria and delaying a corner while talking with adoring fans.His stamina has apparently suffered and Maradona went off 13 minutes into the second half to a standing ovation, leaving younger players who had never previously played alongside him beside themselves with joy.``My dream has come true, to play a game with Maradona,'' said Newell's midfielder Damian Manso.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.