Diego Maradona was in intensive care on Sunday after suffering from heart and blood pressure problems.

　　Maradona, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title in Mexico, was taken to a hospital hours after watching his former team Boca Juniors play. It was the second time in recent years that the 43-year-old soccer great has been hospitalized.

　　The Suizo-Argentina private clinic in Buenos Aires said Maradona was suffering from hypertension and a heart-related condition known as cardiomyopathy.

　　The hospital statement gave few details but said he was in a critical care unit.

　　"The prognosis at this point is reserved," the statement said, adding that the soccer great was sedated.

　　Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't function properly, according to the American Heart Association.

　　Dozens of Maradona fans, some carrying pictures of the soccer star, crowded outside the clinic in downtown Buenos Aires. One man held a sign that read: "God Bless you, Maradona!"

　　Alfredo Cahe, Maradona's personal physician, said the emergency hospitalization "has nothing to do with his addictions." The Argentine had been undergoing drug rehabilitation for cocaine abuse in Cuba.

　　But Cahe would not comment on what prompted Maradona to enter the hospital on Sunday.

　　Maradona, who looked pale and overweight in television footage earlier in the day, was joined at the hospital by his father, his former wife and two daughters.

　　He was checked into the hospital after watching league leader Boca Juniors beat Nueva Chicago 2-0 at La Bombonera stadium.

　　Maradona has had drug and medical problems in the past. He was suspended from the Italian league in 1991 for 15 months following a positive test for cocaine.

　　FIFA suspended him in 1994 for 15 months because of a positive test at the World Cup finals in the United States.

　　He eventually retired from professional soccer in 1997.

　　In January 2000, Maradona was hospitalized while vacationing in the Uruguayan resort city of Punta del Este.

　　At that time, he was diagnosed with a severe heart condition and months later moved to Cuba to undergo drug rehabilitation.

　　He arrived in Argentina more than a week ago, saying he had returned to Buenos Aires for personal business.

　　Last month, Maradona broke with his longtime personal manager, accusing him of mismanaging his finances.

　　In his 20-year career, Maradona won Italian and Argentine league titles and also led Argentina to the World Cup final in 1990.

　　In 2000, FIFA chose Maradona as the game's best ever, alongside Pele.

　　(The Associated Press)