Venezuelan travels on foot to Argentina to be present at child’s birth

By Pablo Ramon Ochoa. Buenos Aires —  Legendary Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona expressed his support for Uruguayan forward Rodrigo Mora, who announced his retirement over the weekend after being cut from River Plate’s preseason roster.

“I hope you remain in soccer, do not let yourself down. Fight for it as I did. I had a very (difficult) one, but I fought and I beat it. You have all the strength in the world. For that reason, I hope that this year will give you the opposite of what is happening to you right now. I send you a big hug, Uruguayan,” Maradona said in an Instagram post accompanied by a photo of Mora.

The 31-year-old Mora suffered many injuries in recent years, including a severe hip injury in 2017 that required a long recovery.

“In these (situations), there are no jersey colors and there is no passion,” Maradona, a one-time star with Boca Juniors, said in his message of support to Mora, who wore the jersey of arch-rival River Plate.

Mora spent time with Uruguay’s Juventud Las Piedras, Defensor Sporting, Cerro and Peñarol; Portugal’s Benfica; Chile’s Universidad; and River Plate.

In 2018, Mora added a second Copa Libertadores title to his list of accomplishments with River, with which he also won a Copa Sudamericana; two Recopas Sudamericanas; a Copa Suruga Bank; two Copas Argentinas; and one Supercopa Argentina.

Mora also won two Uruguayan tournaments with Defensor Sporting.