To most of the world, Diego Maradona is famous for one thing only – his ‘Hand of God’ goal in the 1986 World Cup that helped lead Argentina to its victory against the English team.

In more recent years, he might also have been noted for his excessive and decadent lifestyle of drink and drugs that threatened to destroy him.

But to the Argentines, and perhaps to a lesser extent, other Latin American countries, more than twenty years after the goal that shot Maradona to world fame, he is mucha, mucha more.

Maradona, now 45, doesn’t just HAVE the hand of God – he IS a god.

In the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, it is almost impossible to escape him. His face is visible on every news stand, graffiti everywhere carries his image, he always seems to be on TV, at any hour, and if you can’t see him and hear him, then you can hear people TALKING about him wherever you go. It’s relentless.

Earlier this year, Maradona’s first television show debuted on the Argentine airwaves. The launch of "La Noche del Diez" ("The Night of the Number Ten") was the most obvious announcement of his return to public life following a battle with cocaine which very nearly killed him.

Clarin, one of Argentina’s daily newspapers, said the day after his programme first aired: ''The real show was to be able to finally contemplate a Diego Maradona who is whole.''

''We have learned to fear and suffer for him, for what has happened to him and for what might happen to him.''

Maradona's drug habit started in the 1990s whilst he was playing for Napoli in Italy , he was then expelled from the World Cup in June 1994 after testing positive for banned substances. He retired from the game in 1997, after a brief aim at coaching.

His cocaine use continued, and then in April 2004 the then-obese soccer star was consigned to intensive care for twelve days. Many thought that Maradona's serious heart and lung problems, a result of his excessive drug use, would be the death of him.

But, like the rebel he loves to call himself, Maradona defied all odds and came back from the (almost) grave, retreating to nearby Cuba and into the arms of one of his now closest political pals, Fidel Castro, whose image he has tattooed on his right leg. After some serious rehab time, it was off to Columbia for a stomach-stapling operation which promised to bring down his weight, and did, and then it was back to Argentina to be reborn.

"La Noche del Diez" ("The Night of the Number Ten") boasted a slimmer, happier Diego than the Argentines had seen for some time, as well as guests including Robbie Williams, Pele, Castro and Mike Tyson.

Yet, Maradona is not just a media star. The working-class boy done good- not only does he have the hearts of Argentina 's ‘descamisados' (shirtless ones), recently, Maradona is increasingly becoming a favourite amongst some elements of the political establishment.

Not satisfied with his place in the showbiz spotlight, November’s Summit of the America’s Conference, held in the Argentine seaside resort of Mar Plata, showed Maradona side by side leading leftist Latin American politicians addressing anti-Bush rallies.

Wire services across the world transmitted pictures of the diminutive star shaking his fists for the crowd, standing cheek to cheek with Huge Chavez, the current Venezuelan President and thorn in the U.S’s side.

Maradona, who referred to the US President George Bush as ‘human trash’, had promised Castro he would attend the summit when the Cuban President – the only Latin American leader not to be invited to the conference – appeared on his show a few weeks earlier.

“You deserve a statue,” said Castro at the time.

“We're very happy that you'll be there.”

It’s clear that although Maradona, who has done nothing to hide his worship of the Cuban president, may have kicked him drug habit, he is still under the influence of an equally intoxicating force.

"I'm proud as an Argentine to repudiate the presence of this human trash, George Bush," Maradona shouted passionately at the Summit.

"Argentina has its dignity! Let's throw Bush out of here!"

If David Beckham suddenly stepped up to launch an attack on political policy, the only riotous behaviour we would witness would be laughter. As the Argentine equivalent, will anyone take Maradona seriously?

And Maradona’s adulation of Castro is also, well, interesting. Castro rules over a country that still sees thousands fleeing to the US to escape low living standards and has a human rights record that has fallen foul of the UN.

Most of the comments by Maradona at the Summit were aimed at the FTAA, the controversial Free Trade Agreement of the Americas that on the discussion agenda at the Summit.

Does he KNOW anything about trade agreements?

South America is currently exhibiting a trend of left-wing governments, from Venezuela’s Chavez (currently Latin America’s most influential head of state) and Cuba’s Castro, to the more moderate left-leaning Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil.

But not all the politicians at the Summit were willing to give Maradona credit for his contribution. There are some Latin American countries that are more U.S friendly. For example Mexico 's President Vincente Fox is in the midst of a diplomatic spat with Chavez, who called him a ‘puppy' to U.S imperialism.

At the Summit, Fox said that Maradona had a head full of ideology.

"He has a good foot for kicking, but he does not have a good brain for talking.”

Maybe Maradona would be better off on the bench when it comes to politics, but his actions shouldn’t be underestimated.

Argentina’s history shows the value its people put on the opinions of its working class heroes.

One of its most famous exports besides Maradona is Eva Peron. Evita, as she is more commonly known, was a humble radio soap star before she shot to fame as a champion for the nation’s poor on the arm of her husband, former Argentine president Juan Domingo Peron.

It was Evita who won the hearts and minds of the Argentine working classes, rather than her husband, before she died in 1952.

Could it be that Maradona will bring out the same sentiments in people in the present day? It’s certainly possible, given the current climate in Argentina.

The country is still recovering from the wounds inflicted by the military dictatorship, or the ‘dirty war’, which plagued Argentina from 1976 to 1983.

During those traumatic years, thousands, unofficial figures say tens of thousands, of people simply disappeared.

Some were believed to have been abducted by the military, tied up and thrown from helicopters during their notorious death flights. Others were reported to have been tortured to death. The military even abducted pregnant women, murdered them after they gave birth, and claimed the new-born children as their own.

2001 also saw a devastating economic collapse in Argentina that left half the population in poverty. Many people here are yet to enjoy the benefits of recovery from the economic collapse despite the country's economy being currently stable .

With this in mind, a new working class hero who is prepared to put himself on the line and gives the masses the guidance they need could be just what the Argentine’s are waiting for.

On the other hand, his political gestures could just make him a laughing stock.

Either way, Maradona has everything to play for.