Diego's shock support of… River Plate

There are few fans in the world quite as high profile as Diego Maradona.

Forever in his blue and yellow shirt, the former player follows his team around the world and is often spotted hanging over an executive box with three bodyguards holding on to his shirt tails. His passion for the club maybe equalled by the disdain directed at the clubs administrators. But he is Boca 'til he dies.

"Just hit it you useless sack of $%^&" 

In Argentina, a father's passion for a club is passed on to the son. Usually, before the christening of the kid, a team jersey - usually a cheap fake - is ceremoniously forced upon the baby. What else could explain the huge number of Racing fans?

So often I have spoken to people on the terraces and asked why, after their team had lost the 44th game in a row, are they still fans. "Erm, well my Dad was a Racing fan," is the stock reply. You simply don't jump ships. If you do, it is akin to sleeping with your best mate's girl. No worse, his grandmother.

Yet during River's 2-1 Copa Sudamericana win over Uruguay's Defensor Sporting, one of Maradona's sons, Diego Sinagra born in Napoli, was there screaming on the team.

Ferrari celebrates his opener vs Defensor Sporting 

Thanks to goals from Ferrari and Barrado, River should ease into the quarter-finals, a rare moment of happiness in a poor domestic season.

They play the return leg tonight. It is unknown whether Diego Jr will be there, but one thing is certain, he has some pretty serious sucking up to do to dad if he is going to be invited to the next Sunday barbecue.