Carlos Valderrama surprises Sourav Ganguly with sudden stopover at Eden Gardens

Kolkata: Colombian great Carlos Valderrama scored a goal and then spoke about cricket with Sourav Ganguly in the middle of a three-day visit to the football-crazy city, which will host the FIFA U-17 World Cup final next month.

Valderrama, who is a FIFA Legend for the U-17 World Cup, took Ganguly by surprise with his unscheduled stopover at the Eden Gardens on Friday while returning from the adjoining Mohun Bagan.

Busy with a promotional shoot at the Eden, the city's cricket icon was perhaps unaware of the Colombian legend's visit as Valderrama, accompanied by his wife Elvira, had to wait briefly for 'Dada' to finish the shoot.

The duo exchanged pleasantries and spoke about cricket as Valderrama, sporting a Mohun Bagan jersey, looked excited while giving a thumbs-up to the crowd.

"He has heard a few things about cricket so we took him to Eden Gardens to meet Ganguly. It was just a perfect meeting of the two legends of different sports. Yes, they spoke about cricket," an official involved with the trip said.

In the afternoon, the 56-year-old showed that he has lost none of his silken skills when he mesmerised the crowd at Mohun Bagan tent with a spotkick, which was beyond goalkeeper Shilton Paul's reach.

"It was great meeting with the Colombian great. We have seen his exploits in the 1990 World Cup," a Mohun Bagan player said after sharing a photo frame along with Valderrama.

He also juggled the ball with his left and right foot and was presented Mohun Bagan's coveted jersey number 10 which will be donned by Sony Norde this season.

The Colombian arrived here yesterday after participating in a legends exhibition football match in Mumbai to mark the 30 days' countdown to the U-17 World Cup.

He will attend a football workshop at a school tomorrow before concluding his trip.