APV0450.C5S20

Maradona To Stay With Boca Juniors BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) _ Soccer star Diego Maradona has agreed to stay with Boca Juniors, backtracking on his threat to quit if he could not get his own way, club officials said Wednesday. žžDiego will see out his contract (until December 1996). We'll have a peaceful Christmas after all, just as I predicted,'' club president Mauricio Macri told a news conference. Maradona, 35, said last week he was quitting Boca, barely two months after making a comeback after completing a 15-month worldwide ban for drug abuse. The hot-headed, former Argentine captain said he refused to play with new coach Carlos Bilardo, under whose direction he inspired his country to the World Cup title in 1986. Their relationship soured at Spain's Sevilla when Bilardo substituted Maradona during a league game in 1992. Maradona threw his shirt to the ground and later came to blows with the coach. Macri confirmed Wednesday that the club had hired Bilardo in its bid to win its first title since 1992. Prior to that, Boca had not won the league since a teenage Maradona left to play in Europe in 1981. He added that Maradona had changed his mind about leaving the club after the crowd chanted his name throughout last Saturday's match _ supposedly his last _ in which he scored a penalty. Only days earlier, Maradona had called Boca fans žžidiots'' when told that they preferred Bilardo to him. Maradona loves Boca and he agreed to be more flexible after the crowd gave him such a good reception,'' Macri said. Bilardo said he spoke to Maradona on the telephone for 90 minutes this week to clear the air. Maradona has shown glimpses of his old genius since returning for Boca in late September. However the team squandered a five-point lead this month and even lost 6-4 at home to title chaser Racing Club. Complaining that he had an upset stomach, Maradona missed the following match, which Boca desperately needed to win. Without their captain, they lost 2-1 and fell out of the title race. Maradona's career has been plagued by controversy since he left Boca in 1981 to play with Spain's Barcelona, Napoli in Italy and Sevilla. In 1991 he was banned for 15 months for cocaine abuse while playing for Napoli. The following year he was arrested in Buenos Aires for drug possession. In February 1994, he fired an air rifle at reporters outside his home, injuring four. The incident occurred the day after he was released by first division side Newell's Old Boys for repeatedly missing training sessions. He was then kicked out of last year's World Cup finals after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs after a much-publicized comeback. 202235 Dec GMT 211943 MET dec 95