Video: When Maradona was king I Maradona, a slum and the birth of a legend I Diego returns to Hampden I A genius to rank alongside Pelé I Butcher feels injustice 22 years on I Welcome to the Maradona circus

Glasgow is bracing itself for The Diego Maradona Show - due to run in the city for three days culminating at Hampden Park on Wednesday night - and we got a first taste of it yesterday morning amid the media pushing and jostling that greeted the arrival of Argentina’s barrelesque little coach at Glasgow airport.

A throng of reporters were on hand to welcome Maradona, whose team for Wednesday night’s friendly against Scotland were mysteriously arriving via other aircraft. The little man duly barged his way past everyone without stopping to offer any great perorations along the way.

In response to various questions Maradona managed just a single utterance. “ Contento,” he replied when asked how it felt to be in Scotland, before fleshing out his answer with: “I don’t speak English.” The 48-year-old, a surprise pick by the Argentinian football federation to be the new national team coach last month, will make his international coaching bow at Hampden on Wednesday. It will also provide a long-overdue opportunity for Maradona and Terry Butcher, now Scotland’s assistant manager, to debate the moral rights and wrongs of the infamous “Hand of God” goal that Maradona scored against England in their World Cup quarter-final in 1986.

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Back then a flustered Butcher, who had spent the game fruitlessly chasing the Argentina genius, had been reduced to calling Maradona “a little so and so”. For that very deed the Tartan Army is expected to give Maradona a rousing reception on Wednesday night. A crowd in excess of 40,000 is expected to turn up on a freezing Glasgow night, with the specific aim of passing on its best wishes to the Argentina coach. The Scots have long memories when it comes to acts of kindness.

Meanwhile, George Burley, the Scotland manager, was last night hit by three more injury withdrawals from his squad to add to the loss of Darren Fletcher, the Manchester United midfield player, who has a knee injury.

Two strikers – Kenny Miller, of Rangers, and Steven Fletcher, of Hibernian – as well as Craig Gordon, the Sunderland goalkeeper, are believed to be out. There are also concerns over James Morrison, the West Bromwich Albion midfield player, and Ross McCormack, the Cardiff City striker.

But Burley remains upbeat. “The key to going into any match is not to have fear,” he said. “My players believe that they can make it to the next World Cup, and delivering a good performance – and, hopefully, a good result – against Argentina would help.”