ON Monday we featured a video of Tralee man and Na Gaeil player Micheal Griffin speaking with former Liverpool FC striker Dirk Kuyt on a Brazilian beach.

Well he has upped his game spectacularly since then!

Michael has been bumping shoulders and snapping pictures with the stars of football, one of them none other than the ‘Hand of God’ himself, global icon Diego Maradona.

Other names such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Ian Wright, Roberto Martinez and Danny Murphy have also been on Mike’s radar.

It’s safe to assume the Oakpark native is making the most of his trip to the World Cup. While over there he is hoping to get as many superstars to sign a Na Gaeil GAA shirt as possible so he can auction it off for charity.

Not content with just snaps, Michael got BBC Pundit and former Premier League stalwart  Robbie Savage to interview him on a Rio street.

Traleetoday.ie has been in touch with our man in Rio.

“It’s been fantastic. Last week I was one of the very few people speaking English around here but now a a lot more have arrived,” Micheal said.

“I went to see the opening match in a local area of Rio. It was all Brazilians, no tourists, that’s what I wanted and it was unbelievable. Around 10,000 people were there, the atmosphere was unreal,” he said.

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Michael, who is travelling alone, was only a mere inches from immortality when he met one of the greatest players of all time, Diego Maradona who signed a Na Gaeil shirt for him. We’ll keep you updated on his quest to get more signatures for that Oakpark jersey.

Scroll down for pictures…