A quick dribble and a defence-splitting pass. And the lean and athletic striker throws the defender off balance and slams the ball into the net.

What if Chuni Goswami scored the goal from a pass by Diego Maradona?

Spanish football club Sevilla has imagined such a scenario. On its official Facebook page, it has wished that the Indian football legend donned its colours and took the field with arguably the greatest footballer, a former player at the club.

“What if Chuni Goswami and Maradona played alongside each other for Sevilla FC? Imagine the magic,” Sevilla FC posted on Facebook on Thursday.

The accompanying picture shows Goswami about to kick a ball and a smiling Maradona standing behind him. Both of them are in the traditional red-and-white jersey of Sevilla.

Maradona spent a season at Sevilla in 1992, when the club was managed by Carlos Bilardo, the coach with whom Maradona had won the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Goswami was a sporting polymath of sorts — a prolific striker and an artist on the football field, played first-class cricket well enough to lead Bengal to the Ranji Trophy final and his tennis was competitive. His biggest achievement was to lead India to an Asian Games gold medal in 1962.

He was synonymous with Mohun Bagan, the only club Goswami played for, starting as a junior in 1946 and retiring in 1968. Mohun Bagan fans call him “gharer chhele (home boy)”. Calcutta’s Maidan is replete with stories of how the silver-footed Chuni Goswami would wave his way to the opposition’s goalmouth and never miss his grin on the way.

Goswami passed away on April 30, 2020. He was 82. Maradona died seven months later, on November 25.

By 7pm on Friday, Sevilla’s post had over “3k likes” and “1.8k shares” and over 220 comments. Not surprisingly, many of them came from Indians.

Amartya Ray said: “They would’ve scored hella goals together Sevilla FC. Go watch #Maidaan to see a bit of football magic on screen.”

Ray, a young actor, played Goswami in the film Maidaan, which highlights the feat of the legendary football coach Syed Abdul Rahim.

The film has rekindled the love for Goswami, widely regarded as the first poster boy of Indian football.

Ray told Metro on Friday: “The fact that this club has honoured one of the greatest sportsmen of Indian football is a moment of pride. I have shared a post on my Instagram also. It is a strange feeling for me because I am so intimately connected with the character. Each and every acknowledgement of this man’s effort leaves me with a feeling that I have won a bit as well.”

“A friend of mine tagged me on the Facebook page of Sevilla FC. I was so overwhelmed that I immediately posted what I felt,” Roy said.

Anirban Banerjee, a football enthusiast, shared the post on his page with a caption: “It is a matter of regret that we could not keep up the legacy. At a time when hardly any footballer from Bengal can be seen playing in the three major clubs of Bengal, the acknowledgement from a Spanish football side highlights the benchmark which was once set by the likes of Chuni Goswami.”

Another user, Ashok De, said: “Wonderful post. Chuni Goswami was said to be the best Indian player in an attacking position. He was a Mohun Bagan Legend. And, Diego, of course, is the best ever.”

Sevilla FC, founded in 1890, is the fifth-ranked clubin Spain in terms of international titles, surpassed byReal Madrid, FC Barcelona, Valencia CF and Atlético de Madrid.

A record seven time Uefa Europa League winner, Sevilla is having a turbulent 2023-24 La Liga campaign, currently sitting in 12th position in the league table.