Hard to overstate how big the arrival of Diego Maradona on these shores has been. The former Argentina superstar and national team coach, whose life almost was extinguished by drug abuse a decade-plus ago … has been received with open arms in the UAE and, especially, Dubai … and he seems to be returning the love.

The latest? El Diego attended today’s final of a “world cup” soccer tournament in a Dubai prison between teams of incarcerated men organized by countries of origin. (That’s Maradona, above, fashionably underdressed, as usual, in a photo released by the Dubai police.)

Maradona kicked off the match, watched it, schmoozed, presented medals, and apparently everyone was excited, verging on giddy.

Other evidence of his popularity:

–The Dubai side Al Wasl, which has plenty of history but suffered from poor support last season, is drawing some of the biggest crowds in the league. Groups of young men, in Wasl colors, arrive early, make a lot of noice and hang out a long sign, for home matches, which reads, “Welcome to Hell” — in English. Playing at Wasl isn’t quite hell yet, but they’re headed in the right direction.

–An open practice, at Wasl, featuring Maradona coaching, is likely to draw more people than an actual game between many Pro League sides.

–Wasl’s players compete with what seems to be an extra dollop of energy, presumably because they want to impress their coach, named co-player of the 20th century (with Pele). And when Wasl scores, it turns into a Maradona lovefest on the sideline, as the chubby former maestro hugs everyone in sight, including all the players who come over. He also hugs all players after every match.

–Not long after he arrived in the UAE, he made a very public and very well-received condolence visit to the home of Theyab Awana, the Emirati national team midfielder who died, at age 21, in a traffic accident. Maradona did not know the player; he apparently just felt compelled to visit.

–When Maradona’s mother died last month, official condolences from various UAE authorities rolled in at Wasl.  The club arranged for Maradona to make the long trip to Argentina, said he had as much time as he needed … but he impressed by rushing back to take control of the team for its next match.

–The biggest highlight of the 3-2 victory by Kalba over Al Dhafra in the President’s Cup tournament on Saturday, a game played at the Wasl club, was when Maradona entered the VIP area and hung around for a bit.

–TV stations here, which do a fantastic job of covering matches (lots of cameras, lots of angles, great replays), considering that the league is small and not elite … seem to have designated what I am calling “the Diego cam” — to monitor his every movement and reaction in the dugout. Indeed, it is easy, at a match, to find yourself watching Maradona’s histrionics on the sideline, as I noted after seeing his debut competitive match in the UAE.

(It should be noted that Maradona criticizes officials perhaps more than any coach in the league, routinely gets face-to-face sessions with referees in the middle of matches, yet seems to be quite popular with the men in black, who can’t seem to stop smiling as Maradona’s translator tells them what awful jobs they are doing.)

–And at that same match, Maradona’s press conference was overrun by native Argentines, who somehow found their way into the interview room and snapped photos, applauded his every statement and got autographs — right up to the moment when police pulled him away from the adoring mob to escort him out of the stadium.

–When you go to the Pro League home page, guess whose photo is the first to appear in the upper-left corner? One hint: It isn’t a player.

Anyway, the guy is huge here. Enormous. Wherever he goes, it’s a party.

We’re not quite sure he can coach, which was the big question when he got here. But we must give him credit for motivating his players, who seem to play harder than the typical UAE club side, and for bringing interest to the league.

His flair for “the common” touch clearly has made many fans, and in a country where most coaches get sacked if they lose three in a row, it is impossible to imagine Diego Maradona will ever be fired by Wasl.