Argentina weeps for Maradona, the most human of gods
Diego Armando Maradona, the legendary number 10 who guided Argentina to World Cup glory, thrilling the world in ways no other footballer did before him, has died at the age of 60.
Diego Armando Maradona, the legendary number 10 who guided Argentina to World Cup glory, thrilling the world in ways no other footballer had done before, is no longer with us.
The Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata coach, 60, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at his house in San Andrés, near Tigre, north of Buenos Aires. The sad news arrives just weeks after he had undergone brain surgery for a clot lodged between his brain and skull.
The news immediately plunged the nation into grief with Maradona, a sublimely gifted sporting hero, seen by many as “the most human of Gods.”
The news fell like a hammer blow to Argentina, beaten down by months of economic crisis and the health pandemic, but one where football is oftenseen as a panacea for all ills.
Fans searching for a place to grieve gravitated towards the famed Obelisk landmark in the centre of Buenos Aires – and, of course, the Bombonera, the steep-sided cauldron of a stadium that is home to Boca Juniors, where Maradona’s genius was forged. Fans also swamped the Argentinos Juniors stadium named after the star, the club where he began his career.
“I can’t believe it. It’s incredible.onethinksonegetsthrough any storm, but no, everyone ends up being mortal. It feels like a bad dream. A joke,” sai Francisco Salaverry, 28.
“Today’s a bad day. A very sad day for all Argentines,” President Alberto Fernández summed up in an interview with sports channel TYC, after declaring three days of national mourning.
Politicians from across the spectrum expressed their grief.
“Great sadness ... a lot. A great one has left us. Goodbye Diego, we love you very much. Huge hug to your family and loved ones,” Vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wrote in a post on Twitter.
Former president Mauricio Macri, who led Boca Juniors as club president and clashed with Maradona in the past, lamented the “very sad day for all football fans across the world, especially Argentines.”
“The enormous joys that Diego gave us will be indelible,” he added.
Maradona “will be an indelible person in collective Argentine memory,” said President Fernández. “He is an idol.”
Across the city, tears were shed as as fans stood forlornly beside banners in homage to the Number 10, showing Maradona – who died aged 60 of a heart attack – in his dashing prime.
Many of the banners simply said ‘D10S,’ a play on the Spanish word “dios” for “God” that includes Maradona’s shirt number.
If football is a religion in Argentina, then Maradona really was its God – especially for the founders of the Maradonian Church, a mostly Internet-based group that uses religious language to venerate the player.
The “Church” called on fans to gather in his honour at the Obelisk at 6pm local time, a traditional rallying point in central Buenos Aires for footballrelated celebrations.
“I prefer not to speak. I’m going to the Obelisk today,” said Guillermo Rodríguez, a fan who gave himself a tattoo of his idol on October 30 to celebrate Maradona’s 60th birthday.
Rodríguez, 42, couldn’t hold back his tears, saying he now knew he would never be able to fulfill his dream of hugging his idol.
“I’m totally shocked, grief stricken,” said Gabriel Oturi, 68. “I’ll be honest with you. I thought he was a great guy who didn’t have very good people around him, who was taken advantage of a lot.”
“The first thing my 12-yearold son said to me was: ‘Mum, Maradona died.’ I couldn’t believe it. And I didn’t adore him particularly, but I felt sorry for him,” said Marcela Rodríguez, 52.
“Few times in my life have I felt the pain that invades me today,” wrote Maurico Passadore on social media, thinking about the famous World Cup tie against England in Mexico 1986, when Maradona scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal.
“Few times have I felt as much joy as that June 29, when we touched the sky with our hands, the same sky that today is darkened and fills us with tears.”
Some pointed out that Maradona died on the same date as his hero Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader he referred to as his “second father.”
Maradona’s struggles with drugs throughout his career were part of what made Argentines so protective of their hero.
An anonymous social media user went viral with a message saying Maradona “was a wandering, dirty and sinful God – the most human of Gods.”