SThey came by the thousands, they cried, shouted, cheered. In jerseys with the magic number ten, with red roses, old photos. The dismay hidden behind corona masks. The government palace of Buenos Aires became a pilgrimage site in bizarre scenery the day after the death of Diego Armando Maradona. In order to be able to get to the laid body of their idol, the mourning Argentines waited in cordoned off areas and long queues, cameras broadcast the images all over the world. Many crossed themselves in passing or threw their flowers and jerseys next to their deceased icon. They shouted: “Thank you Diego” or “I love you, Diego”.
There were chaotic scenes towards the end of the wake. Because they feared that they would no longer be allowed to see their idol’s coffin, some fans used force to gain access to Casa Rosada. The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Inside the seat of government, Maradona’s coffin was moved to a safe place in another room.
Angry fans against the police
There were also violent clashes on the streets in front of Casa Rosada. Angry fans threw stones and bottles at the police, the officers fired rubber bullets into the crowd and used water cannons. Eventually the gates of the seat of government were closed and the coffin was to be taken for burial in a private cemetery in a suburb of Buenos Aires.
“It’s a shame, incredibly sad. He was a gifted footballer, ”said Franz Beckenbauer in distant Germany“ Sport1 ”. The German football icon mourned the Argentine, who was always walking the fine line, like the whole world. Far beyond sport. On the other side of the Atlantic, in Naples, where Maradona is also worshiped like god, Bengali lights lit up Thursday night.
“He was an exceptional player. We are forever in his debt, “said Argentina’s head of state Alberto Fernández on the television channel TyC Sports. In the stadium of the Boca Juniors, where Maradona had made decisive steps to become a world star, only one light was on during the night – in the box of Maradona.
Lots of ups and downs
“What Diego did for football and for us all to fall in love with this beautiful game is unique,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The Argentine, who had actually seen too much for a single life with so many ups and downs, died of a heart attack on Wednesday at the age of only 60 in his house in Tigre.
Almost immediately after the news shocked the world, crowds of people in Buenos Aires flocked to the streets to mourn together. The concerns of the corona pandemic have been put on hold. They lit candles and laid flowers in front of the Boca stadium La Bombonera and the obelisk in the city center.
“He is a legend. We’ll miss him, ”said a woman named Patricia on TN TV. She sat on the ground in front of the stadium entrance, hugged her son and fought back tears. “He will be remembered as the greatest.” On electronic display boards above the city freeway and in subway entrances one could read: “Thank you Diego”.
“He’s leaving us, but he’s not going away”
In Naples, where Maradona marked an era from 1984 to 1991, a meter-high mural became a place of mourning. “Naples is in mourning – Ciao God of football,” read a sign that a man put on a door. To this day, the people in the poor region are grateful to him for leading SSC Napoli to the only championships in club history in 1987 and 1990 and to winning the Uefa Cup in 1989.
Before the Europa League game against NK Rijeka, all SSC Napoli players walked into the stadium on Thursday evening with the number 10 on their backs and the name of the former Napoli star. There was also a minute’s silence before kick-off for the Argentine, whose picture was on the scoreboard of the empty stadium.
“He’s leaving us, but he’s not going away because Diego is eternal,” wrote Lionel Messi, Maradona’s legitimate successor as a football hero, on Instagram alongside a shared photo. “I keep all the beautiful moments in my memory that I experienced with him.”
“He had problems”
The off-pitch failures were mentioned, but they no longer mattered. The self-inflicted health problems, the drug consumption, the doping sins, love affairs, connections to the criminal milieu. “He had problems that he couldn’t hide. But the way I got to know and experienced him – respect and all due respect, “said Beckenbauer, who has made many appearances together with Maradona. “I said: this is not a footballer, this is an artist! A dancer! ”, He reported about the first meeting in the 1970s. He has “never seen that at all. He was a genius of the time – in the 70s and 80s the best footballer in the world! “
After the end of his professional career, Maradona coached the Argentine national team, Al-Fujairah SC from the United Arab Emirates and the Mexican second division club Dorados Sinaloa. With moderate success. Last year he finally took over the first division club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata in his home country Argentina.
Maradona’s supporters also gathered in front of the stadium of his last club on Wednesday to say goodbye. “We were lucky that fate gave us his last months here with us,” said a fan on television. “I feel great pain. I still can not believe it.”
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