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For many Argentines, Diego Maradona, who died on Wednesday, is not just a football superstar. “I feel like a member of my family circle just died,” one said.
By Daniel Politi
BUENOS AIRES – People laid flowers and lit candles under Diego Maradona’s mural outside the stadium named after him, a boy cried heartbroken.
At the Obelisk in central Buenos Aires, a guy waved a banner depicting Mr. Maradona who said, “God is Argentinian. “
Wednesday generated a sense of disbelief in Argentina in the face of rumors that the football star had died that morning at his home in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, and the government declared 3 days of mourning.
Often regarded as one of the most productive players in the game, Maradona was respected through his Fellow Argentinians, not only for his skill on the ground, but also for his transition from poverty to world fame. Non-public life, which included long waves of drug and alcohol abuse, made it a tabloid press issue around the world.
While others were accumulating across the country to honor the newly called “El Diego”, some chose the Buenos Aires stadium where he debuted in 1976, as a young player of the Argentine juniors club, and which was later renamed by him. .
“The first time I saw him, I couldn’t,” said Hugo Daniel Santiuste, 66, who said he saw Mr. Maradona at the stadium. “I’ve never noticed anything like it. “
But even Argentines born too late to watch him play as a user were in mourning.
“I feel like a member of my family circle has just died,” said Joaquín López Castan, 19. “All my life I’ve been looking to play football like Maradona.
Maradona underwent brain surgery this month and has had many medical disorders in the past, but his death, which according to a spokesman was due to an attack on the center, remains a surprise to many.
“It was Maradona, he controlled to pass, ” said Joo Dejtiar, 19.
Several stalls around Buenos Aires have outdoor mourning spaces for fans, adding the morgue where officials carried their bodies; his modest home in Villa Fiorito, the deficient region where he grew up; and la Bombonera Stadium, where he played in the past as a member of Boca Juniors.
Hundreds of others also accumulated in central Buenos Aires as the government predicted what would be a major revival at the presidential palace on Thursday.
At 10 p. m. , other people clapped from their balconies in honor of Maradona, who wore a game creator’s classic 10th T-shirt.
As of Thursday, other people did not appear in a hurry to return home. Hundreds of others sang and sang songs for Mr. Maradona outside the presidential palace as some began to line up for the vigil.
“Of course, Maradona is the biggest footballer this country has ever seen, but that doesn’t tell the full story. There’s something that does it a lot more than that,” said Alejandro Wall, a sports journalist.
“Diego is the narrator of Argentina,” he said.
Maradona is invariably remembered for taking Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup. In the notorious quarter-finals against England, he scored one of the best goals in the game’s history, as well as an illegal hand goal. “He scored a little bit with Diego’s head and a little bit with God’s hand,” he later said of that goal.
The British were furious, in Argentina, still suffering the humiliation of their 1982 defeat to Britain in the short war against the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls Falklands and claims to be theirs, Mr. Maradona has been rented.
“It creates a narrative that purpose is not unlawful because it was really God who did justice after the defeat of the 1982 war,” said LA Gon’alves Magalhaes, a historian at the Federal Fluminense University in Brazil who studies the intersection of football and politics. South america.
“It was the happiest moment of my life,” said Juan José Azcurra, 67, and his tears gave way to a smile as he remembered the goal.
This World Cup was doubly sweet because “no one trusted the team and in the end everything they did was wonderful,” said Veronica Moreira, an anthropologist who studies the game at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, an agency of the Argentine government. Argentina’s victory in The Last Opposition to West Germany consolidated Maradona as the leader who led the underdog to victory.
Overcoming obstacles is a constant theme in Maradona. Sa getting out of poverty is one of the reasons many Argentines continued to identify with him even when he has become a global celebrity.
“He never stopped being part of town,” said Gaston Tescusinsky, 44, who has a Maradona tattoo on his arm. “He was Fiorito’s son. “
Maradona carried his left-wing policy up his sleeve and Magalhaes said he would publicly criticize the leaders of FIFA, the world’s governing body of football, “without worrying about the repercussions. “
“Maradona was a contradictory figure who aroused a lot of empathy,” said Rodrigo Daskal, professor and researcher at the Center for Sports Studies at the National University of San Martín. “Maradona has been original and has never tried to dress”. a component of his life. “
Mr. Maradona’s candor about his struggles with alcohol and drugs is appreciated through many of his fans, especially those who revel in drug addiction. “My old man had problems with drugs, who am I to judge Maradona?”said Paul Neyret, 42, whose eyes filled with tears.
Songs were written in honor of Mr. Maradona, and some of his words have entered the daily lexicon of Argentines. One “cut off my legs,” he said after being kicked out of the 1994 World Cup for doping.
Victoria Fassa, 43, described Maradona as “passionate above all who said what she thought without worrying about the consequences. “
He added: “It’s a hundred percent Argentinian. “
Manuela Andreoni contributed to rio de Janeiro and Anatoly Kurmanaev from Caracas, Venezuela.
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