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BUENOS AIRES – Soccer superstar Diego Maradona was buried Thursday (Friday Manila time) in a private ceremony attended by just two dozen people, a stark contrast to the day before when tens of thousands of tearful fans paraded in front of to his coffin for hours in an observance that mixed the honors of heads of state with the chaos of a noisy stadium.
Only family members and close friends were able to enter the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of her parents, Dalma and Diego.
Fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along the roads as Maradona’s funeral car passed under heavy security. Many tried to touch the vehicle every time traffic stopped it.
The previous viewing at the Argentine presidential mansion stopped shortly before 6 p.m., 12 hours after it began, just as the Maradona family wished, and the body of the Argentine icon was taken for burial, frustrating many who they waited to pay their respects and causing new news. tensions at the cemetery gates.
Fans, some covered with the national flag, sang soccer anthems as they formed a line that stretched more than 20 blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, where Argentines gathered to celebrate Maradona’s World Cup triumph in 1986.
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But as the time to see the coffin in the presidential palace was running out, police moved to cut off the rear of the crowd, enraging fans who threw stones and other objects at the officers, who responded with rubber bullets.
Organizers were overwhelmed by the crowd, and the violence resulted in injuries and arrests, prompting Maradona’s family to end the public visit. The coffin was placed in a car bearing the former footballer’s name on cardboard by the window.
Desperate to say goodbye, Maradona fans climbed the fences of the presidential mansion like they were in a soccer stadium, while firefighters worked to clear the ground.
“Diego is not dead, Diego lives in the town,” the people chanted as the coffin was taken to a cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The caravan, accompanied by police, was followed on a local highway by dozens of honking cars and motorcycles.
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Hundreds of fans blocked the entrance to the cemetery before the arrival of Maradona’s coffin, dancing and singing as police entered to clear the way. The crowd continued to make noise after the final ceremony began.
Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack in a house on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, where he was recovering from a brain operation on November 3.
While the sight had the stamp of a state funeral, with Maradona’s coffin placed in the presidential palace, the atmosphere was often that of a football stadium: Korea, sing, push, and occasionally smell alcohol.
Fans cried and blew kisses as they passed the wooden coffin, some hitting their chests with clenched fists and shouting: “Come on, Diego.”
He was covered with the Argentine flag and shirts with his famous number 10 of the national team and the Boca Juniors club, with other shirts thrown by the fans that passed.
Open visits began at 6:15 am after a few hours of privacy for close family and friends. The first to say goodbye were his daughters and close relatives. His ex-wife, Claudia Villafañe, arrived with Maradona’s daughters, Dalma and Gianinna. Then came Verónica Ojeda, also a former wife, with her son, Dieguito Fernando.
Also in attendance was Jana Maradona, whom the player recognized as his daughter only a few years ago.
Then came the former teammates of the 1986 World Cup winning squad, including Oscar Ruggeri. Other Argentine footballers also appeared, such as Carlos Tevez from Boca Juniors.
Early in the morning, some fans grew impatient when police tried to maintain order and began throwing bottles and pieces of metal fences at officers outside the presidential offices in the heart of Buenos Aires. Police at one point used tear gas to try to control them.
Interior Minister Wado de Pedro said he was upset by what he called the “madness” of the police actions against fans. “This popular tribute cannot end in repression and the running of those who came to fire Maradona,” he said.
President Alberto Fernández appeared at noon and placed on the coffin a shirt of the Argentinos Juniors team, where Maradona began his career in 1976.
Through tears, Fernández also left two handkerchiefs from the human rights organization Madre de la Plaza de Mayo, which she used for years to protest the disappearance of her children under the Argentine military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. Maradona, an outspoken leftist who He had an image of the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara tattooed on one bicep, he was a friend of the Mothers and other rights groups.
Lines began to form outside the Casa Rosada just hours after Maradona’s death was confirmed and grew several blocks away.
On the tiles that cover the Plaza de Mayo, near the Casa Rosada, a huge mural of Maradona’s face was painted, which was decorated with a giant black ribbon at the entrance.
The first fan to visit was Nahuel de Lima, 30, who uses crutches to get around due to a disability.
“It made Argentina recognized throughout the world, whoever talks about Maradona also talks about Argentina,” de Lima told The Associated Press. “Diego is the people. … Today the t-shirts, the political flags do not matter. We came to say goodbye to a great one who gave us great joy.
Maradona’s soccer genius, his personal struggles and his outspoken personality resonated deeply with the Argentines.
He led an underprivileged team to glory at the 1986 World Cup, winning the title after scoring two astonishing goals in a semi-final match against England, thrilling a country that was humiliated by their defeat to the British in the recent Falklands War. and that he was still recovering. of the brutal military dictatorship.
The insults at the football stand chanted by the funeral crowd echoed that nationalist pride: “The one who doesn’t jump is English”, “Brazilian, Brazilian, you’re so bitter, Maradona is bigger than Pelé.”
Many Argentines deeply sympathized with the struggles of a man who went from poverty to fame and wealth and fell into drug, beverage and food abuse. He remained idolized in the soccer-crazy nation as the “Pibe de Oro” or “Golden Boy.”
Many fans proudly displayed Maradona’s tattoos. Others, aware of Maradona’s often strained relationship with the press, insulted journalists.
Lidia and Estela Villalba cried near the lobby exit. Both wore Boca Juniors shirts and the Argentine flag on their shoulders.
“We told him that we love him, that he was the greatest,” they said at the same time.
Many of those queuing to enter the Casa Rosada wore masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but struggled to maintain social distancing.
Social worker Rosa Noemí Monje, 63, said she and others who oversee health protocols understood the excitement of the moment.
“It is impossible to ask them to stay away. We behave with respect and offer them disinfectant and masks,” he said. Monje also paid his last tribute to Maradona.
“I told him: to victory always, Diego,” Monje said while crying.
___ Associated Press journalist Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed to this report.
