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BUENOS AIRES (AFP, REUTERS) – Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona was laid to rest on Thursday (November 26) after a private funeral on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, local television images showed.
When night fell, he was buried after a simple religious ceremony attended by family and close friends in the lush surroundings of the Bella Vista Cemetery on the outskirts of the capital, amid a global torrent of grief.
Maradona’s death at age 60 on Wednesday after a heart attack has sparked both mourning and celebrations for a true sports star, who was a genius on the soccer field but lived a life marred by struggles with addiction.
The World Cup winner was taken by hearse on Thursday afternoon to the cemetery where his parents are also buried.
The funeral followed a day of great emotion that saw clashes between the police and fans near the presidential palace in downtown Buenos Aires, where Maradona lay in condition in a closed coffin for people to say their final farewell.
Thousands of people had surrounded the pink-hued Casa Rosada and there was a feverish atmosphere more akin to a noisy soccer game than a formal wake, with fans clambering through the palace gates to get as close to their hero as possible.
Tensions finally subsided after his body was transported by hearse to the cemetery, surrounded by a large procession of police officers and others on motorcycles. Thousands of Argentines lined the roads as he passed on the hour-long drive to Bella Vista.
In Italy, the crowd tied hundreds of blue and white scarves to the bars of their former club Napoli, while in France, the front page of the sports newspaper L’Equipe screamed: “God is dead.”
In Argentina, three days of national mourning were called for the player who led the country to victory in the 1986 World Cup and is revered with cult status. Tens of thousands took to the streets, not all wearing masks, despite fears over the Covid-19 pandemic. Some left flowers and messages at their childhood home.
“Maradona for me is the greatest thing that happened to me in life. I love him as much as my father and it is as if my old man had died,” said Cristian Montelli, 22, a supporter of the star’s former club, Boca Juniors. , with tears in the eyes. his eyes after having passed the coffin.
“If I die young, hopefully upstairs I can play ball and watch a Boca game with him,” added Montelli, who had a tattoo of Maradona’s face on his leg.
Mile long tails
During the day, Maradona’s body lay in state in a wooden coffin in the Casa Rosada presidential palace in the central Plaza de Mayo. He was draped in the blue and white national flag and an Argentina jersey with the number 10 that had been part of his nickname “D10S,” a play on “dios,” the Spanish word for God.
Since early Thursday morning, thousands of people had formed a meandering line estimated to be more than a mile (1.6 km) long through the streets of Buenos Aires near the plaza, after a night of mourning and memories.
But as the day progressed, fans queuing outside the palace grew increasingly impatient and some took to a courtyard inside the palace, where they chanted slogans.
Officials moved the coffin to another room as a security measure, a government source told AFP.
The government announced a three-hour extension to the wake to give thousands of fans time to pay their respects.
When authorities began closing access to the central square on Thursday afternoon, skirmishes broke out, and police used rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse the rebellious crowds. Riot police clashed with stone-throwing fans in the streets around the palace and several people were arrested.
The fans who entered the palace, many got lost, threw soccer jerseys, flowers and other items towards the coffin.
“He was someone who touched the sky with his hands but never lifted the ground,” said President Alberto Fernández. He paid his respects at the coffin on Thursday.
In Naples, meanwhile, fans placed flowers, children’s drawings, candles and even a bottle of wine in a rapidly expanding makeshift shrine.
“Diego is from the town”
Top athletes and world leaders, including Argentine-born Pope Francis, have paid their own tributes.
Newspapers around the world had her picture on the front pages and made a game with her nickname to say “Bye” bye bye.
“Diego belongs to the people, Diego belongs to Argentina, Diego belongs to the country,” said Darío Lozano, waiting in line to see the coffin.
Loved in his homeland after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and adored in Italy for leading Napoli to two Serie A titles, Maradona was a player with a unique talent who emerged from the tough streets. from Buenos Aires to reach the top of their sport.
The 1986 World Cup featured a quarter-final match against England, where Maradona scored two of the tournament’s best-known goals: an illicit “Hand of God” goal and another that followed an incredible dribble.
Maradona also struggled with various health problems over the years as a result of his addictions. Earlier this month, he was hospitalized for symptoms including anemia and dehydration and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma, a blood clot in the brain.
On Thursday, his lawyer, Matías Morla, said he would call for a full investigation into the circumstances of the death, and criticized what he said was a slow response by emergency services.
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