The day of tribute to Diego Maradona until his burial on Thursday was up to the heightened feelings aroused by the Argentine football icon: outrageous and filled with passion, with thousands of grieving fans eager to address their last goodbye. A long line of thousands of supporters began to meander at dawn around the historic Place de Mai in the hope of entering Casa Rosada, the seat of the Argentine presidency where a fiery chapel was organized. A huge black ribbon adorned the entrance to the pink stone building, whose flags were at half mast as a sign of national mourning decreed for three days. But not all were able to bow to the closed coffin containing the remains of the football legend, covered with the Argentinian flag and the various jerseys of the teams for which Maradona played, in particular those of the Argentine selection and Boca Juniors flocked. of the mythical number 10.
Several incidents have tarnished this moment of collection. The coffin had to be moved in particular, according to a government source, raging supporters who invaded the court of the presidency. Clashes have also broken out on several occasions in the adjacent streets with the police who used rubber bullets and tear gas in exchange for projectiles of all kinds.
After these moments of confusion, the funeral procession set off towards the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, greeted all along the route by thousands of other people posted on the side of the roads. A religious service in the intimacy of the family was given before Maradona was buried in a family vault alongside her parents. “I thought Diego was immortal, I thought he would never die. I feel terrible sadness, he made us so happy ”, lamented on the outskirts of the cemetery Antonio Avila, 63-year-old bus driver.
Planetary turmoil
Fist raised or hand on heart, many fans were however able to follow one another in front of the remains of their idol, who died Wednesday at the age of 60 from cardiac arrest. “It’s a genius, it’s the people, it’s us, it’s life and love,” said Andrés Quintero, a 42-year-old restaurateur. Members of the family and active or retired players, including teammates of the Argentine captain at the 1986 World Cup, had gone to the fiery chapel in privacy before it opened to the public at 6 a.m. local (9 a.m. GMT). In the district of Boca in Buenos Aires, but also in Europe in Naples and Barcelona, high places of the career of the “Pibe de oro” (the “golden kid”), the emotion seized the anonymous and the big ones. names of the round ball, from Pelé to Lionel Messi, a few hours after the announcement of the death on Wednesday at 3 p.m. GMT.
In Argentina, where the passion for the round ball is devouring, the emotion is immense. Thousands of admirers gathered overnight at the stadiums of the clubs where Maradona officiated: in Buenos Aires (Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors) and Rosario (Newell’s Old Boys), as well as in La Plata, where he coached the formation of Gimnasia until her death. “Diego, you are my life, you are the joy of my heart,” chanted the crowd in unison, the faces of many covered with tears.
In Naples, where Maradona, a former club icon, had offered Napoli the only two league titles in its history (1987 and 1990), all the players entered with a flocked jersey of the number 10 and the name of Diego Maradona on Thursday for their Europa League match against Rijeka. In front of the surrounding gates of the San Paolo stadium, which the city’s mayor wants to rename Maradona stadium, supporters have been singing songs to his glory since Wednesday.
“God is dead”
If the planet knew his fragile health, the news of the death of Diego Maradona has led to a deluge of sadness in the world of football, where only the Brazilian Pelé (80 years) competes in the informal ranking of the greatest in history . Heads of State from many countries have also sent messages of condolence, proof that Maradona has marked the spirits everywhere, by its exploits and its excesses, oscillating between grandeur and flamboyance on the one hand, decay, drugs and controversies of the other. In Italy, the sports daily The Gazzetta dello sport regrets “the death of the football god”. “God is dead”, resumes in chorus the French daily The team. Even England, where Diego Maradona left a controversial image because of his famous goal of the hand against the English in quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup (the “hand of God”, in the words of Maradona), salutes the genius of the small game leader.
Very weakened after surgery for a hematoma to the skull in early November, Maradona died “of secondary acute pulmonary edema and exacerbated chronic heart failure”, according to preliminary results of the autopsy. The life of Maradona, born October 30, 1960, was punctuated by many health problems related to excesses of all kinds that sometimes made him flirt with death. As in 2000 during a heart attack following an overdose or in 2004 during a second cardiac arrest when he weighed more than 100 kilos.
Maradona had overcome her addiction to hard drugs several years ago, but continued to use alcohol, medication with tranquilizers and anti-anxiety medications. He appeared very depressed when he last appeared in public on his 60th birthday, and his lawyer Matias Morla had revealed he was going through a period of depression.
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