Pope Francis and sport: the passion for football, the vote for the Madonna not to see games on TV and the praise of loyalty

«Sad news for the whole world, but for us in particular. I had the opportunity to meet him in Rome. His passion for football was great. A very large loss for Catholics, for the world of football and for us Argentines ». Paulo DybalaArgentine of Rome and new Ambassador of Laureus recalled with these words Pope Francisthe pontiff who came from the end of the world who loved the most practiced sport in the world, but for 35 years now he had no longer seen a game for a vote made to the Madonna.

San Lorenzo de Almagro fan, he said he hadn’t lost a game since 1946. “It was never any one and it was always one of us. Cuervo fan as a child and adult … Cuervo fan as a priest and cardinal … Cuervo fan also from Pope … he has always sent his passion for Ciclón: when he went to the old Gasómeter to see the team of ’46, when he confirmed Angelito Correa in the chapel of the sporting city, when he received azulgan visits in the Vatican always with immense joy with immense joy … N ° 88235. From Jorge Mario Bergoglio to Francesco, there is one thing that has never changed: his love for Ciclón. Wrapped in deep pain, today #Sanlorenzo tells Francesco: goodbye, thanks and goodbye! We will be together for eternity! ».

Since 1990 he had not seen football matches, nor his team or Argentina on TV For a vote made to the Madonna immediately after Italy ’90. He did not even see the victorious final of 2022 and he hadn’t even seen that of 1986. He was in Germany as a student. Corriere della Sera reports: “I remember it, personally, like the victory of solitude because I had no one with whom to share the joy of that sporting victory”.

“Better a clean defeat than a dirty victory,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport In an interview of 2021. Loyalty was the cardinal principle in sporting activity and not only for the pontiff who also told his personal history. “I remember very well and with pleasure when, as a child, with my family we went to the stadium, El Gasómetro. I have memory, in particular, of the 1946 championship, what my San Lorenzo won. I remember those days spend to see the players play and the happiness of us children when we returned home: joy, happiness on the face, adrenaline in the blood. Then I have another memory, that of Latest ball, the Pelota de Trapo: The leather cost and we were poor, the rubber was not yet so habitual, but we were enough for us to have a ball of rags to have fun and almost miracles playing in the square near the house. As a child I liked football, but I was not among the best, indeed I was what in Argentina they call a “hard pata”, literally hard leg. For this they always made me play on the goal. But Being the goalkeeper was a great school of life for me. The goalkeeper must be ready to respond to dangers that can come from all sides… and I also played basketball, I liked basketball because my dad was a column of the Basketball team of San Lorenzo ».

The group spirit is also fundamental. “Belonging is to admit that alone it is not so nice to live, exult, celebrate.” For this he had congratulated Pep Guardiola who had kissed the City shirt after the defeat in the Champions League final against Chelsea: “A gesture that teaches us that even in the defeat there can be victory”.

Stop all the championships and sporting events on this day in Italy. There will be a minute of silence for the rest of the week. «Italian sport, deeply saddened, joins the inconsolable pain for the disappearance of the Holy Father Francesco, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The world has remained orphan of a spiritual guide who has been able to illuminate the path of the faithful and of the entire community, thanks to its message inspired by brotherhood, mutuality and those values ​​that represent the end to which to make to build a better society. Pope Francis has illuminated our consciences by constantly demonstrating its closeness to our world, sharing its ideals and purposes ». These are the words of the president of Coni Malagò.