The day of tribute to Diego Maradona until his burial, Thursday, November 26, was up to the heightened feelings aroused by the Argentine football icon: outrageous and full of passion, with thousands of grieving eager fans to bid their last farewell.
At dawn, a long line of thousands of supporters began to meander around the historic Place de Mai in the hope of entering Casa Rosada, the seat of the Argentine Presidency where a fiery chapel was held. 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.
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Clashes have also erupted on several occasions in the adjacent streets with the police who used rubber bullets and tear gas in exchange for projectiles of all kinds.
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Private family ceremony
The funeral procession later set off for the Jardin Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, greeted along the way by thousands of other people on the roadsides.
A religious service in the family intimacy was given before Maradona was buried in a family vault alongside her parents.
Before this agitated end of the day, 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.
Members of the family and active or retired players, including teammates of the Argentine captain at the 1986 World Cup, had gone to the ardent chapel in privacy before it opened to the public at 6 a.m. (10 a.m. in Paris).
Thousands of admirers had gathered in the night near the stadiums of the clubs where the “Pibe de Oro” (“Golden kid”) had officiated in Argentina: in Buenos Aires (Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors), Rosario (Newell’s Old Boys) as well as in La Plata, where he trained the formation of Gimnasia until his death.
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.