By: Sophie Rasmussen

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the KCL Latin American Society or El Cortao.

On November 25, 2020, the devastating news broke of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona’s death at the age of 60. Argentina, currently ravaged by the coronavirus, has officially gone into mourning, and millions around the world are mourning as well. The reverence many have for him is difficult to explain; he is widely regarded as the best soccer player ever to take to the pitch, and in Argentina he is almost a god. Who was he, and why has his death had such a profound impact worldwide?

Maradona was born in 1960 in a very poor area of Buenos Aires. He was gifted a soccer ball when he was three and became obsessed. He soon joined youth teams in Buenos Aires, and already at 12 he had fans of his “wizardry with the ball.” At 15, he became the youngest person to play in the Argentine Primera División, and as his career progressed he played for some of the best teams in the world. When his career ended he had won several major trophies, including that of the 1986 World Cup. Since retirement, he had coached several teams, collaborated with various charities, and begun his own talk show, among other things. In 2000, FIFA declared him one of the two “players of the century.’’

Immediately after his death, countless professional soccer players began to pay tribute on social media, sharing their pictures with him and telling heart-warming anecdotes, praising his skills, or professing that he had inspired them to play soccer in the first place. Even Pelé — his fierce rival and the other FIFA “player of the century” — laments, “I have lost a dear friend.” Professional soccer leagues are postponing games or holding minutes of silence before kick-off, and there is already talk of Italian club Napoli (for whom Maradona won several trophies in the 80s and 90s) renaming their stadium after him; a school in India did so two days after his death. Ordinary citizens are devastated as well; despite the pandemic, gatherings have formed worldwide to give people an opportunity to honor Maradona with flowers and artwork, and to grieve.

His life was not without controversy; he struggled with cocaine addiction, was guilty of tax evasion, and held contentious (and strong) political views. He fathered several children outside his marriage and once shot at reporters who he felt were invading his privacy. And yet he remains an icon. His poor background, very public left-wing views, and tendency to express his opinions passionately and fearlessly made him a man of the people. Ignoring his personal qualities, his memorable plays and ball control have made generations of soccer players look up to him in awe.

Nowhere is he worshipped as much as in Argentina. Citizens will always be proud when their athletes succeed, but there was something different about Maradona. At the height of his career, Argentina was in, and then recovering from, a dictatorship, dealing with the humiliation of losing the Malvinas/Falklands War to Britain in 1982, and suffering economic crises. One Argentine claims that for many of his countrymen during this period, Maradona was the only thing which brought them joy. There is one particular moment which best showcases Argentines’ pride in Maradona. Four years after losing the Malvinas/Falklands War, Argentina played England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup. Maradona scored two goals which sent Argentina to the semifinals, and later to win the tournament: one was illegal (though still counted), and one is widely referred to as “the Goal of the Century.” At the time weighed down by political and economic problems, Argentines went mad; in a recent interview, one man tearfully called it “the happiest moment of my life.” When the player died, Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, announced three days of national mourning, and Maradona’s coffin lay in state at the Casa Rosada, the executive mansion. The nation really is in mourning; dealing with economic problems and being one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic makes their hero’s death all the more devastating. Tens of thousands of citizens gathered for his wake in Buenos Aires, and photographs show stunned faces marred by tragedy.

As the Houston Chronicle writes: “To understand the gargantuan shadow Maradona casts over his football-mad homeland, one has to conjure up the athleticism of Michael Jordan, the power of Babe Ruth — and the human fallibility of Mike Tyson. Lump them together in a single barrel-chested man with shaggy black hair, you have El Diego, idol to the millions who call him D10S, a mash-up of his playing number and the Spanish word for God.” Reactions from around the world in the last few days show both the power of sports and the ability for one entity to do so much to unite people. The response to Maradona’s death might never have been seen before, and might not happen again — the world will have to see what happens when Pelé dies, but Maradona, as always, will be a hard act to follow

Sophie is a second year History student from the United States. Half Argentine, she is very interested in the country’s culture, politics, and history.