Tributes pour in after death of Maradona – as it happened (2024)

Time to sign off; thanks to all of you for sending in your tributes to Diego Maradona. I’ll leave you with some of our features; there will be plenty more reaction to come as the football world celebrates the life and legacy of one of its brightest stars. Thanks for joining us.

We are going to sign off soon, so before I go, I’d like to pay my own tribute to the footballer I personally consider the best ever. Mexico ‘86 was before my time, but I remember Maradona at Italia ‘90, belligerent but still brilliant, marching his unloved Argentina to the final like an angry general.

A couple of years later, I picked up two old VHS tapes in a bargain bin: Argentina’s World Cup story, and another simply titled (as best as I can recall) “Maradona”. I was absolutely mesmerised by his energy and talent, rewinding the goals against England and Belgium over and over again. I loved that the ball seemed to stick to him magnetically, supernaturally, whether in the streets of Buenos Aires or at the Azteca Stadium.

That was as close as I thought I’d get to the great man, until he rocked up as a surprise “guest of honour” when Fulham played Manchester City at Craven Cottage 10 years ago. He was predictably jeered in the pantomime fashion; at least one fan in the away end was delighted to see him.

We’ll have a full paper review online soon, but here are some choice front pages from around the world.

Ali Nasser, the Tunisian referee who allowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal to stand, has spoken to AFP.

“I didn’t see the hand, but I had a doubt,” Nasser, now 76, said. “You can see the pictures: I stepped back to take the advice of my assistant, Bulgarian (Bogdan) Dochev, and when he said it was good, I gave the goal.”

“Fifa gave me a 9.4 [referee rating] on this game, I did what I had to do, but there was confusion. Dochev later indicated that he had seen two arms, and he didn’t know if it was Shilton’s or Maradona’s.”

You know, sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all.

Here is the Guardian’s back page for Thursday:

“The way I look at it is if you know their middle name, it is safe to say they were something special. Diego Armando Maradona; thank you. Hated him after the England game but by the time he destroyed the Belgians in the next match, he was my favourite player,” writes Anthony T.

Meanwhile, Mark Hanlon offers up the “goal of the century” with some remarkably concise commentary from RTÉ legend Jimmy Magee:

Peter Shilton has had his say in the Mail, and appears unwilling to forgive Maradona for that handball goal.

“What I don’t like is that he never apologised. Never at any stage did he say he had cheated and that he would like to say sorry. Instead, he used his ‘Hand of God’ line. That wasn’t right. It seems he had greatness in him but sadly no sportsmanship.”

Many of the British papers went with a similar theme for their Thursday editions. It all feels a little mean-spirited and parochial; there was much, much more to Maradona.

Gary Lineker’s tribute to Maradona is a must-watch:

Thanks, Mike. There is so much to say on Maradona’s off-field life, his legacy, what he means to people in Naples and Buenos Aires. But I’ll start by getting back to basics. These goals are an absolute joy to watch:

Time for me to hand over to my colleague in London, Niall McVeigh. I’ll leave you with a couple more reader anecdotes, the first from Colum Fordham:

“Feelings are obviously running high here in Naples where Maradona is worshipped as a god. I still bristle from the ‘hand of God’ goal but swooned in admiration at his sublime second goal. Shortly after moving from the UK to Naples in 1989, I saw him score a penalty against Stuttgart in a Stadio San Paolo that was bursting at the seams. I grew up adoring Cruyff and have seen Messi at Camp Nou but the way Maradona’s magic and dynamism galvanised both Napoli and Argentina arguably puts him in an even higher tier. My Neapolitan friends were aghast when they read the Guardian headline ‘one of the world’s best players has died’. Cosa? What? “One of the best”? This is inconceivable here. My brothers in law Luca and Massimo, my Neapolitan friends Paolo, Sergio, Tonio, Maurizio and Roberto would not countenance comparison with other footballing greats. My 18-year-old son Simone who has seen Messi live but Maradona only in video footage told me this afternoon ‘Daddy, Messi is the best but Maradona is the greatest’.”

And this from Ben Aitkenhead:

“It is almost certain that we shall not see his like again. The game is forever changed. And mad maverick geniuses probably would never make it today in the sanitised world of systems. We were privileged to bear witness. I find myself surprised by the extent of my sadness. I think it is because he scattered magic through an era that was otherwise not much fun, and because he was, in life off the pitch, ultimately more of a tragic figure. Friends in Buenos Aires, Boca fans naturally, are really heartbroken. I am not sure there is an equivalent loss in many nations or clubs (except Napoli today). There is a mania to the passion about football in Argentina, especially while the rest of life is hard. In this Maradona embodied much of the way his country and his compatriots live football and life.”

Emotions are understandably running high today.

In unrelated news, Marseille boss Andre Villas-Boas has reportedly called on Fifa to retire the No 10 worldwide in honour of Maradona.

Although his body is about 12,000km away from Napoli, Maradona’s wake has already begun in the Italian city, where thousands of people gathered in the streets and in front of the Stadio San Paolo to mourn the “greatest player of all time”.

Many are crying, others are singing, and they are all swapping memories of his greatest moves and goals.

It’s hard to really understand what Maradona meant for Napoli. He was truly venerated like a demigod. Maradona was a symbol, a living monument, like the colosseum in Rome or Big Ben in London.

With his genius, Maradona redeemed Napoli from the prejudices and racism suffered by southern Italians and installed a new pride to the city. Northern Italy had Fiat, TV broadcasters, Juventus, Milan, Van Basten, Platini, Ferrari and other luxurious cars. But Naples, Naples had Maradona.

A propos of nothing, Maradona’s death comes on the same date, 25 November, that George Best died on 15 years ago. Maradona often talked about Best and how the Manchester United legend was one of his childhood heroes. Another one of Maradona’s inspirations, Fidel Castro, also died on 25 November, four years ago.

Rory Griffiths has written in with a nice tale of the time he experienced Maradona-frenzy in Argentina. Over to you, Rory:

Marcela Mora y Araujo, who translated Maradona’s autobiography El Diego, has filed a lovely tribute to her fellow Argentine:

“It’s difficult to convey how or why that sharing a nationality with an icon turns into such a big deal. Why claiming him as ours by virtue of being born in the same country is such a strong glue for notions of identity, cultural and sporting, but Maradona became an emblem of Argentinianess, more so than other sports stars or celebrities.”

Read more here:

Maradona is front and back of tomorrow’s Guardian:

A different take on that goal from the one and only David Squires:

Maradona’s adopted hometown of Napoli is, unsurprisingly, showing exactly what Maradona meant to the people there tonight.

“What Maradona did represent for us people of Naples goes beyond common rational thinking, it is mystical,” writes in Marco Mormone. “Like pagan Gods, he embodied all vices and defects of us mere human but, like pagan Gods, he had the power to lift our spirits, to empower our believes, and to make us feel special.”

Italy legend Franco Baresi, one of the best central defenders the game has produced and the symbol of AC Milan’s indomitable defence during the 1990s, said his old opponent was “the greatest of them all”.

“He made us suffer, he scored a ton of goals against us, sometimes you fouled him, he took the blows but never complained,” Baresi added. “He was fair on the pitch. He was loved by his teammates, because he did not let his greatness weigh, and by the people, who went to the stadium for the emotions he gave.”

“Maradona, turns like a little eel, he comes away from trouble, little squat man … comes inside Butcher, leaves him for dead, outside Fenwick, leaves him for dead, and puts the ball away … and that is why Maradona is the greatest player in the world.”

So said the BBC radio’s Bryon Butler, famously, as Maradona weaved his way through the England defence in 1986. But that wasn’t the only piece of memorable commentary of that moment. Here’s BBC television’s Barry Davies:

“Here’s Maradona again … he has Burrachaga to his left, and Valdano to his left … he doesn’t … he won’t need any of them … OH! … you have to say that’s magnificent. There is no debate about that goal. That was just pure football genius.”

And then, of course, Radio Argentina’s Victor Hugo Morales, with this:

“Maradona has the ball, two mark him, Maradona touches the ball, the genius of world soccer dashes to the right and leaves the third and is going to pass to Burruchaga. It’s still Maradona! Genius! Genius! Genius! Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. Goooooaaaal! Gooooooaaaaal! I want to cry! Dear God! Long live soccer! Gooooooaaaaalllllll! Diegoal! Maradona! It’s enough to make you cry, forgive me. Maradona, in an unforgettable run, in the play of all time. Cosmic kite! What planet are you from, to leave in your wake so many Englishmen? So that the whole country is a clenched fist shouting for Argentina? Argentina 2 England 0. Diegoal! Diegoal! Diego Armando Maradona. Thank you God, for soccer, for Maradona, for these tears, for this Argentina 2 England 0.”

Maradona’s influence was truly global – there wasn’t a part of the world where his name was not known. Anders Kjellevold has emailed in with a report of flowers being laid outside the Argentinian embassy in Oslo at 22:30 local time. “Maradona in our hearts. Number 10 forever”, a note reads.

In Australia, where Maradona appeared in a World Cup qualifier in 1993, many of the Socceroos who played that day at a packed Sydney Football Stadium have been sharing their thoughts.

Craig Foster, who wasn’t on the pitch that day, earlier told the ABC that Maradona was a figure of “almost divine nature”.

“At one point in his career he was probably the most famous person on the planet and he never got to grips with it,” he said. “That’s why so many people loved him. Because he was a poor kid ... who went to the top of the world’s largest sport and he never ever changed. He was the people’s champion until his final day.”

The world’s second most popular Argentinian, Pope Francis, has paid his respects. The pair met on several occasions since the Pope, a San Lorenzo fan, took office in 2013, and the Vatican said he recalled those meetings “with affection”.

Reuters has this:

The official Vatican News website ran a story of Maradona’s death on its front page with a headline calling him “football’s poet”. It called Maradona “an extraordinary player but a fragile man,” a reference to his struggle with drugs.

Maradona travelled to Rome several times to take part in several benefit games called “Matches for Peace,” whose proceeds went to a papal charity for education in developing countries and for victims of the 2106 earthquake in central Italy.

On one occasion Maradona gave the pope a signed jersey with a dedication that read in Spanish: “To Pope Francis, with all my affection and [wishes for] much peace in the world.”

Before one match he told Vatican Radio: “I think we all feel something in our hearts when we see wars, when we see the dead. I think this match will put to rest the notion that we football players don’t do anything for peace ... a football is worth more than 100 rifles.”

“During the 1986 World Cup,” writes in Simon Mesner, “I started to become entranced by his play and equally disappointed by the rough tactics used against him. I wanted play like he did, particularly his imagination. However, the first goal against England crushed my childish naivety that superior skill would win. All those thousands of hours of training, the fitness drills, the repetitive exercises to, when it came down to it, punching the ball and hoping to get away with it was the preferred option. And then 10 minutes later, there was the painful beauty of the brilliant winner.Maradona in a microcosm.” Sure you’re not lone with those thoughts, Simon.

Don’t forget, you can share your Maradona memories by emailing me or in a more formal capacity here:

Just on the Stadio San Paolo, it seems it may not go by that name for much longer, according to the Guardian’s Italian football expert Fabrizio Romano.

David Noble has done just that. “For me Diego was the greatest player of all time, transcending the games he played in with his skill and huge character. The latter is what puts him beyond both Messi and Ronaldo.”

Meanwhile, in Napoli, where Maradona delivered the club’s glory years....

Napoli are next playing in the Europa League against Rijeka on Thursday at the city’s Stadio San Paolo, the stadium that Maradona lit up during his spell there between 1984 and 1991. That’s sure to be some occasion, even in these restricted Covid times.

Thanks Tom. Mike Hytner here taking over for the next while as the tributes continue to flow the Diego Maradona.

As we’ve heard, a three-day period of mourning has been announced in Argentina, while Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores game between Maradona’s former club Boca and Brazil’s Internacional was called off and rearranged for early December.

Meanwhile, Uefa has confirmed a minute’s silence will be held at each of this week’s European matches – we’ve already seen that tonight in Champions League games.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said: “I was in touch recently to wish Diego well, and this news comes as a considerable shock to me. He achieved greatness as a wonderful player with a genius and charisma of his own.”

Do get in touch with your memories of the great man – email mike.hytner@theguardian.com or @mike_hytner on Twitter.

Former England captain Gary Lineker, who faced Maradona at the 1986 World Cup, has shared memories of his opponent

“I played for a Rest of the World side at Wembley, when I was at Barcelona, all the great players like [Michel] Platini on the pitch were all totally in awe of him,” Lineker said on BT Sport.

“The first thing he did in the dressing room was sit there in just a pair of shorts, juggling his socks on his left foot for about five minutes. Then he went out on the pitch and did something incredible, one of the most unbelievable things I have even seen on a football pitch.

“He juggled the ball all the way out to the centre circle, when he got there, still juggling, he went ‘bang’ and kicked the ball up as high as he could, then waited.

“It came down, he went ‘bang’ and did it again. He did it 13 times and the most he ever did was walk three paces to it. All of us were sitting there saying: ‘that is impossible’.”

Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero was once married to Maradona’s youngest daughter, Giannina. Both men enjoyed success with Argentina and scored 75 goals for their country between them. Agüero is also the father of Maradona’s first grandson, Benjamin. Agüero tweeted a tribute to his former father-in-law after playing in City’s Champions League victory on Wednesday.

“We are never going to forget you,” he wrote. “You are always with us. GraciasDiego. RIP”

From one temperamental footballing genius to another: Eric Cantona has paid tribute to Maradona on Instagram. “I will miss you Diego but for me you did not die. I don’t have the words to say how I feel...” wrote the France and Manchester United star.

Maradona was never afraid to say what was on his mind. Here’s how he recounted a meeting he had with Pope John Paul II:

“I was in the Vatican and I saw all these golden ceilings and afterwards I heard the Pope say the church was worried about the welfare of poor kids,” he said. “Sell your ceiling then, amigo, do something!”

As Dave Zirin writes in The Nation, Maradona’s politics were shaped by his upbringing:

He also lived a life of passionate, rebel intensity, always standing against imperialism; always standing for self-determination for Latin America and the Global South, always speaking for the children growing up in similar conditions to the abject poverty of his own upbringing in the Villa Fiorito barrio of Buenos Aires. He was the fifth of eight children, living without running water or electricity and never forgot it for a moment. His heart may have simply been too big for his chest.

Diego Maradona will be given a national hero’s farewell in Argentina, with his wake most likely to be held tomorrow at the Casa Rosada (“Pink House”) presidential palace in downtown Buenos Aires.

Although the final decision is up to the Maradona family, the government is already preparing the Casa Rosada for the occasion.

Maradona’s body is being transported from the home where he died to a nearby hospital for the autopsy this afternoon, although authorities have already confirmed the football legend died of natural causes.

“There was no sign of violence or criminality,” a judicial spokesperson said just minutes ago to reporters gathered outside the home where Maradona died in the northern suburb of Tigre outside Buenos Aires.

A few Guardian readers have emailed in with their tributes to Maradona.

“What is most touching about today’s tribute is watching the clips of his amazing talent,” writes Mary Waltz. “Over the last ten years if you saw the word Maradona it was usually about the off the field baggage. Today we simply honour his out of the world skills.”

“Evening Tom. Icon, legend, genius,” writes Simon McMahon. “All overused, particularly in sports, but in Maradona’s case, all true. Truly, a cosmic kite.”

Thus Spoke L’Equipe: the French sports newspaper has gone straight to Friedrich Nietzsche for its front-page tribute to Maradona:

Brazil and Argentina enjoy one of the world’s great sporting rivalries. It’s a testament to the respect Maradona was held in that the Brazilian Football Association was one of the first to pay tribute to a man who tormented Seleção on the field.

“Football is in mourning. Diego Armando Maradona enchanted the world with his determination, irreverence and relationship with the ball and the pitch,” tthe CBF tweeted. “A star who contributed to spread the passion of South Americans for football.”

In the UK, the Daily Telegraph is getting criticism for its coverage of Maradona’s death:

In contrast, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp – a man always worth listening to – has said Maradona’s flaws – and his battle with them – were part of what made him great.

“I’m 53 years old, my entire life, he was a part of it,” Klopp said before Liverpool’s Champions League match on Wednesday evening. ““Diego was a sensational guy. Maradona had some struggles. I will miss both.”

There were tributes to Maradona as this evening’s Champions League fixtures kicked off:

Meanwhile, the mayor of Naples, where Maradona enjoyed the best success of his club career, has called for the team’s stadium to be renamed in the footballer’s honour.

Another Argentinian sporting great, Manu Ginobili, has reflected on Maradona’s death. “Thanks Diego for such beautiful moments! Huge hug for all his family and for a people who loved him deeply,” tweeted the four-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medallist.

And here’s Argentina’s best male tennis player, Diego Schwartzman, explaining how he got his first name (no prizes for guessing).

The Guardian’s Ed Vulliamy spent a good deal of time in Naples when Maradona was at the peak of his powers there. He wrote a fascinating piece last year for us on the bond between the footballer and the city:

I knew Neapolitans who read cards in earnest, and interpreted dreams with numeric systems. Before the tourists, the canyon-street of peeling stucco called Spaccanapoli was lined with wart-faced marionettes, masks and pulcinelle harlequins, steeped in folklore.

Catholicism in Naples can be richly occult: in the chapel of Sansevero, the marble veil over Christ’s body is so impossibly thin it must have been draped over him and turned to stone by magic, so they say; in a crypt below are the skeletal remains of a couple whose vascular systems are petrified by an 18th-century alchemist’s experiment.

What’s this got to do with Maradona? Everything. Maradona practised sorcery on the pitch; he played voodoo football. Maradona could mind-read and outwit a spellbound opponent’s motive before he knew it himself. No player can be a team, but Maradona’s sixth sense infused those alongside him; his captaincy was seance, as was his communion with Naples. Maradona played pagan football for a pagan city, and that was why it loved him.

You can read the full article below:

Argentina stopped when Maradona played for his country, and the same could be said for India when Sachin Tendulkar played cricket. The batsman has written on Twitter that: “Football and the world of sports has lost one of its greatest players today Rest in Peace Diego Maradona! You shall be missed.”

A few tribute from some current England stars. Harry Kane posted a photo of his meeting with Maradona while Marcus Rashford described the Argentinian as “legendary”.

Former Scotland striker Frank McGarvey was on the opposing side when an 18-year-old Maradona scored his first-ever goal for Argentina, in a friendly at Hampden Park in 1979.

McGarvey says it was obvious Maradona was already on a different level from everyone else on the pitch.

“I was told to look out for this teenager, who was the real deal,” McGarvey told the Press Association on Wednesday. “He looked like a wee boy but he was unbelievable. He tore us to shreds. He had speed over five yards and then speed to get away from you.

“I remember chasing him. I was quick and he had the ball but he was running away from me and so I left him to David Narey and Paul Hegarty and went to mark someone else. He was too good for me. He was outstanding in every way.

“Messi and Ronaldo are great players but nowhere near Maradona, he is the greatest. It is a very sad day for me. He is the greatest player I will ever see.”

I watched Asif Kapadia’s superb documentary on Maradona on a flight and startled the family next to me by laughing out loud at some of the ludicrous skill in the clips. Most would agree Maradona reached the height of his powers at the 1986 World Cup, when he dragged a good-but-not-great Argentina team to the title. How good was he at that tournament? Here are a few of the highlights (complete with some middling finishing from some of his teammates):

Tom Lutz is going to take over the blog now. I’ll leave you with this fascinating piece from 2004 in which Martin Amis reads between the lines of Diego’s autobiography:

This is nice. When Peter Reid met Diego.

I like to see your face, because in Mexico I only saw your back.

The mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, proclaimed a day of mourning for the death of Diego Armando Maradona, while the lights of the San Paolo stadium in Naples will stay on all night to pay respect to the Argentinian champion.

De Magistris also proposed to retitle the stadium in Maradona’s name. “I ask for a day of mourning and at the same time that our stadium that witnessed so many of his successes may bear his name”.

Banners and flags have spread throughout the streets of the city centre, while on social media a call for a flash mob has gone viral: “Tomorrow hang from your balcony or window a scarf, a flag, a jersey. Anything that represents the Naples team. Bye, Diego”.

In the meantime, hundreds of fans in the Spanish Quarters have begun lighting smoke bombs and shouting stadium chants in front of Maradona murals.

Here is the Guardian’s obituary on a “prodigiously skilled footballer who captained Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup”.

Mourners are continuing to gather outside Diego Maradona’s home in Benavidez, Buneos Aires.

It is a desolate scene at La Bombanera too, the home of Boca Juniors.

It’s nice to hear what our regular contributors to our football live blogs have to say – and this is lovely from Justin Kavanagh: “A sad day for football and for Argentina too. But as Maradona was so great at making people smile (even English people!), here is a happy memory. My favourite football quote of all time is from Héctor Enrique, the man who passed Maradona the ball in midfield, despite his being surrounded by three English shirts. Asked about the subsequent ‘goal of the century’ his teammate scored, Enrique smiled mischievously, then laughed “Well with a pass like that, he could hardly miss, could he?!” RIP Diego and thanks for all the wonderful memories. You were the best of heroes and the best of villains, and you lit up the world for football lovers everywhere.”

The tributes continue to pour in from around the world of football. River Plate, the fierce Buenos Aires rivals of Diego’s team, Boca Juniors, have shown their respect in a touching tweet in which they make it clear although Maradona has gone, his influence on football will live on:

The Uefa president, Aleksander Čeferin, has expressed his sadness at the news of Maradona’s death.

I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Diego Maradona, one of world football’s greatest and most iconic figures. He achieved greatness as a wonderful player with a genius and charisma of his own.

My favourite image of Maradona is the one of him seemingly taking on the entire Belgium defence in the 1982 World Cup – and it is of course in this wonderful gallery of the great man’s life and times.

For further reading on that iconic photo from Spain 82 this piece by Jonny Weeks is essential reading: