In Argentina, Maradona’s Death Sets Off a Vivid Display of Public Grief
BUENOS AIRES — People laid flowers and lit candles below the mural of Diego Maradona outside the stadium here that bears his name. A man cried inconsolably.
At the Obelisk in central Buenos Aires, another man waved a banner depicting Mr. Maradona that read, “God Is Argentine.”
There was a sense of incredulity in Argentina on Wednesday as word spread that the soccer star had died that morning at his home in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires. The government decreed three days of mourning.
Often called one of the game’s best players, Mr. Maradona was revered by his fellow Argentines — not just for his prowess on the field, but for his rise from poverty to global stardom. He stayed a national hero even as his personal life, which included long spates of drug and alcohol abuse, made him tabloid fodder around the world.
