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Pope Francis assured that Diego Maradona was 'a poet on the court', but also a 'very fragile man'

2021-01-02T12:35:09.914Z


The pontiff also thanked the contribution of the best soccer player of all time to the Scholas Occurrentes foundation.


01/02/2021 9:11 AM

  • Clarín.com

  • sports

Updated 01/02/2021 9:14 AM

Pope Francis affirmed in an interview published this Saturday by the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport that Diego Armando Maradona was "a poet on the pitch", but also a "very fragile man."

"I met Diego Armando Maradona on the occasion of a party for Peace in 2014: I remember with pleasure everything Diego did for Scholas Occurrentes, the foundation that takes care of the most needy around the world," Jorge Bergoglio recalled in the interview carried out at the beginning of December at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, according to the Italian newspaper.

"(Maradona) On the court he was a poet, a great champion who gave joy to millions of people, both in Argentina and Naples. He was also a very fragile man," added the pontiff.

In the interview, in which the pope spoke of the values ​​of sport such as inclusion, tolerance or camaraderie to make a better world, he also referred to doping to point out that "it is not just a scam" but "a shortcut that nullifies dignity. "

"Talent is a gift received, but it is not enough: you have to work. Training will mean taking care of the talent, trying to make it mature to the best of its ability," he stressed.

And he highlighted the athletes who "run the 100 meters at the Olympics" and who train for years for "those few seconds."

"From time to time I read about some great champion who is the first to arrive in training and the last to leave: it is the testimony that willpower is stronger than ability," he opined.

A soccer lover and a lover of San Lorenzo de Almagro, the pope also recalled his childhood years in Argentina, when he went with his family to the old Gasometer on Avenida La Plata.

"I remember, in particular, the championship of 1946, the one that my San Lorenzo won. I remember those days I spent watching the footballers playing and the joy of us children when we returned home: the joy, the happiness on our faces , adrenaline in the blood, "he commented.

The pontiff also recalled the days when he played soccer with a "rag ball" in a square near his house: he admitted that he did not stand out, but was "what in Argentina they call a kick."

That is why he always ended up tackling, a decision that served him as a school of life because he learned that "the goalkeeper must be ready to respond to the dangers that can come from anywhere".

Francisco acknowledged that he followed the sports news with interest and especially the stories of people who "try to leave the world a little better than they find it."

In this regard, he recalled that on his trip to Jerusalem in 2014 he had been told about the cyclist Gino Bartali, who, recruited by a cardinal and with the excuse of training by bicycle, left Florence for Assisi and returned with dozens of hidden false documents that they served for many Jews to escape and be saved.

"It is said that he helped some 800 Jews, with their families, to save themselves. Here is the story of an athlete who left the world a little better than he found it," praised Bergoglio.

In the 31 questions in the interview, he also spoke about Paralympic sport to assess the strength and will to live of athletes with disabilities and admitted that he liked "the idea of ​​the inclusion of sport", but also the one that taught "no give up "and keep fighting not to give up.

And he ended the talk with a wish for 2021: "My wish is very simple, I say it with the words they wrote on a shirt they gave me: 'Better a clean defeat than a dirty victory.' It is the most beautiful way to play your life with your head held high. "

(Source: EFE)

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Source: clarin

All news articles on 2021-01-02

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