Thousands line up to bid farewell soccer legend Diego Maradona
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BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Tens of thousands of fans eager to honor Diego Maradona lined up to file past the coffin of Argentina’s most iconic soccer star on Thursday, some confronting police who tried to maintain order at the country’s presidential mansion.
Some threw bottles and pieces of metal fencing at police near the Casa Rosada in the heart of Buenos Aires. Officers at one point used tear gas to try to control them.
Fans blew kisses as they passed Maradona’s wooden casket in the main lobby of the presidential building, some strike their chests with closed fists and shouting, “Let’s go Diego.”
Mourners embrace as they wait to see Diego Maradona lying in state outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup died Wednesday at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
People line up to attend the wake of Diego Maradona at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title died Wednesday at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Mario Da Fina) 
Soccer fans waiting to see Diego Maradona lying in state clash with police outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title died Wednesday at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
Police detain a soccer outside the presidential palace where Diego Maradona is lying in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title died of a heart attack at his home Wednesday at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) 
Police block soccer fans waiting to see Diego Maradona lying in state outside the presidential in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title died Wednesday at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) 
Soccer fans line up to see the casket with the body of Diego Maradona at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who was among the best players ever and who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title died from a heart attack at his home Wednesday, at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) 
A woman looks out of a window as flowers commemorating soccer legend Diego Maradona are placed beneath a mural depicting him, in Naples, southern Italy, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. Maradona died Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 in Buenos Aires. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) 
A mourner, sporting a tattoo of Diego Maradona on his forearm, waits in line to pay his final respects to the Argentine soccer great who died from a heart attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. Maradona’s wooden casket was in the main lobby of the presidential office, covered in an Argentine flag and a No. 10 national team jersey. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
A man cries as he waits in a line outside the presidential palace to pay his final respects to Diego Maradona, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who was among the best players ever and who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title died from a heart attack at his home Wednesday, at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
A statuette by Nativity artist Gennaro Di Virgilio portraying soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona with Angel’s wing is exposed next to a Nativity scene in his shop in Naples, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. Maradona died Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 in Buenos Aires. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
The casket was covered in an Argentine flag and the No. 10 shirt he famously wore on the national team. Dozens of other shirts of different soccer teams were tossed in by weeping visitors were scattered on and around the casket.
Maradona died on Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he recovered from a brain operation on Nov. 3.
Open visitation started at 6:15 a.m. local time (0915 GMT) after a few hours of privacy for family and close friends. The first to bid farewell were his daughters and close family members. His ex-wife Claudia Villafañe came with Maradona’s daughters Dalma and Gianinna. Later came Verónica Ojeda, also his ex-wife, with their son Dieguito Fernando.
Jana, who Maradona recognized as his daughter only a few years ago, also attended the funeral.
Then came former teammates of the 1986 World Cup-winning squad including Oscar Ruggeri. Other Argentine footballers, such as Boca Juniors’ Carlos Tévez, showed up, too.
The lines started forming outside the Casa Rosada only hours after Maradona’s death was confirmed and grew to several blocks. Among those present were the renowned barrabravas fans of Boca Juniors, one of his former clubs.
The first fan to visit was Nahuel de Lima, 30, using crutches to move because of a disability.
“He made Argentina be recognized all over the world, who speaks of Maradona also speaks of Argentina,” de Lima told The Associated Press. “Diego is the people…. Today the shirts, the political flags don’t matter. We came to say goodbye to a great that gave us a lot of joy.”
Lidia and Estela Villalba cried near the exit of the lobby. Both had a Boca Juniors shirt and an Argentinian flag on their shoulders.
“We told him we love him, that he was the greatest,” they said at the same time.
A huge mural of Maradona’a face was painted on the tiles that cover the Plaza de Mayo, near the Casa Rosada, which was decorated with a giant black ribbon at the entrance.
A giant screen in front of the Casa Rosada displayed historic photos of Maradona to the passing fans, most but not all of whom wore masks due to the coronvirus pandemic.
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