Diego Armando Maradona was a cursed poet of football. It is unfair and a pity to say of him that he was a footballer. Even if you say he was the best footballer of all time, you are wronging him.
Fight the demons and their weaknesses. And perhaps these weaknesses are the only thing that "betrays" that he was mortal. He was an athyrostomous revolutionary who took advantage of the reputation given to him by the ball to defend the weak. He helped everyone. He was the biggest star and at the same time he enjoyed playing in the arena and the mud.
He was the man who, in the eyes of many of his compatriots, took revenge for what, at the military level, Argentina had suffered from England in the Falkland Islands. The same man who made the poor Italian south look down on the rich north!
For those of us who really love football, Diego was not just the greatest, he was something higher.
From this "higher" στηκαν some of his fanatical followers in Argentina were caught and called him God. D10S (a pun with the Spanish word dios = God and his jersey number).
Since he was something higher and God, then he had to have his Church. And his priests. And his faithful. All 10 of his commands. And his prayer. And to hold weddings and baptisms in his name. And his big holidays. And its Sunday Liturgies. And yes είχε He had it all.
Because the great Diego Armando Maradona had his own Church. His own religion. Iglesia Maradoniana and what you will read below, as incredible as they sound, are absolutely true and reflect the love that an entire people had for Diego and especially heavy and unbearable mourning in which he has been immersed since last Wednesday afternoon.
The original idea came from Héctor Campomar, Alejandro Verón and Hernán Amez. Three godly followers of Diego. They shared their idea and soon found another 200 equally god-worshipers and put forward the plan to found the Iglesia Maradoniana.
Their plan finally took shape in the city of Rosario on October 30, 1998. Random date? Of course not. The great Diego was born on October 30, 1960.
Today, the Εκκλησία D10S has approximately 200.000 registered members from at least 130 different countries. It follows its own chronology (in 2010, for example, it is the year 50 AD-after Diego), it has its own Bible which is the autobiography of Maradona, it has its own Apostles (those who helped him in his career) and her own Judah (those who clashed with him).
Every year on October 30, the Church celebrates its own. Christmas. They decorate fir trees and organize great parties. … Easter is celebrated every year on June 22, the date on which Maradona in 1986 had scored the two unforgettable goals against the national team. England in the World Cup in Mexico.
Believers have tattoos associated with Diego. They participate in Liturgies where they represent the goal "by the hand of God". This goal must be scored by those who want to become members of the Church. Something like an initiation ceremony. If they pass this test they will be asked to answer 10 general questions… about Diego.
A church without prayer and commands to the faithful, is not meant and somehow Diego's faithful took care to acquire their own… symbols of faith.
First we have the prayer in the standards of our Father:
"Diego us. Father Diego, in Dubai. Sanctify your left foot. Your magic is coming. May your quality be born, as in heaven and on earth. Our goal is successful, give us today and let go of our kicks as we leave our kicks, and do not force us offside, but tear us from Avelange and Pelé ".
At the same time, we have all 10 commands:
Michalis Papadakis in his book "Fragments of the stadiums" describes the ritual that follows in Iglesia Maradoniana during a wedding between Diego believers:
- We all gathered here today, in the temple of Maradona, to confirm the obligation and love, through the church of Maradona, for our brother and sister, Gabriel Diego Chepenecas and Alejandra Diego Troilo. Swear to you both, in front of this cradle and the altar of Diego, that you will be faithful to Maradona forever, and declare that Diego was and will be the God of football.
-Alejandra Diego, you swear eternal love to your partner Gabriel Diego, faith in the church of Maradona, stating that Diego, was the God of football, and will he be the best player of all time?
- Yes, I swear
- Gabriel Diego, do you swear eternal love to your partner, Alejandra, and faith in the principles of our church?
- Yes, I swear
- The church of Maradona calls you a couple. You can kiss the bride. Remember, no jokes with the ball.
Another exceptional and memorable case (in any case, one might say) is that of a member of the Church who, when she had twin daughters, went to Iglesia Maradoniana to baptize them. He named one Mara and the other Dona!
As you will have already understood, the members of Maradoniana are more than just fanatics, although somewhere between fun and worship, it seems that the situation has gone away a bit.
They themselves say that all this is a way to show their love to the great Diego. No one is crazy. Everyone has their jobs and families and almost everyone is a devout Catholic.
No one gave up his faith. They believe in God, Christ, no one questions the religious authority of the Pope and they have never abandoned the Roman Catholic Church.
What the so-called "Diego Christians" are doing is making a strange mix of their religion with their football god, putting a dose of exaggeration and a dose of extremism just to emphasize their immense love for Maradona.
The same Diego Armando Maradona he seemed to enjoy it and laugh at the videos from weddings and baptisms. According to the urban legend, in fact, he had attended some of these ceremonies, while he often sent his signed shirts as a gift to newlyweds and newly enlightened.