「神に最も近い人間」マラドーナ氏を悼む、母国アルゼンチン

【ブエノスアイレスＡＦＰ＝時事】サッカー界のレジェンド、ディエゴ・マラドーナ氏が25日、心臓発作のため60歳で死去し、母国アルゼンチンでは「神に最も近い人間」と思われた英雄の死に衝撃が走っている。（写真はサッカー元アルゼンチン代表のレジェンド、ディエゴ・マラドーナ氏が死去したことを受け、ブエノスアイレス市内にある同氏の壁画の前で死を悼む親子）
　マラドーナ氏の訃報は、経済危機と新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）に打ちのめされ、サッカーが万病の薬と考えられているアルゼンチンにさらなる打撃となっている。
　追悼する場を探すファンは、首都ブエノスアイレス中心部にあるランドマークのオベリスクや、マラドーナ氏が頭角を現したボカ・ジュニアーズの本拠地ラ・ボンボネーラに向かった。
　ある２８歳の男性は「信じられない。耳を疑う。どんな嵐でも乗り越える人もいるという考えもあるが、結局みんな最後は死ぬ。悪夢のようだ。冗談だろう」と話した。
　アルゼンチンのアルベルト・フェルナンデス大統領は、３日間の国喪を発表し、テレビ局ＴｙＣスポーツのインタビューで「きょうは悪い日だ。アルゼンチンの全国民にとって非常に悲しい一日になった」と語った。
　すでに街中で追悼は始まり、ファンは全盛期のマラドーナ氏と背番号１０に敬意を表した横断幕の横にわびしく立った。旗の多くは、スペイン語で神を意味する「ｄｉｏｓ」とマラドーナ氏の背番号をかけて「Ｄ１０Ｓ」と書かれていた。
　アルゼンチンでサッカーが宗教なのだとしたら、マラドーナ氏はまさにその神で、宗教言語を使って同氏をあがめる「マラドーナ教」の創始者にとっては特にそうだ。
　マラドーナ教は、伝統的にサッカーの祝勝場所に使われるブエノスアイレス中心部のオベリスクまで集うよう、ファンに声をかけている。
　マラドーナ氏の６０歳の誕生日を祝い、先月３０日に自身のアイドルのタトゥーを体に入れていたギレルモ・ロドリゲスさん（４２）は、「できれば話したくない。きょうはオベリスクに行く」と語り、マラドーナ氏にハグするという夢をかなえることはできなくなってしまったと涙を流した。
　マラドーナ氏はキャリアを通じて薬物に苦しみ、それもあってアルゼンチンの人々は自分たちの英雄を非常にかばった。ソーシャルメディアでは、マラドーナ氏は「さまよう汚れた罪深い神だ。神に最も近い人間」だとする匿名ユーザーの投稿が拡散している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/11/26-12:30）

Stunned Argentines were plunged into grief Wednesday by the death of the country's favorite son Diego Maradona, a sublimely gifted sporting hero they saw as the most human of Gods.
The news fell like a hammer blow a nation beaten down by months of economic crisis and the health pandemic, but one where soccer is seen as a panacea for all ills.
Fans searching for a place to grieve gravitated towards the Obelisk landmark in the center of Buenos Aires -- and, of course, the Bombonera, the steep-sided cauldron of a stadium that is home to Boca Juniors, where Maradona's genius was forged.
I can't believe it. It's incredible. One thinks one gets through any storm, but no, everyone ends up being mortal. It feels like a bad dream. A joke, Francisco Salaverry, 28, told AFP.
Today's a bad day. A very sad day for all Argentines, President Alberto Fernandez summed up in an interview with sports channel TyC, after declaring three days of national mourning.
All around the city, the mourning had already begun as fans stood forlornly beside banners in homage to the Number 10, showing Maradona -- who died aged 60 of a heart attack -- in his dashing prime.
Many of the banners simply said D10S, a play on the Spanish word dios for God that includes Maradona's jersey number.
- 'Wandering, dirty and sinful God' -
If soccer is a religion in Argentina, then Maradona really was its God -- especially for the founders of the Maradonian Church, a mostly internet-based group that uses religious language to venerate the player.
The Church called on fans to gather in his honor at the Obelisk at 6:00 pm (2100 GMT), a traditional rallying point in central Buenos Aires for soccer celebrations.
I prefer not to speak. I'm going to the Obelisk today, said Guillermo Rodriguez, a fan who gave himself a tattoo of his idol on October 30th to celebrate Maradona's 60th birthday.
Rodriguez, 42, couldn't hold back his tears, saying he now knew he would never be able to fulfill his dream of hugging his idol.
I'm totally shocked, grief stricken, said Gabriel Oturi, 68. I'll be honest with you. I thought he was a great guy who didn't have very good people around him, who was taken advantage of a lot.
The first thing my 12-year-old son said to me was: 'Mum, Maradona died.' I couldn't believe it. And I didn't adore him particularly, but I felt sorry for him, said Marcela Rodriguez, 52.
Few times in my life have I felt the pain that invades me today, wrote Maurico Passadore on social media, thinking about the famous World Cup tie against England in Mexico 1986, when Maradona scored the infamous Hand of God goal.
Few times have I felt as much joy as that June 29, when we touched the sky with our hands, the same sky that today is darkened and fills us with tears.
Some pointed out that Maradona died on the same date as his hero Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader he referred to as his second father.
Maradona's struggles with drugs throughout his career were part of what made Argentines so protective of their hero.
An anonymous social media user went viral with a message saying Maradona was a wandering, dirty and sinful God. The most human of Gods.