Diego Maradona is dead: the incredible wink of fate with his farewell on the same day as Fidel Castro

Fidel died on November 25, 2016 and his ashes were veiled for two days at the José Martí Memorial in the Cuban capital, only to be transferred to a caravan that traveled 900 kilometers across the country for four days to Santiago de Cuba. .

The burial ceremony took place on December 4 in the cemetery of Santa Ifigenia, where the remains were placed inside a large gray granite rock with a dark green marble slab inscribed with “Fidel” in relief.

In the Caribbean nation, there are no monuments, busts or streets bearing the name of the former president, in accordance with his last will and a law on the matter approved by parliament.

Diego Maradona couldn’t be there. He was thousands of kilometers away, in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, where he witnessed the historic victory of the Davis Cup by the team whose emblem was Juan Martín Del Potro and led by Daniel Orsanic.

“A terrible cry seized me because he was like my second father,” Maradona said after Fidel’s death. “He left me a line, he said ‘you’re coming to say goodbye, aren’t you?’ I said “no, professor”. I was crying because I was surprised, it is as if Del Potro had hit me in the chest, that Fidel Castro told you “you are coming to shoot …”. I started to cry, ”he added.

The relationship between Diego and the leader of the Cuban revolution had several chapters since they met in 1987. And the Argentine reflected that admiration with the tattoo he made of the Cuban on the twin of his left leg.

His biggest point of contact was when the Argentine crack underwent recovery treatment for his drug addiction on the island. He lived there between 2001 and 2004.

Later, visibly recovered, Diego surprised everyone by directing a television series: “La noche del Diez” in which he invited and interviewed Fidel, among other iconic characters.

The physical trainer of Maradona in his splendor stage, Fernando Signorini, revealed that after the 87th America’s Cup held in Argentina, Diego Maradona was invited in mid-July to a vacation on the beaches of Varadero, 130 kilometers from Havana. “The idea excited him, not only because of the possibility of enjoying the charms of this tropical paradise, but also because the tour included some kind of incredible bonus trail … A meeting with the legendary leader of the Revolution Cuban, Commander Fidel Castro, “said Signorini of this first meeting at Government House, a few meters from the mythical Plaza de la Revolución.

“For more than five hours, we were captivated by his overflowing personality, full of contagious enthusiasm and fine sense of humor,” said Signorini, witness of the meeting during which a curiosity arose: Fidel wanted find out if there was an infallible formula for giving penalties. “Before I kick, I look at the goalkeeper,” said Diego. The Cuban president took a notebook, wrote down the formula and replied: “I will try tomorrow”, eliciting laughter from those present.

It was the first chapter in a relationship of love and respect that, coincidence or not, they now share with the end point of each story.