Daniel Storey: The sport a child plays is not the one they play as a professional. Maradona was the exception

An adapted chapter on Diego Maradona from Daniel Storey's book Portrait of an Icon

Memorabilia is seen outside the San Paolo stadium to commemorate soccer legend Diego Maradona, in Naples, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. Maradona died on Wednesday at the age of 60 of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he recovered from a brain operation. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

“I have a rational religion, and that’s Catholic Church, and I have a religion passed on my heart, passion, and that’s Diego Maradona.” 

Those are the words of Alejandro Veron, one of two brothers who created the Church of Maradona, a religion which makes their hero the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There are close to 200,000 followers, ten commandments and a Lord’s Prayer, adapted to match Maradona’s career. The religion celebrates Diego’s birthday as a holy day, and counts years according to the time since his birth. Maradona himself was unsurprisingly delighted.