At Villa Devoto, in Diego’s villa, the doors were opened to Albiceleste fans: with Australia it was 500, we hope to celebrate again
Villa Devoto was once considered the garden of Buenos Aires. Few skyscrapers, almost no traffic and, above all, many, many trees. In 1981, after the transfer of millionaires from Argentinos Juniors to Boca, it also became the new barrio of the Maradona family, with Diego giving the family a 1200 square meter mansion, finally getting out of the tunnel of poverty: “By now you are the king of football but to be a good king it is not enough to master the ball – we read in the columns of Cronìca – the throne must also be worthy of its owner. You need a palace like this and you deserve everything…”. A marble-decorated dining room, numerous rooms. Someone even spoke of an indoor pool with a waterfall. Maradona escaped there in the summer while his parents tried to continue with the lifestyle they loved always belonged to. The father, Chitoro, continued to get up every morning just after sunrise, just as he did when he was working in the bone meal factory. The mother, Tota, often quarreled with the neighbors, but found her smile when the numerous Neighborhood children knocked on the door to receive autographed stamps from their idol.
Déjà-vu
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Within these walls, the Maradonas would gather to celebrate Christmas, New Year’s Eve or the 1986 triumph at the Azteca. They also cried over the final defeat by West Germany at Italia 90. Today, over 30 years later, nobody is there. Diego died, Tota and Chitoro died. But this house has returned to vibrate for Argentina. Yes, because the new owners – a group of entrepreneurs – surprisingly opened the gates on the occasion of the home or away game against Australia, the round of 16 that many feared not to play after the sensational crash of the debut against Saudi Arabia. The garden slowly began to fill with fans. Who would meet in a bar, who with a friend. Many have walked past these parts, only to turn their gaze and be amazed to find that Diego’s old house was open. The news spread quickly and over 500 gathered in front of the big screen set up for the occasion Cheers, cheers, tears of joy: When Julian Alvarez doubled his lead, some couldn’t resist and even jumped into the pool.
the fire
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The same scenes, who knows whether with a final bath or not, will be repeated in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands. An intersection already seen, in 2014 it was a semi-final and things went well with Messi and his companions winning on penalties. That same year, a severe fire destroyed a large part of the house and destroyed everything inside, including the Lifetime Achievement Ballon d’Or, which France Football awarded further in 1995 to recognize Diego’s career. But if Maradona’s life was tormented, the same could be said for the Villa Devoto home, which was immediately targeted for its unbridled and inappropriate luxury in an Argentina in serious economic trouble. Additionally, the home was auctioned off in late 2021 with a starting price of $900,000, but no buyer showed up.
In extreme cases
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The demolition procedures had started last April, severely interrupted by the initiative of a group of entrepreneurs with enough money in their pockets and with Diego in their hearts. Nothing is known about them, including what they will do in the future. There are several hypotheses on the table, one thing is certain: they will open the house to visitors. Especially for the schools and for the poor children of Buenos Aires, as Diego would have wished: “If you have already found the peace that we stole from you, come back here because everyone misses you,” they say on a banner that the fans missed hanging in the garden. Meanwhile, time seems to have stood still for 90 minutes or maybe even more. All together for Argentina in the temple that belonged to Diego. Hoping history can repeat itself.
December 9, 2022 (change December 9, 2022 | 17:51)
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