Diego Armando Maradona passed away three years ago today. On November 25, 2020, the world was horrified by news that prompted the Argentine government to declare three days of national mourning.
The celebrity, who had surgery a month earlier for a subdural hematoma, was at his home in the exclusive San Andrés neighbourhood in the Tigre region when he went into cardiac arrest during his recuperation.
On November 2, the tragic end of the football legend started. He had to be sent to a clinic in La Plata that day because of a “low mood that affected his diet,” but as the hours went by, it was determined that he needed to have an emergency operation at the Olivos Clinic.
This is how they found the subdural hematoma in his skull, and they operated on him. Leopoldo Luque, his personal physician, who subsequently came under fire for his behaviour, affirmed that he should stay in the hospital after he successfully completed the operation.
Soon after, on November 11, Maradona was released from the hospital and it was agreed that he would recuperate at his Nordelta home. But the most dreaded result was that he would die at the age of sixty, nearly a month after his birthday.
His nephew Johnny Espósito claimed on Tuesday, November 24, that he had visited him and that the cook, Monona, had served him some crumb sandwiches for dinner, which he had left undamaged in the room adjacent to his bed. Ricardo Almirón, the nurse who worked the night shift, responded by saying that he had confirmed Pelusa was still alive and was just resting before feeling relieved.
Gisela Madrid, the nurse who had been attending to Diego’s health in the morning on that fateful Wednesday, November 25, claimed to have heard that he was moving at 7:30. Based on this information, she decided to let him rest and not perform any checks.
Finally, at 11:30, psychologist Carlos Díaz and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov show up at the location to conduct Maradona’s recurring appointment. He was not responding when they entered the bedroom, which surprised them. Those in the house started doing CPR on him right away, but it was insufficient. Diego was in excruciating pain for twelve hours, according to the autopsy, and if he had received medical attention sooner, his death would have been averted. It was determined that his terrible demise was due to “acute pulmonary edoema secondary to exacerbated chronic heart failure.”
Around midday, the sight of several ambulances outside the San Andrés home triggered alarms and created a great deal of panic. The world quickly learned the unwelcome news that no one wanted to hear, as Clarín was the first media outlet to confirm Diego’s death. The shock and anguish were overwhelming, and gradually, messages saying “goodbye” to one of the most iconic figures in the history of sports and the nation started to appear on social media.
In little time, three days of national mourning were proclaimed by President Alberto Fernández, and supporters flocked to his farewell locations across the globe. Among the centres of attention on a day when many flocked to the streets to bid farewell to a loved one were La Bombonera, the Argentinos Juniors stadium that proudly carries his name, the Obelisk, the Juan Carmelo Zerillo, and the fabled intersection of Segurola and Habana.
After being laid to rest in front of family and friends in the late hours of Wednesday at the Tres Arroyos wake house at Av. San Martín 1500 in La Paternal, his remains were moved to the Casa Rosada for a large wake that drew over a million attendees early on Thursday. Diego’s legendary number 10, which he wore while playing, was wrapped around the casket containing his bones.
Following a hectic day, Maradona’s body was transported by a large caravan to the Jardín Bella Vista Cemetery in San Miguel. There, he is buried alongside his parents, Doña Tota and Don Diego, who passed away in 2011 and 2015, respectively. The inscription on his grave reads, “Thanks to the ball,” which he wrote when he expressed his wish for his own death fifteen years ago during a self-interview for “La Noche del 10.”