OBITUARY
Real Madrid Bids Farewell to Two Argentines – the Pope and Hugo Gatti
La Liga giants, Real Madrid, have paid tribute to two prominent Argentines who are linked with football and the club.
They are Pope Francis and Hugo Gatti. In a statement issued, the club remarked: “Real Madrid has wanted to pay tribute to two great figures who have left us in the last few hours: Pope Francis and Hugo Gatti.”
The club issued the statements expressing sadness over the recent losses.
Real Madrid highlighted the dimension of the Pope’s legacy, emphasising his tireless fight for the underprivileged and his commitment to solidarity.
Real Madrid expressed the value of the Argentine Pope’s legacy.
“During his pontificate, marked by the dimension of his great legacy, Pope Francis has represented an enormous spirit of solidarity and support for the most underprivileged and vulnerable people.”
It is an emotional message that once again reflects that the club transcends the sports field.
Pope Francis was a great soccer fan. His team was San Lorenzo de Almagro, and he never hid his admiration for Diego Maradona and Leo Messi.
Real Madrid has also bid farewell to Hugo Orlando ‘Loco’ Gatti, the legendary Argentine goalkeeper. Gatti passed away this Sunday at 80 years old due to complications after a hip surgery.
Gatti, although he never played in Spain, was a fervent supporter of Real Madrid. Throughout his career, he defended the white club with passion, especially through the media.
Despite his Argentine origin, “Loco” Gatti always showed his admiration for the Madrid team and its president, Florentino Pérez. His interventions on El Chiringuito are remembered. Always defending Real Madrid and Florentino Pérez, for whom he felt admiration.
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It was not just the Pope that Argentina lost during the Easter holiday; the country also lost one of its legendary footballers, Hugo Gatti, on Sunday.
Gatti was nicknamed El Loco or ‘The Madman’ because of his outspoken character and eccentric play style.
He made more than 350 appearances for Argentinian giants Boca Juniors and has been credited as being the first goalkeeper to wear gloves.
He was part of the Argentina side that competed at the 1966 World Cup in England and made 18 appearances in all for the three-time.
Recent reports claimed that Gatti took ill after a recent hip surgery.
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Argentina’s football association postponed all fixtures on Monday to mourn Pope Francis, an ardent fan of the game and supporter of Buenos Aires’ San Lorenzo team.
“Argentine football says goodbye to you wrapped in deep sorrow,” the Argentine Football Association said of the decision to delay games in his homeland by a day.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church died on Monday, aged 88.
“Francis was not only a spiritual reference, but also a footballing one, and met with players, leaders and football legends, such as the captain of the Argentine national team, Lionel Messi and Diego Armando Maradona,” the association said.
“He never hid his passion for football and his unconditional love for San Lorenzo de Almagro,” it added.
In a memoir, Francis spoke of Maradona’s controversial “Hand of God” goal in Argentina’s 1986 World Cup soccer quarter-final against England. When Maradona visited him at the Vatican years later, “I asked him, jokingly, ‘So, which is the guilty hand?’” the pope recalled.
-Reuters
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Italy’s top-flight soccer league Serie A, has postponed all of Monday’s fixtures following the death of Pope Francis, and the four games will now be played on Wednesday.
The country’s Olympic committee has also asked for all sporting events to be suspended.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church and a lifelong soccer fan, died on Monday, aged 88.
“Following the passing of His Holiness, Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A can confirm that today’s league games in Serie A and Primavera 1 have been postponed,” the league said in a statement.
The fixtures have all been rescheduled for 1630 GMT on Wednesday, with the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg between Inter Milan and AC Milan kicking off at 1900 GMT as originally scheduled.
Italy’s national Olympic Committee (CONI) called for all sporting fixtures scheduled for Monday to be postponed.
“The President of CONI, Giovanni Malago, invites the National Sports Federations, the Associated Sports Disciplines and the Sports Promotion Bodies to suspend all sports activities scheduled for today,” a statement said.
“And to observe a minute’s silence in the competitive events scheduled in Italy for the rest of the week, to mourn the death of the Holy Father Francis and honour his memory.”
-Reuters
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Real Madrid Bids Farewell to Two Argentines – the Pope and Hugo Gatti
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