You’ve probably heard of the Church of Maradona; an actual religious group in Argentina which replaces Christ with the Argentinian soccer star who led their nation to a World Cup championship in 1986. So wrong on so many levels … yet so right for the documentary maker who wants to tango on down to South America and check it out in person. Naturally New York-based VBS TV is the one which does it best, sending intrepid reporter Santiago Stelley amongst the Maradona Faithful for the latest installment of the We Are 11 series of online soccer documentaries.
Following the jump, a look at the founders of the Church of Maradona, the We Are 11 video episode, and my short interview with Stelley.
For a lot of fans, soccer is religion. To Hernan and Alejandro Veron, Argentine player Diego Maradona is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. As founders of the Church of Maradona, Alejandro and Hernan have reinvented the idea of a fan club, creating instead a full-fledged religion around their idol. We pay a visit to their place of worship in the city of Rosario to see how Alejandro and Hernan pay homage to the player responsible for the greatest goal in the history of the sport.
“In the name of La Tota,
Don Diego, and the fruit of his love,
Diego
Diego
Diego …”
Most revealing quote: “Every religion has its god. And the god of soccer is Maradona.”
OUT OF BOUNDS: Are you Argentinian?
SANTIAGO STELLEY: I’m not Argentinian. I’m Spanish, but live in New York. I’m the Content Director here at VBS an an editor at Vice Magazine. We traveled down to Argentina just to meet these guys.
What surprised you most about the Church of Maradona?
I suppose what surprised me the most was the fact that these guys were not quite as crazy as I thought they would be. In fact they were all really well grounded and nice, normal people. Surely they love football more than most hardcore fans, but they were also fully aware of their madness and to be perfectly honest, by the time they were done explaining their love for Diego, I was sold.
Has the attitude of the average Argentinian changed toward Maradona since the World Cup and his firing as national coach?
Nope. At least not for these guys. I don’t think that any amount of losses as coach of the national team could ever take anything away from that one victory against the English.
How has Maradona himself reacted to the Church of Maradona?
Not surprisingly, he’s a fan. He actually attends quite a few of their events each year, and his daughters are are also pretty involved with the Church.
Are Catholic leaders there upset?
No. But I’m guessing most religious leaders in Argentina are not up for upsetting the Maradona fan base.
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D1OS [VBS.TV]
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