Reuters: Oddly Enough: "Hand of God" brings Argentina pope: Maradona

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"Hand of God" brings Argentina pope: Maradona Mar 14th 2013, 12:39 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News World welcomes Pope Francis as humble champion of poor 8:11am EDT Argentina's Bergoglio elected as new Pope Francis Wed, Mar 13 2013 New pope suffers for Argentine soccer club San Lorenzo Wed, Mar 13 2013 Argentines rush to churches, weep as countryman elected pope Wed, Mar 13 2013 Latin Americans hail Francis as man to lead troubled Church Wed, Mar 13 2013 Analysis & Opinion Argentina's Pope Francis is a modest man focused on the poor Meet Pope Francis Related Topics Oddly Enough » Lifestyle » Argentina » Former Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona waves as he appears on a balcony in Naples February 26, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Ciro De Luca ROME | Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:39am EDT ROME (Reuters) - The same "hand of God" brought the papacy to Argentina as helped it to the 1986 World Cup, says Diego Maradona, the soccer legend whose famously illicit, handled goal against England still excites passions at home and abroad. In a letter to Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper on Wednesday from his base in Dubai, Maradona, 52, described himself as a devout Roman Catholic and said he rejoiced at the election of his compatriot Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis. "I am truly very happy and I am certain that my enthusiasm is shared by the whole Argentinian people," he wrote. "Everybody in Argentina can remember 'the hand of God' in the England match in the 1986 World Cup. Now, in my country, the 'hand of God' has brought us an Argentinian pope." In a quarter-final tie in 1986, Maradona eliminated England with two goals, one a brilliant solo run through the defense, the other a handball that the referee mistook for a header. He said afterwards that the goal was scored "a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God". That remark still rankles in England, where the top-selling Sun newspaper's splash on the Argentinian pope showed Francis raising his arm in benediction with the headline: "Hand of God". (Writing by Barry Moody; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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