By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja
Soccer fans in Lokoja, capital of Kogi, have continued to bemoam the death of a football legend, Diego Maradona, who died on Wednesday at 60, at his home in Buenos Aires of a heart attack, yet, others eulogized him.
Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award, according to Wikipedia.
The Reporters gathered that the body of Diego Maradona, the legendary footballer, will lie in state at the Casa Rosada for three days, starting from Thursday, government sources said.
Former Manager, Kogi United FC of Lokoja, Adams Yahaya, in a statement made available to The Reporters in Lokoja on Thursday, expressed shock over Maradona’s death.
He said: “Diego Mardona will be missed by football family all over the world. He was a great footballer of his time and an entertainer on the pitch of play.
“He died at the time he was needed, to train and impact his knowledge of football to the younger upcoming footballers. May his gentle soul rest in peace.
In his reaction, a fledgling footballer,13-year-old Abdulqahar Ahmed who also spoke with our corrrespondent on the sad development, described Maradona as an inspiration to him and millions of youths inspiring to make career in football.
He also described Maradona as one great footballer that he looked up to, adding that the deceased’s classical style of play, which he usually watch on video, influenced his interest in football with a viewing to thinking and struggling to make a career in such sporting activity and earn a living in future.
“It is most unfortunate that Maradona died when most young people like me need him, to tap from his fountain of knowledge and experience to make career in football,” he lamented.
Other football enthusiasts who also spoke on the issue with the online publication, prayed God to grant the soul of the soccer idol eternal rest and the soccer World, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
According to them, the impact made by Maradona in the football World will linger in many minds, for many years to come.
