Vatican City: His predecessor loved Mozart, but Pope Francis’ enthusiasm was football, for him the “most beautiful game” and a tool for education and spreading peace.
From fellow Argentina Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon, Francis won the greatest football star in the Vatican and signed dozens of shirts and balls from around the world.
He often narrated a little boy playing on the streets of Buenos Aires with balls made of rags.
He admits he is the “best person” and “he has two left feet,” but he often serves as a goalkeeper, which he says is a great way to learn how to deal with “the dangers that can be reached from anywhere.”
From his loyalty to the San Lorenzo Club in Buenos Aires, his love for football was inseparable, where he watched the game with his father and brothers.
“That was romantic football,” he recalled.
Even after becoming the Pope, he maintained his membership – and caused a slight uproar when he obtained a membership card for rival Boca juniors in part of the Vatican Education Partnership.
Francis will leave results and league tables on his desk as a Swiss guard in the Vatican remained up to date.
Football is often compared to the religion of fans, and Francis held many huge crowds at the football field during his overseas trip.
French Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard, who is the Vatican representative for the 2024 Paris Olympics, said he understands the key role of football.
“Whether you’re an amateur or a professional footballer, whether you want to watch it on TV, there’s no difference: the sport is a part of people’s lives,” he told AFP.
But that itself is not only an end – despite money and corruption in some management, the Jesuits of Argentina also sees football as a way to spread peace and education.
In 2014, the Olympic Stadium in Rome held a “interreligious competition” for peace on his initiative.
“Many people say football is the most beautiful game in the world,” Francis announced in 2019.
Back in 2013, Francis spoke to Italy and Argentine Teams, reminding players of their “social responsibility” and warning of the surplus of “business” football.
Like religion, football’s goal is to “put the collective first and beyond personal interests.”
“We work for ourselves bigger than ourselves, which brings us collectively beyond us.”
Bei takes advantage of “big heart”
The pope’s love for the game inspired a scene in the Netflix hit movie The Tote Popes, where former Pope Benedict XVI and then-believer Jorge Bergoglio watched the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final.
It’s pure novel because it’s about to be Francis watching TV in 1990, when West Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup final held in Italy – while his predecessor prefers classical music and reading.
Francis never mentioned the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, which was held during the provincial leaders during the dictatorship.
But he devoted himself to the entire chapter of Maradona in his 2024 autobiography, whose infamous “Hand of God” goal helped Argentina beat England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals.
He said in 2024: “A few years ago, when I was receiving Maradona as the Pope… I asked him jokingly, ‘So, what is the guilty hand?”
Although his attachment to San Lorenzo was worn on the sleeve, he otherwise tried to avoid the side.
In 2022, ahead of the World Cup final between Qatar, France and Argentina, he called on the winner to celebrate the victory with “humility”.
Once asked who was the greatest player in the game, Maradona or Lionel Messi, the Pope hedged his bet.
“As a player, Maradona is great. But, as a man, he failed.”
He described Messi as a “gentleman” but added that he would choose a third, Bailey, “a man with heart.”
