‘The greatest’: Thousands of Argentinians say goodbye to Maradona - Al Jazeera English

Fans queue in Buenos Aires to pay their last respects to Diego Maradona, a national icon who died on Wednesday.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — As Luciano Perez walked with his son Dante towards Argentina’s presidential palace, where Diego Maradona’s coffin was on display, he took solace in the crowds that had gathered along the Avenida de Mayo.

Tens of thousands of people gathered along the Avenida de Mayo [Juan Mabromata/AFP]Some of the heightened emotions spilled over into confrontations with police, as some fans tried to push their way into the presidential palace in the early morning hours.

His body was carried by motorcade to the Casa Rosada after nightfall, as thousands sought the company of fellow mourners at the Buenos Aires Obelisk.

The presidential palace said hundreds of thousands of people had lined up for dozens of blocks to bid farewell to Maradona in an “organised and emotive” way.

But it said that as visiting hours drew to a close Thursday afternoon, people tried to break through the front to gain access.

The family decided to suspend the ceremony after the confrontations, and the body of Maradona was taken to Bella Vista cemetery in Buenos Aires province, where his parents are buried.

He unified Argentinians,” said Nahuel De Lima, 30, the first person in line at the wake, and who came from Villa Fiorito, the same impoverished Buenos Aires neighbourhood that Maradona grew up in.

The reason why I played football,” said Perez, who is from the Buenos Aires suburb of Lanus.

Crowds gather in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood Maradona once called home to pay respects after footballer’s death.