Born in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis always expressed his passion for football and San Lonrenzo, but not only was his relationship with the club of the Argentine capital. In 1998, the pontiff, which was still archbishop in the capital of Argentina, was expelled from the locker room by the then coach of the Alfio Basile team, now 81 years old.
The curious story was revealed by the former coach himself in 2014 during an interview with Argentina public TV. This Monday (21), Francisco died at the age of 88.
In 1998, Basile had just assumed San Lorenzo when club president Fernando Miele asked him to release the entrance of an illustrious visitor to the team’s locker room.
“Miele told me he was a priest who was always greeted the players before the matches. I didn’t want anyone to deconcentrate the players, so I asked him to expel that priest,” said the coach, who also led the Argentine team at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
“At the time, San Lorenzo didn’t win anyone, so why send the priest to come in again?” Said the coach, smiling.
Years later, in 2013, as Miele rediscover in a restaurant, Basile discovered the fate of that priest that he not only had the vesarian expelled but called “unlucky.”
“Miele told me: You saw who the new Pope is? It’s Jorge Bergoglio, the one you kicked out of the locker room,” said Basile. The coach then promised to pay a visit to the Pontiff to tell the story.
Before becoming Pope, Francisco still maintained a strong connection with San Lorenzo even after being expelled by Basile.
As a archbishop of Buenos Aires, he used to celebrate masses in the most popular churches. But throughout April, San Lorenzo’s foundation anniversary, the ceremony in the club’s chapel.
Two years before going to the Vatican in 2011, he blessed the chapel Padre Lorenzo Massa, which names the Argentine team.
Even away from his homeland, Francisco maintained a strong connection with the Argentine association. For a club with its roots linked to a priest, it seemed even a miracle to the unprecedented achievement of Libertadores in 2014 – a sequence of four Brazilian club titles – a year after the Argentine was elected Pope.
After the title, the team’s cast traveled to the Vatican to show the Libertadores Cup to the Pope. “Being from San Lorenzo is part of my cultural identity,” said the owner of the partner of the number 88235n -0.
