Pope Francis loved soccer, San Lorenzo and the sport's power to unite

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Pope Francis' passion for soccer was evident throughout his pontificate.

A lifelong supporter of Argentine club San Lorenzo, he agreed with those who describe soccer as the most beautiful game in the world. But Francis, who died Monday at 88, also turned to the sport for anecdotes about camaraderie, fellowship and teamwork in an increasingly individualistic society.

''Soccer is a team sport. You can't have fun alone,'' the pope told a crowd of Italian youth, soccer players and coaches at the Vatican in 2019. ''And if it's lived like that, it can do good for your mind and your heart in a society that is exasperated by subjectivism.''

Like most Argentine children, young Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew up with soccer. He played for hours with friends on sidewalks or dusty pitches known as ''potreros'' in his native Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

According to his own assessment, he was not that good.

In his recently published autobiography ''Hope,'' Francis said his skills were so poor that he was nicknamed ''hard foot.''

Like many in his family, he became a supporter of San Lorenzo, a club founded by priest Lorenzo Massa in 1908. Its fans are nicknamed ''the crows'' due to the black cassock of its founder.

As a boy, he became fascinated by the colorful style of play of the team that won the local title in 1946. Until his death he remembered the entire lineup.

San Lorenzo won its first Copa Libertadores, the top club tournament in South America, in 2014 — a year after he became pope. The club's board of directors and a group of players took the trophy to the Vatican.

Later, club executives decided to name their planned future stadium after Pope Francis, who until the end paid his dues to the club as member No. 88,235.

The greatest of all time?

In an interview with Italy's RAI television in 2023, Francis weighed in on the debate about who is the greatest soccer player of all time.

Asked to choose between his compatriots Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, World Cup winners from different generations, Francis' answer was unexpected.

''I will add a third,'' he said. ''Pelé."

He met the Brazilian great, a devout Catholic and three-time World Cup winner, before he was elected pope. Francis later met Messi and Maradona at the Vatican as pontiff.

''Maradona, as a player, was great. But as a man he failed,'' Francis said about the 1986 World Cup winner, who struggled with cocaine use and health issues and died in 2020 at 60. Maradona was celebrated by people who in the end didn't help him, the pope added.

He described Messi, who lifted the World Cup trophy in 2022, as ''very correct'' and a gentleman.

''But for me, among those three, the great gentleman is Pelé,'' the pope said.

In a message read during a tribute to Pelé in Rio de Janeiro a year after his death in 2022, Francis said ''many of the necessary virtues to perform a sporting activity, such as perseverance, stability and temperance, are also part of Christian virtues. Pelé was undoubtedly an athlete who manifested these positive characteristics of sport in his life.''

The World Cup final he didn't watch

Despite being a big soccer fan, Francis didn't watch any games on television. He said he avoided watching TV altogether because of a promise he had made to the Virgin of Carmen in 1990.

The radio became his means to stay informed and listen to soccer matches until he moved to Rome.

Once in the Vatican, members of the Swiss Guard, who took care of his security, informed him about San Lorenzo and Argentina match results.

That's how he found out that Argentina had won their third World Cup title in Qatar after a penalty shootout against France.

While he was enthusiastic about the game, he spoke out against the fanaticism and violence that sometimes overshadow it. He called on top-level players to show humility and always remember their origins.

''Don't forget where you came from. Those pitches in the outskirts, that place for prayer, that small club,'' he said in the 2019 speech.

''I hope you can always feel the gratitude for your story, which is made of sacrifice, victories and battles,'' Francis added. ''Being great in life. That is the victory for all of us.''

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AP journalist Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer