On the Trail of Diego Maradona’s Roots in La Paternal, Buenos Aires

The Buenos Aires suburb of La Paternal is something of a pilgrimage site for fans of Diego Maradona. It’s the home of Argentinos Juniors, the club that gave Diego his big break after spotting him as a child and recruiting him for their junior side, Los Cebollitas (Little Onions). While at Argentinos Juniors, the club put his family up at a house about 1km away from the ground – now called La Casa de D10S – which you can also visit. I went to both the Argentinos Juniors museum and stadium tour and La Casa de D10S. Here’s what I made of them…

Less than 30 minutes train ride on the Línea San Martín out of Retiro station in central Buenos Aires brings you to La Paternal, a fairly quiet suburb near the British Cemetery, where many of Argentina’s footballing pioneers are buried. The cemetery is north of La Paternal station, but head south about a kilometre, and you will reach the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, home of Argentinos Juniors, three times national champion and one-time Copa Libertadores winner (1985).

You’ll know it when you see it; Diego’s image throughout his life adorns all four sides.

Estadio Diego Armando Maradona

Argentinos Juniors run one of the best stadium tours I have ever been on. It’s around an hour with a guide. The tour takes you through the museum first. Argentinos Juniors prides itself on being ‘El Semillero del Mundo’– the world’s talent nursery – because of the players who have passed through its system. Beyond Maradona, other former alumni include Fernando Redondo, Kevin Mac Allister, and Juan Román Riquelme.

In the museum, you will see former Argentinos Juniors internationals’ Albiceleste shirts, plus World Cup winner Sergio Batista’s dark blue no.2 shirt from the infamous 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England. You can trace the roots of the club with a model of its original ground and old shirts and photos. The Copa Libertadores and other silverware sit proudly in the centre of the room. 

There’s a small room dedicated to the early career of Diego Maradona at Argentinos Juniors, including the no.16 shirt that he started out in aged just 15 – the youngest debutant in the history of the Primera División – before claiming the no.10. Next up, visitors are taken to the changing rooms, media rooms, and then out to the popular stand behind one of the goals where the terrace is painted red with a white no.10 in honour of Diego. 

After that, you follow the pitch side and pass under the platea (side stand) named after Francis Cornejo, the scout who discovered Maradona. Here, with an entrance to the street, there’s a small room dedicated to the memory of Diego Maradona. Here, fans from around the world leave mementos, such as club shirts or scarves. 

At the end of the tour back at the bar where the tour begins, there’s a model of Maradona’s ‘Goal of the Century’ made by an Argentinos Juniors fan. While away fans are banned in Argentinian football, foreign tourists are not, and Argentinos Juniors do a package for overseas visitors which includes the museum and match ticket. More information on the club’s website. At the time of writing, the museum tour was ARS10,500 (around US$10.50)

I did the Spanish-language tour, and I’m not sure there are ones in English, but my guide was very attentive to check in that I was following along OK. Make time for a full circumference of the stadium so you can take in the many, many murals, mostly of Maradona but also other Argentinos Juniors icons.

La Casa de D10S

Less than a kilometre from the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, about four blocks to the north, is Lascano 2257, the La Casa de D10S (The House of God with I and O swapped for the number ten). This is where the club put up Diego and his family while he was playing for Argentinos Juniors. 

Keep an eye out for Maradona murals in the distinctive red of Argentinos Juniors as you walk the four blocks or so from the ground. La Casa de D10S looks like a fairly unassuming building, and you have to email ahead to book your spot. You have to knock to be let in when you arrive. The house is modest but crammed full of memorabilia. The Maradonas had been in extreme poverty in Villa Fiorito before Diego’s talent rescued them, and they moved into Lascano 2257. It was crowded here, but there’s a great roof terrace and Diego’s bedroom is preserved as it would have been when he lived there.

Entry was ARS12,000 (around USD$12) and it’s self-guided.