Argentina began three days of mourning on Thursday following the death of football legend Diego Maradona.

For a nation where football is seen as a religion, Maradona's death at the age of 60 has sent his homeland into widespread grief. His coffin now rests in the presidential palace in Buenos Aires for a period of lying in state.

Thousands of mourners, many in tears, gathered in streets, around stadiums and at the palace in the Argentinian capital to pay their respects, as well as their gratitude, to arguably football's most iconic figure.

Maradona will lie in state at the pink-hued Casa Rosada palace from Thursday through Saturday. Vast numbers of people are expected to visit his casket as part of three days of national mourning declared by President Alberto Fernandez.

"His unparalleled footballing skill transformed him into one of the best-known people in the world, crossing frontiers and being universally recognized as the world's best player," said the official mourning decree.

SOURCE: timesofoman