‘Beyond the limits’, sport according to the Pope

Pope Francis, in addition to being the leader of the Catholic Church, is Argentine. And that, barring a cosmic miracle, means that he loves football and, therefore, sports. This web of connections is what led the Roman pontiff to lend his words, experiences and reflections so that it could be published. ‘Beyond the limits: Sport according to Pope Francis’ (Editorial Romana, 2024), written by the Italian journalist Valerio Alessandro and which was presented yesterday in Spain at the Banco Sabadell building in Madrid.

A journey of more than 160 pages in which he talks about his canchero spirit, the one that arose and was forged when he played with “his two left feet” together with his friends with a rag ball in the streets of Buenos Aires, to the values spiritualities of sport, an entity that was even capable of stopping the World War I during Christmas Day 1914. “What those five rings represent (for the Olympic symbol) is something to which humanity should aspire,” one can read in its pages. The Pope even narrates his love for the Vatican team and its most recent results after playing a friendly in Germany.

The premiere of the book was attended by Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid, and José Luis Martínez-Almeidamayor of Madrid, although none in person. The Italian coach provided the prologue while the politician, absent due to illness, explained in a statement read by Francisco de Borja Fanjul, president of the Madrid plenary session, that “this book is not only for Catholic people, it is also for non-believers.” In addition, the mayor paraphrased Luis de la Fuente, Spanish soccer coach, to close his telematic intervention. “Chance is a pseudonym for God.”