Maradona Will Be Featured On Argentine Banknotes
JAKARTA - An Argentine senator proposed posting a picture of Diego Maradona on the country's banknotes, and the senator presented the project to Congress on Monday or Tuesday WIB.
In his proposal, a picture of Maradona, or perhaps a 'Hand of God' image, would be on a 1,000 peso note.
The banknote, valued at around $ 12.27 at Monday's exchange rate, will feature Maradona's face on one side and an image of one of his most famous goals on the other, said the bill's sponsor, Senator Norma Durango.
Maradona's two most famous goals came in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England. Maradona scored the first by punching the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and the second by dribbling past seven English players to score what is still considered to be one of the greatest goals of all time.
Argentina won the World Cup with a string of outstanding performances by Maradona, who died on November 25 of a heart attack at the age of 60.
According to Durango, the idea of putting Maradona's image on the 1,000-peso note was not only a form of respect for the legend, but also had economic interests.
"The idea is not only to identify our most important idols, but also to think about economic questions," said Durango.
"We feel that when tourists come here, they want to take 'Maradona' with them," he said as quoted by Antara from Reuters.
While it is unclear which one of the two goals will be featured, some Argentines are angry at the thought of the 'Hand of God' goal featured in official government documents as being seen as condoning illegality.
The senator for La Pampa province said the final decision would be made by lawmakers, who are expected to hear his proposals early next year.
"The idea is to recognize Maradona, for good and for bad, who is the most famous Argentine in the world," said Durango.
"I feel the project is getting good feedback even though some people disagree with it."
The current Argentine 1,000 peso note features the national bird, the Rufous Hornero.