People pass by the coffin of soccer legend Diego Maradona at Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.  (Photo: Reuters)

Buenos Aires, November 26 (RHC)-- Argentineans gathered at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Thursday, where the casket of football/soccer icon Diego Maradona lay in state, draped in an Argentinean flag and his famous Number 10 shirt.

Maradona died at the age of 60 following a heart attack at home on Wednesday.   Huge crowds are expected to pay their respects as part of three days of national mourning.  Maradona's body lay in a wooden coffin with the blue and white national flag and an Argentina soccer jersey with the number 10 that had been part of his nickname "D10S" - a play on "dios", the Spanish word for God.

Fans held back by a barrier threw football shirts, flowers and other items towards the casket as they tried to get near the player, who was a hero in Argentina and around the world.