Argentinian twins named Mara and Dona after Diego Maradona

They’re carrying the Maradona name into the next generation.

Not as relatives of the soccer star, though. Argentinian twins Mara and Dona were given their first names as a tribute to the late World Cup winner.

Diego Maradona died of heart failure on Wednesday at age 60. He was buried Thursday in Buenos Aires amid huge fanfare.

Mara and Dona’s father, Walter Rotundo, had been planning the tribute to the soccer icon long before his death, and years before the 9-year-old’s births.

Rotundo, who has a tattoo of Maradona on his back, said he came up with the idea in 1990 as he watched Maradona weep after losing the final World Cup game to West Germany.

He told his wife the first time they met that he planned to have two girls, named Mara and Dona, after the soccer icon.

Today, Rotundo proudly shows off a photo of Maradona holding his infant daughters — who grew up becoming big fans just like their dad, even though they were born years after the soccer legend retired in 1997.

Walter Gaston Rotundo, a devoted Diego Maradona fan, poses with his family in Buenos Aires.
Walter Gaston Rotundo, a devoted Diego Maradona fan, poses with his family in Buenos Aires.Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

“It seems very beautiful to me to have this name and what I like the most about this name is knowing why he called me that. I feel that this name is wonderful,” said Mara, who was born a minute before Dona.

“I can’t believe that he died or why he died,” Dona added. “He is a very good person, he did not deserve that.”