"With your humility, you danced to all of us, 'Trinche'. I can't believe it, I met you recently, and now you're gone. My deepest condolences to your family and hopefully justice will be served. Rest in peace, maestro," wrote the world champion on his Instagram account.

The current coach of Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata met the former midfielder in February of this year when he visited Rosario to play against Rosario Central.

"He came, he hugged me, and we talked. I had brought a shirt. In front of everyone, he signed it and wrote: 'Trinche, you were better than me'. That's it. I told him: 'Now I can rest in peace, Diego, you are the greatest I have ever seen in my life'," revealed 'El Trinche' shortly after in an interview with Radio Mitre.

Maradona shared images of that encounter on his Instagram account, and in one of them, you can see the Central Córdoba shirt, the team where Carlovich shone, with 'Pelusa's' signature and the phrase: "To 'Trinche', who was better than me".

Carlovich, 74, was hospitalized on Wednesday in intensive care induced coma after being hit in the head by a young man who stole his bicycle in the city of Rosario.

'El Trinche' was an icon in the football of Santa Fe despite having played most of his career in lower categories, and several footballers and coaches, like César Luis Menotti, Jorge Valdano, or José Pekerman, classified him as one of the best players they have ever seen.

"He was our idol. Today we are deeply moved. I still go to Buenos Aires stadiums, and they ask me about him, about things he did 40 years ago. It was true that he became a myth," said Eduardo Bulfoni, president of Central Córdoba, in statements to Radio2 AM1230.

Newell's Old Boys and Rosario Central, the two most powerful teams in the hometown of 'El Trinche', also bid farewell to the former midfielder.

"Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys expresses its deepest condolences and greets all the family members and loved ones of the Rosario legend 'Trinche' Carlovich," the 'Leproso' club posted on Twitter.

The team's captain, Maxi Rodríguez, who played three World Cups with Argentina and played for Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid, and Liverpool, among other teams, said that the deceased footballer is a "pride of the city."

"In Rosario, we all grew up hearing Carlovich's story. Today, the legend begins. Rest in peace, 'Trinche'," he wrote on his Twitter account.

"From Rosario Central, we join the call for justice for the brutal murder of Tomás 'Trinche' Carlovich. We demand clarification of this senseless death," was the message from Rosario Central, the club where Carlovich was formed.