SAN FRANCISCO, November 26, (THEWILL) – Coming on the heels of the death of Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona, Luigi De Magistris, the mayor of Naples, on Thursday started a formal process of renaming Napoli’s San Paolo stadium after the most illustrious player to have worn their jersey.
The move comes as the city mourns the passing of the 60-year-old football icon, who died on Wednesday of a heart attack just two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery.
The city of Naples operates the San Paolo stadium, where Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990. And the city’s mayor De Magistris was interested in a hastened process given the heightened public support for the honour.
“We are already putting it together this morning, taking the first steps to dedicate Naples’ stadium to Maradona.
“It’s a process but it will be a quick process, because when there is such a strong desire there’s nothing that will hold us up. We’re hoping to make it coincide with the resumption of games with fans.”
Napoli’s stadium was built after World War II and was named after the apostle St. Paul, who legend believes docked in the surrounding Fuorigrotta area when he reached what is current-day Italy.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, expressed approval for this move in an open letter to Maradona.
“I think it’s fair to name San Paolo after you, to have you still with us as a witness to the sublime path that this squad has undertaken.
“Yours were unforgettable years in Neapolitans’ memories. A symbol of a renewal and a desired resurrection.”
The Serie A side will play Croatian club Rijeka on Thursday in a UEFA Europa League Group F fixture. The match, at the Sao Paulo grounds, will be empty of fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet, fans thronged to the stadium in their numbers late on Wednesday and into Thursday morning. They gathered outside waving banners, singing songs and lighting flares in Maradona’s honour. All these were done though gatherings are technically banned in the city, which is located in a coronavirus “red zone.”
“Maradona is like a father, like a brother, a family member for us,” one fan, Raffaele Cuomo, explained outside the stadium. “Unfortunately it’s like someone from the family died, and it’s like a part of Naples has died.”
Anna Carpi, another Naples resident, added, “It broke my heart … But Diego will always be with us, in our heart.”
Maradona joined Napoli in 1984, at a time when the southern club had won virtually nothing and was far removed both geographically and socio-economically from the country’s football capitals of Milan and Turin.
“It sparked the revival of a people,” De Magistris described the feeling. “He loved Naples and so he wanted to, via football, make the world aware of a city full of humanity, affection, energy and fantasy.
“Even today I see young kids who didn’t (see him play), like my kids, who still have Maradona in their minds and in their hearts.”
Il Mattino, Naples’ leading newspaper, had a front-page headline Thursday that said simply, “Grazie” which means “Thank You.” And the Gazzetta dello Sport, the country’s leading sports newspaper, dedicated its first 23 pages to Maradona.
Ottavio Bianchi, Maradona and Napoli coach during their first Italian league title in 1987, confessed that he felt he did not do enough to stop Maradona’s cocaine addiction when he spoke on the RAI state radio.
“Diego was great at doing simple things. He made himself very available to kids and his teammates. But I regret that I in no way prevented the path that his life took.
“When we were alone I tried to scold him and he listened to me with his eyes facing downward. I remember that I told him that he was putting his life at risk. He looked at me and told me that he wanted to live his life with the gas pedal pushed completely down – to the maximum.
“It upsets me that he has gone like this. I always hoped that he would be able to dribble by one final obstacle.”
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