Napoli pays tribute to Maradona, 'captain of the angels'

A screen displays a photo of late Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona as players hold a minute of silence in homage to Maradona prior to the UEFA Europe League Group F football match Napoli vs Rijeka on November 26, 2020 at the San Paolo stadium in Naples. Maradona, widely remembered for his "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, died on November 25, 2020 of a heart attack at his home near Buenos Aires in Argentina, while recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

"Diego, Diego, Diego!" chants the crowd which gathered where scarves and shirts in Napoli's blue and white have been hung on the fence, transforming it into a makeshift shrine to the city's adopted "king".

"Hear our voices, hear our hearts," shouts Rosario, 77, famed among fans as the stadium's resident "poet", as applause goes up and grown men in face masks in the team's colours openly weep.

Buildings around the southern Italian city are adorned with depictions of the man who dragged Napoli to the top of the Italian game and became an icon for Neapolitans, whose chaotic city was feared and loathed by the rest of Italy.

Napoli's players honoured their club legend by stepping out onto the pitch on Thursday evening wearing his number 10 jersey ahead of their Europa League match against Rijeka, which they won 2-0.

All wearing black armbands, the players observed a minute's silence under a photo projected on a large screen in the empty stadium of the man who led Napoli to league titles in 1987 and 1990.

Maradona played for the then-unfashionable Napoli between 1984 and 1991, after joining following an increasingly unhappy spell at Spanish glamour club Barcelona.

He also lifted the 1989 UEFA Cup, Napoli's only European trophy. He was still Napoli's record goalscorer until three years ago.

"He was our Sunday warrior," 46-year old Fernando Carfora, whose apartment building sports a mural of Maradona, told AFP.

"Maradona didn't play with his feet, he played with his head. Nobody scored Maradona's goals," he said.

"We couldn't wait for him to play, (Sunday) was a day of celebration. When he wasn't playing we were all sad."

- 'Captain of the angels' -

Courted by criminals, the King of Spain and even the Pope, Maradona became a quasi-religious figure in Naples.

He brought joy to a desperately poor city blighted by bloody conflicts between the competing clans of the powerful Camorra organised crime network, one of whom Maradona would get to know well.

Maradona's penchant for late-night parties, cocaine and women were almost as famous as his magical displays on the pitch.

But on Thursday many of the pictures and letters being left for him outside the stadium were from adoring children.

Fathers and sons performed the sign of the cross in front of blown-up photos capturing the footballing wizard as he ran wildly down the pitch after scoring, his arms raised in triumph.

Others stopped to pray in front of the red candles.

"My only wish now is to know that he is happy among the angels, maybe they wanted a captain! And he will take them to victory as only he knows how," Giampiero said.

So deep was Maradona's attachment to Naples that he called Napoli's first ever league title, won a year after he led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup, the "greatest triumph" of his career.

His achievements at Napoli, who had been also-rans until he arrived in 1984, cemented his position as the greatest player of his generation and, to many observers, make him the best ever.

"I remember the Naples-Juventus game of '86," said local theatre actor Ciro Cocozza, 51.

"There was an explosion in the stadium when Maradona scored. There were 80,000 of us fans, and even the Juve fans were applauding," he added.

"It was an amazing feeling".

- 'Stadio San Paolo-Maradona' -

Throughout the day, supporters thronged in front of the San Paolo stadium, which could soon be renamed in honour of Maradona.

"I believe it is right to baptise the San Paolo with your name to still have you with us," wrote club president Aurelio de Laurentiis on the club's website.

A plaque was put up on the gates of the stadium which read "Diego Armando Maradona Stadium" and bore the face of the fans' Argentine hero.

Blue-white scarves, flowers, photos of Maradona and shirts stamped with number 10 were left in memory of the player who left an indelible mark on Neapolitans.

"Maradona means a lot, not just to me but to all Neapolitans. He has always stood up for us, he has always held us in his heart and we must do the same," said Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne, who had earlier led the tributes alongside fans outside the stadium.

On the pitch, Rijeka did not spoil the tribute with Napoli beating their modest rivals with their first goal and own-goal from the visitor's Italian left-back Armando Anastasio.

The Naples-born player took a touch to a Matteo Politano goal-bound effort, and was credited with the goal.

Mexican Hirving Lozano sealed victory with quarter of an hour to go, to put Napoli top of their Group F.