When you think of Naples you may think of the famous Neapolitan-style pizza. Or the abundance of churches dotted across the city. However, especially since you’re on this website, you most likely think of a certain Diego Armando Maradona - arguably the greatest footballer of all time and a player who led SSC Napoli to incredible success between 1984 and 1991.
Right from the moment Maradona signed for Napoli from Barcelona there was a sense of sheer disbelief within the city. How had Napoli, a club situated in the poorer south of Italy, managed to pull off such a coup? Neapolitans had grown used to northern clubs dominating the Italian game and northern fans sneering at them through contemptuous songs from the terraces – one famous example pointed to the people of Naples being “earthquaked and cholera-ridden”. This north-south divide – both in a social and sporting sense – was the backdrop to the beginning of Diego Maradona’s incredible relationship with the Napoli supporters.
“That whole north v south battle made me stronger and gave me a chance to do what I like best: fight for a cause. And if it’s the cause of the poor, all the better.”
Maradona himself came from a poor background and was the quintessential example of the working class boy who'd ‘made it’. He therefore deeply empathised with the people of Naples and said he wanted to “become the idol of the poor children of Naples because they are like I was when I lived in Buenos Aires.” As well as being a footballing icon, Maradona became an icon of socialist politics – not just in Naples but also throughout the Americas as he befriended leftist leaders and sported a tattoo of Che Guevara. In his autobiography El Diego he said: “That whole north v south battle made me stronger and gave me a chance to do what I like best: fight for a cause. And if it’s the cause of the poor, all the better.” He also went so far as to ask Neapolitans to support his country Argentina when they faced Italy in Naples in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup because “Naples is not Italy” – however, few listened to him on this occasion.
First and foremost, though, his on-field success is what endeared him to the Napoli faithful and saw him heralded as the Messiah. Until Maradona's arrival, Napoli had never won the Scudetto (league title) but he led them to two titles in 1987 and 1990. He also lifted the UEFA Cup with Napoli in 1989 and was the main man behind a number of historic results against Italy's traditional "big clubs". The success Maradona brought Napoli was truly unprecedented and was not replicated for another 33 years until this season when the current Napoli side lifted the club's third Scudetto. It is no wonder, therefore, that Neapolitans believe Maradona's achievements to be genuine miracles and hold the great man in such high regard.
I only visited Naples for a day whilst on holiday in nearby Sorrento but was taken aback by just how passionate the people of Naples are about their football and their greatest ever player. Everywhere you turn in the city’s labyrinth of streets there are murals, posters, stickers, ornaments and flags dedicated to Maradona. Some, like the original mural painted in 1990 by Napoli fan Mario Filardi, have become sites of football fan pilgrimage, with supporters coming from all over the world to see it for themselves and celebrate one of the greatest players to ever grace the pitch.
Many depictions of Maradona throughout Naples' streets are religious in nature – comparing him to the city’s patron saint, San Gennaro. Italy is a predominantly Catholic nation and Neapolitans are well-known for their devout faith, with numerous street shrines dedicated to Holy Mary and Popes past and present. Maradona is regarded as a saint in Naples, often depicted with a halo around is head or as "Santo Diego" - his head imposed on Jesus' body. Some Napoli fans even took it upon themselves to set up an official religion in his honour – The Church of Maradona. Too far? Perhaps, but it’s not for us to say.
Revering a footballing great is hardly unique to Napoli fans, but the extent to which Diego Maradona is worshipped by Neapolitans is truly special to witness. The club renamed its San Paolo stadium “Stadio Diego Armando Maradona” following the legend’s death in 2020, and his legacy lives on through the nicknaming of current great Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as ‘Kvaradona’. His on-field genius coupled with his fierce defence of Naples as a city outweighed his wild and controversial personal life to obtain him God-like status amongst some of football’s most passionate fans – and his spirit will live on as long as football exists in Naples.
Comments