Keypoints:
- Maradona died last week after suffering a heart attack at his home in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.
- The resolution to rename the stadium has been approved to change the stadiums name to honour the World Cup Winning Great.
Italian side Napoli’s San Paolo stadium has been officially renamed the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium after the late Argentina striker who led them to their only two Serie A titles and the UEFA Cup, the city’s council said on Friday.
The city council approved the resolution proposed by Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris to change the stadium’s name to honour the World Cup-winning great who scored 115 goals in seven years at the club.
Intitoliamo lo Stadio San Paolo a Diego Armando Maradona!!!
— Luigi de Magistris (@demagistris) November 25, 2020
È morto Diego Armando Maradona,il più immenso calciatore di tutti i tempi.Diego ha fatto sognare il nostro popolo,ha riscattato Napoli con la sua genialità.Nel 2017 era divenuto nostro cittadino onorario.Diego, napoletano e argentino,ci hai donato gioia e felicità!Napoli ti ama!
— Luigi de Magistris (@demagistris) November 25, 2020
“I’ve been in talks with local authorities for the past 17 years, I’ve always asked to buy the stadium and rename it ‘Diego Armando Maradona’,” Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis told Sky in Italy.
“If then, for tradition, we will need to call it both ‘San Paolo’ and ‘Maradona’ so be it. It won’t change much, but it’s only right that Maradona has this recognition. Even if we were to build a whole new stadium, I would name it like that.
Maradona signed for Napoli in 1984 and helped the club conquer the northern teams such as Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan — seen as the aristocratic establishment of Italian football, and briefly turned Serie A on its head.
The day after his death, Maradona was honoured by Napoli at its Europa League match against HNK Rijeka when every player wore a shirt inscribed with ‘Maradona 10.’
Maradona died last week aged 60 in his native Argentina. Fans gathered in thousands at Napoli’s stadium to mourn him, leaving candles, flowers, pictures and notes.
Maradona captained Argentina to victory at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and was widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Maradona had begun his professional career with Argentinos Juniors at the age of 16 and he went on to become one of the greatest players to ever play the game of football.
He represented Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, and Newell’s Old Boys as a player. Diego was considered the main player in taking Argentina to their second World Cup title in 1986.
