Go to St. Paul and head to Maradona.
The mayor of Naples began a formal procedure this Thursday to change the name of the San Paolo stadium in Diego Maradona.
The resolution comes with the mourning village by the wonderful footballer, who died on Wednesday of an attack on the center at the age of 60, two weeks after being discharged from a porteño hospital after a brain operation.
“We are already this morning, taking the first steps to dedicate the Naples stadium to Maradona,” said Luigi De Magistris. “It is a process, but it will be a quick process, because when there is such a strong desire, not just anything will stop us.
“We hope this will coincide with the resumption of the crowd,” the mayor added.
The city operates the San Paolo Stadium, where Maradona led Napoli to his two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.
Built after World War II, the stadium is named after St. Paul according to the legend that the Apostle landed around Fuorigrotta when he arrived in present-day Italy.
“I think it’s right to call San Paolo after you, to have you with us as a witness to the sublime path this team has taken,” said Naples President Aurelio De Laurentiis in an open letter to Maradona. “Yours have been unforgettable, years in the reminiscence of the Neapolitans, symbol of a desired renewal and resurrection”.
Napoli face Croatian Rijeka in the Europa League on Thursday in an attack that will be empty of enthusiasts over the coronavirus pandemic.
However, enthusiasts were already outside the stadium on Wednesday night and Thursday morning waving banners, making songs and flares in honor of Maradona, even though meetings are technically prohibited in the city, which is located in a ‘red zone’ of the coronavirus. .
“Maradona is like a father, like a brother, a member family circle to us,” said an outdoor fan of the stadium, Raffaele Cuomo. “Unfortunately, it is as if a member family circle has died, and it is as a component of Naples is dead. “
Anna Carpi, another resident of Naples, adds: “It broke my heart . . . But Diego will be with us, in our hearts.
When Maradona joined Naples in 1984, the Southern club had won virtually nothing and was far away geographically and socioeconomically from the football capitals of the country, Milan and Turin.
“This triggered the rebirth of a people,” De Magistris said. “He enjoyed Naples and that is why he sought, football, to make the global consciousness of a city full of humanity, affection, power and fantasy.
“Even I see young people who don’t (I see him play), like my young people, who still have Maradona in their minds and hearts. “
Il Mattino, Naples’ main newspaper, made headlines thursday that said “Grazie” – “Thank you. “
Gazzetta dello Sport, the country’s leading sports newspaper, faithful its first 23 pages to Maradona.
Ottavio Bianchi, who trained Maradona and Napoli to their first name in the Italian league in 1987, lamented that he had done enough to prevent Maradona’s cocaine addiction.
“Diego is smart at doing undeniable things,” Bianchi told state radio RAI. “He became very attractive to young people and their peers. But I regret doing nothing to save your life.
“When we were alone, I tried to scold him and listened to me with a low look. I was telling him he was endangering his life. He looked at me and said he was looking to live his life with the accelerator pedal” absolutely down – to the fullest.
“It bothers me that he’s gone like this,” Bianchi added. “I was hoping you could haggle through one last hurdle.
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Andrew Dampf is in https://twitter. com/AndrewDampf
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