Talking about the greatest soccer player of all time, with all due respect to the various Messi and CR7 not to mention Pele who is perhaps the only one who can really get close, even if he has never played in Europe, is really difficult, but Diego, as in his style, suddenly left the scene, leaving a great void and a great pain especially for those who loved him and felt him as one of the family, or the city of Naples and all of Argentina, which delighted in famous 1986 World Cup won practically alone.
Personally it binds me much more than a memory that refers to 1990, when I was 7 years old, I was in the room playing with my younger sister, she was 4 years old and we suddenly heard a loud roar and a great noise, I looked out on the balcony and I saw in the distance fireworks coming out of the San Paolo Stadium (I am lucky enough to live in Fuorigrotta in the neighborhood where the Stadium is located) and over the whole area a helicopter was spinning, throwing small sheets of paper into the air that said ” Champions of Italy “I felt strangely amused and did not understand what was happening, because my family has always been quite far from football, that was a first sign that made me understand that football could really give indescribable emotions and make you dream big. When a few days later, walking around the neighborhood with my mother, I realized that it was all festively decorated with various decorations, but the thing that struck me most were the steps completely colored with spray cans of green, white and red because we had won the Second Scudetto of our history, thanks to a real Super Hero, or as others call him the God of football, Diego Armando Maradona.
In the same year, 1990, for the first time, the World Cup was played in Italy, and the only game I remember really well, in a very clear and transparent way, was the semifinal at the San Paolo in Naples between Argentina and Italy, from on one side Totò Schillaci with various players and on the other side Maradona who played in his stadium as an opponent, and the feeling was strange because you had to cheer on Italy in order not to make a bad impression but in the end Italy lost. After years I was able to understand what historical significance had what was supposed to be just a “game”. I am proud and proud that such a Legend / Myth played in the team that I learned to cheer when I was older (since 2003) and that he brought us so much joy and happiness and that he fought for the poorest and the weakest, to giving voice to those who had no hope in a context that has always been humiliated and repressed by national policies hostile to real economic growth that could damage various interests.
Thank you for all the good you have done in a selfless way and forgive us for all the harm that many have done to you, taking advantage of your goodness and simplicity, uncommon skills in a hypocritical and respectable sports world, attentive only to labels and to cover own misdeeds, accusing you of being the only sportsman on the face of the earth to have had weaknesses that have dragged you into an abyss that is increasingly difficult to recover.
I greet you with the choir that all the fans dedicated to you on Sunday at the stadium : (Oh mamma mamma mamma mamma mamma sai perché mi batte il corazon? Ho visto Maradona, ho visto Maradona, uè mammà innamorato so’)
RIP Great Diego, a big hug from those who will never forget you, WE ARE NAPOLI!
Naples Football City 