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Napoli鈥檚 St Paul stadium to be named for Maradona
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Move over St Paul and make way for Maradona.
The mayor of Naples started a formal process to rename the San Paolo stadium for Diego Maradona yesterday.
The move comes with the city in mourning for the soccer great, who died on Wednesday of a heart attack at age 60, two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery.
鈥淲e are already putting it together this morning, taking the first steps to dedicate Naples鈥 stadium to Maradona,鈥 Luigi De Magistris said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a process but it will be a quick process, because when there is such a strong desire there鈥檚 nothing that will hold us up.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to make it coincide with the resumption of games with fans,鈥 he added.
The city operates the San Paolo stadium, where Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.
Built after World War II, the stadium was named for St Paul according to the legend that the apostle docked in the surrounding Fuorigrotta area when he reached Italy.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fair to name San Paolo after you, to have you still with us as a witness to the sublime path that this squad has undertaken,鈥 Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said in an open letter to Maradona. 鈥淵ours were unforgettable years in Neapolitans鈥 memories. A symbol of a renewal and a desired resurrection.鈥
Napoli was playing Croatian side Rijeka yesterday in the Europa League in a match that will be empty of fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, fans were already outside the stadium on Wednesday and into yesterday morning waving banners, singing songs and lighting flares in Maradona鈥檚 honor 鈥 even though gatherings are technically banned in the city due to the coronavirus.
鈥淢aradona is like a father, like a brother, a family member for us,鈥 said one fan outside the stadium, Raffaele Cuomo. 鈥淯nfortunately it鈥檚 like someone from the family died, and it鈥檚 like a part of Naples has died.鈥
When Maradona joined Napoli in 1984, the southern club had won virtually nothing and was far removed both geographically and socio-economically from the country鈥檚 soccer capitals of Milan and Turin.
鈥淚t sparked the revival of a people,鈥 De Magistris said. 鈥淗e loved Naples and so he wanted to 鈥 via soccer 鈥 make the world aware of a city full of humanity, affection, energy and fantasy.鈥
Il Mattino, Naples鈥 leading newspaper, had a front-page headline yesterday that said simply, 鈥淕razie鈥 鈥 鈥淭hank You.鈥
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