Moving forward, Seria A side Napoli will play their home games at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. This is the result of the Naples city council’s decision to rename the San Paolo Stadium in honor of the late Argentinian soccer legend on Friday.
Maradona, who led Napoli to two domestic titles in the ’80s, died last week at the age of 60.
Napoli attempted to rename the stadium in honor of Maradona even during his life, but the city, which owns the grounds, opposed to the suggestion until now.
“It’s only right that Maradona has this recognition,” said Napoli’s president Aurelio de Laurentiis. “Even if we were to build a whole new stadium, I would name it like that.”
Diego Armando Maradona is considered the greatest player ever to wear Napoli’s jersey, having been credited for transforming the club into a powerhouse in Italy.
Prior to Maradona’s arrival, Napoli was without much success and history, while Italian football was dominated by teams from south of the country. But after the club acquired Maradona in 1984 for a world-record fee from FC Barcelona, all of that changed.
Maradona quickly propelled Napoli into the upper echelon of European clubs, and needed only three years to bring the club its first ever Seria A title and Coppa Italia trophy. More trophies followed soon, as the club won the UEFA Cup in 1988-89 and another domestic title in 1989-90.
Maradona left Napoli after only seven years, but even that was enough for him to be remembered as the greatest ever in the city of Naples.
