Napoli paid tribute to a club legend on Sunday by wearing a special uniform designed in honor of the great Argentine figure Diego Maradona.
Maradona, who died in November 2020, was Napoli’s star player during its most glorious days. During his seven years in Naples, between 1984 and 1991, he helped the club win its only two Serie A titles, the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia. He also inspired his country to victory in the 1986 World Cup final while playing for Napoli.
After his death last year, Napoli renamed his stadium Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and paid him a new tribute to commemorate what would have been the iconic number 10’s 61st birthday (on October 30) by wearing a shirt with his image. designed by the manufacturer of his uniform, Emporio Armani.
“A year after his death, Napoli pays tribute to the great champion, symbol of an era and undisputed idol of world football,” the club said in a statement.
Maradona’s “fingerprint” design on the jersey was created by artist Giuseppe Klain and is intended to represent the timeless imprint he has left on Neapolitan culture and the world of football in general.
The Italian team entered the court to face Hellas Verona wearing this uniform, and they intend to wear it for all three league games this month – both at home and away.
After falling behind with a goal from Verona striker Giovanni Simeone, at the start of the match, Napoli summoned Maradona’s spirit to recover just five minutes later, when Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s equalizing goal secured a portion of the points while the match ended 1-1. The point was enough to keep Napoli atop the Serie A table heading into the international break, but only on goal difference above second-place AC Milan.
The shirt is imprinted with a fingerprint, which represents the footprint that Maradona left on the club, and an image of the Argentine legend.
Napoli will continue to wear their Maradona jerseys for the remainder of November while Luciano Spaletti’s team prepares to face Inter Milan and Lazio on November 21 and November 28, respectively.
Napoli’s players wore the jersey in tribute to Maradona on Sunday in the 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona for Serie A.
According to Napoli, a portion of the proceeds from all sales of the replica jerseys will be donated to charity.
The ‘Maradona match’ jersey is not the first limited edition jersey Napoili has played in this season, having celebrated Halloween last month in a black jersey covered in a cobweb pattern in matches against Torino and Bologna.
His habit of throwing flashy t-shirts dates back a few years, having shown a penchant for camouflage with a series of military-inspired t-shirts as well as double-denim looks. (ESPNDEPORTES.com)