NAPOLI FANS OUT IN FORCE TO HONOUR ‘KING DIEGO’
FLAGS, flares, banners and an outpouring of affection were in evidence as Napoli paid tribute to their legendary former player Diego Maradona before their Europa League tie against HNK Rijeka last night. The Stadio San Paolo is to be renamed in his honour.
ARGENTINA has lost an ‘ idol’ following the death of Diego Maradona, the Leeds and former national team manager Marcelo Bielsa said.
Maradona, regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, died on Wednesday after a reported heart attack. He was 60.
He inspired his country to World Cup glory in 1986, and also helped Napoli win the Italian league title in 1987 and 1990.
Bielsa, like most Argentinians, was yesterday struggling to process the loss of a national hero.
‘He was for us, and will continue to be, an idol,’ said Bielsa, who led the Argentina team from 1998 to 2004. ‘Given the fact he is not with us any more brings great sadness. We have lost an idol and it makes us feel weak.
‘What really stood out was his relationship with the public. Everything he did as a footballer was of a beauty which cannot be matched.
‘Maradona was an artist. The dimension and the repercussion of his art has infinite recognitions. To give one example that stands out, the songs written about him are extraordinary. Players with such individual brilliance don’t know what it is to play with pressure.
‘The development of the creativity of a player like Diego – he wouldn’t have been able to develop it if he felt pressure.’
Ossie Ardiles, who played alongside Maradona for Argentina at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, fought back tears as he paid tribute to the ‘incredibly special’ player.
‘It’s going to be very difficult. He’s a big part of our lives. He was incredibly special,’ said Ardiles of a man who played in his Tottenham testimonial just weeks before winning the 1986 World Cup.
‘He was absolutely fantastic. When you watched him play you saw you were in the presence of somebody completely different.
‘When I saw him for the very first time in the national team, we were all pretty good players, but he was miles ahead of us.’
Ardiles acknowledged Maradona’s demons but said he always tried to help ‘the poorest in society’.
‘I knew Diego from a very early age and of course I knew exactly what all his struggles were – in fact all the problems he had were outside the pitch.
‘He had this problem with power, with presidents, with kings – he couldn’t stand them very well. When he was on the pitch he was the happiest person in the world because nobody could touch him there. He knew he was the very best.’