Napoli have officially renamed their stadium in memory of the late, great Diego Maradona.
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Originally named the Stadio San Paolo, after Saint Paul the Apostle, Napoli’s home stadium will henceforth be called the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Maradona passed away last week, from heart failure, at the age of 60.
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Maradona is something of a real-life deity figure in Naples after arriving to incredible fanfare and leading Napoli to the only two Serie A titles in the club’s history, in 1987 and 1990.
The Naples city council released the following statement on Friday:With his immense talent and his magic, he honored the Napoli shirt for seven years, giving it two historical championships and other prestigious cups, and receiving in exchange from the whole city an eternal and unconditional love.
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Through the football victories of the Argentine champion, it was not only the Napoli team that won but the whole city, which fully identifies with him.
Always on the side of the weakest and the common people, Maradona fought the prejudices and discrimination that Neapolitans were still subjected to inside the stadiums, becoming the idol of the entire city.