The Derby of Maradona

When the balls in the draw for the round of XNUMX of the Champions League brought Napoli and Barcelona together, many associated that duel with the famous Diego Maradona. The Argentinian played for both clubs in his career, in Naples he acquired a mythical status, and during his stay in Italy, Napoli achieved the greatest successes in history.

El Pibe arrived in the Apennines from Barcelona, ​​where he spent two years. "Blaugrana" was his first club in Europe, and his stay in the Pyrenees was quite difficult.

CATALONIAN DIARIES

Barca's efforts to bring the young Maradona to the "Nou Camp" lasted for years. Even while he was playing for Argentinos Juniors, Diego was targeted by the Catalans - club vice-president Nicolau Kasaus often traveled to Argentina to complete the transfer, but returned home with unfinished business. In the Union there, they thought that it was better for Maradona to stay in his homeland until the beginning of the World Cup in Spain in 1982, so the trip to Europe was vetoed. After Argentinos, Maradona continued his career in Boca Juniors, from where he finally came to Barcelona in the summer of 1982, for a then-record 7,6 million dollars.

The stay in the Pyrenees was turbulent. Passing by coach Udo Latek, who was later succeeded by Cesar Menotti, the fight with hepatitis, and a severe ankle injury affected his games. During that period, he started using cocaine, which would mark his life.

There were brilliant moments in sunny Catalonia. The first is the first Barca player to be applauded by Real fans in the "El Clasico". He is also remembered by the Belgrade crowd, when against Crvna Zvezda in the second round of the Cup Winners' Cup on October 20, 1982 at the "Marakana", he took the ball in the middle of the field, reached the penalty area, and then elegantly lobbed Stojanović.

With Barça, he triumphed in the King's Cup, League Cup and Super Cup, but did not win the championship. In those years, Athletic Bilbao ruled Spain, and he will remember the meetings with the Basques for the rest of his life.

These two teams met in the championship on September 24, 1983, when the full "Nou Camp" witnessed the most brutal start in the history of football. The visitors' player, Andoni Gojkocea, the so-called butcher from Bilbao, approached Maradona from behind, made a brutal start and broke his ankle. He was recovering from the injury for three months.

The second close meeting with the same rival occurred in the final of the King's Cup in 1984. The team from the Basque Country celebrated with a minimal result, but for years after that there was more talk about the scenes after the match. At the end of the match, Maradona headbutted Miguel Sola and started a final showdown with the other opposing players. A real war was being fought on the field, and everything was watched from the stands by King Juan Carlos. It was Maradona's last match in Barca's shirt. He was suspended for three months from Spanish football, which only accelerated the transfer to Napoli. Finally, in the summer of 1984, he replaced the Iberian Peninsula with the Apennine Peninsula.

PEOPLE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING

Great hysteria reigned on the fifth of July 1984 at "San Paolo". Around 75 Neapolitans were waiting for the largest reinforcement in the club's history to run onto the pitch, so that the moment Maradona stepped onto the pitch, the stadium exploded. Surrounded by journalists, the Argentine - with a Napoli scarf around his neck - greeted the fans, reached the center of the field, juggled a bit, and then shouted: "Forca Napoli".

Nothing more was needed. Diego was already Napoli's then, as much as Napoli was Diego's.

Maradona's arrival meant a symbolic victory of the South over the North. Since the unification of Italy in the 19th century, the north of the country has been richer, superior in all categories. Economy, economy, education..., everything was better in the north. The South relied on tourism, but money was scarce, while crime was the biggest obstacle to development.

Such a situation also affected sports. The only team south of Rome to win the Scudetto until the late eighties was Cagliari. The arrival of Maradona under Vesuvius changed the order in Kalć.

Since its inception, Napoli has been an average club - the Cup trophy was the greatest achievement of the team from Campania. With Maradona in the team, appetites grew, an end to Juventus' dominance was the wish of everyone in the south. The "Old Lady", a symbol of power, dominance, the best team in the Apennines, was a thorn in the side of everyone under Vesuvius. Taking the title in front of the Bianconeri was a dream that generations of Neapolitans had been dreaming of for years. Soon it also came true...

On May 1987, XNUMX, the streets of Naples were unusually quiet. The city that lived to the fullest seemed to have suddenly fallen silent. There was only one thought in the heads of the Neapolitans - to win at least a point against Fiorentina that afternoon. A point that guaranteed the first title in the club's history. Immortality. Glory. History.

When Andrea Karnevale scored to take the lead after half an hour, the gates of heaven opened. Roberto Baggio equalized and set the final score. The sweetest point ever was scored, "San Paolo" exploded. The title was finally won. That silence before the match gave way to madness... Napoli was the best club in Italy.

"People, you don't know what you're missing," was written at the entrance to the city cemetery.

Maradona ended that season as the best scorer and player of Serie A, he left behind Platini, Zico, Mateus... He lived in paradise, but as the seasons progress, he will come to the lobby of hell.

SECOND SCUDETO AND FAREWELL

The following season, Napoli finished in second place behind Milan, and in 1989 they won the UEFA Cup. Paok, Leipzig and Bordeaux were easy obstacles at the start. But everything was easy for Maradona anyway. Football was fun, and the warm-up before the semi-final match against Bayern at the "Olympic Stadium" in Munich, when he was preparing for the match to the rhythm of Opus' hit "Live is life", perhaps best describes his understanding of football. The Bavarians were eliminated, so that in the final Napoli would be better than Stuttgart and lift the only European trophy in the club's history.

The second Scudetto in Maradona's era was won by Napoli in 1990. The Neapolitans finished the championship with two points more than Milan. At that time, no one assumed that the glorious days were slowly coming to an end, even though Maradona refused to train for a whole month before the start of that season, because his transfer to Olympique from Marseille failed.

The parting with Napoli was greatly influenced by private life. Socializing with Kamor, accusations of adultery, cocaine consumption during night outs forced the then president of the club to hire private detectives to follow Maradona's every trace.

It's no secret that in the Apennines - outside of Naples - the Argentine was not a favorite person. And when he and the "gauchos" eliminated Italy in the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990 at San Paolo, he became an enemy of the state. Parting was near.

Season 1990/1991. she was the last in Italy. The last straw was a 15-month suspension, because in March 1991, after a match with Bari, he tested positive for cocaine. It was a blow that El Pibe could not bear. Finally, in 1992, under the cover of night, he left the Apennines forever.

There is no doubt that his presence tonight at "San Paolo" would attract more attention than the match between Napoli and Barca itself. Nevertheless, the Argentine will watch the game from his homeland and remember the glorious days of his colorful football career.