When Diego Maradona talked to reporters in the days leading up to the Italia 90 semi-final between Argentina and Italy, he knew what to say.
The Napoli star and talisman for the world champions wanted to create tension going into the match held in the city he had made his own over the past six years.
“The Neapolitans are being asked to be Italians for one night, while the other 364 days of the year they get called terroni (a derogatory term for southern Italians),” he told reporters.
The scheme to turn Neapolitans into Argentina fans worked to an extent. The applause for the Azzurri wasn’t as strong as it had been for their games in Rome.
However, several banners did declare where their loyalties lay. “Maradona, Naples loves you but Italy is our homeland,” read one. Another had: “Diego in our hearts, Italy in our songs.”
An early goal from Toto Schillaci settled Italy nerves but after Claudio Caniggia equalised, the game drifted to penalties, with Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena missing for the hosts. Who scored Argentina’s last penalty? None other than master manipulator Maradona.
Nevertheless, the city still loved him and now, if anything, they love him even more. One coffee shop has an altar where fans can worship their hero and within it there is a strand of hair that is said to belong to the man himself. How cafe owner Bruno Alcidi came about it is an interesting story.
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