Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Paolo), not to mention a small shrine dedicated to Napoli's greatest-ever on-field hero, Diego
Maradona.
Swooped from Barcelona for a record-breaking €12 million in 1984, the Argentine football star
would lead Napoli to its greatest ever glory in the 1986-87 football season, winning both the Serie A
title and the Coppa Italia. A first for any mainland southern Italian team, the twin win transformed
Maradona into a Neapolitan demi-god.
While captaining Argentina in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Maradona infamously encouraged the city
to cheer on Argentina in the semi-finals against Italy in Naples. Tapping into Italy's north/south ten-
sion, Maradona controversially declared: 'I don't like the fact that now everybody is asking Neapolit-
ans to be Italian and to support their national team. Naples has always been marginalised by the rest of
Italy. It is a city that suffers the most unfair racism'.
Thankfully, any north/south resentment was relegated to the sidelines in 2006 when Neapolitan pin-
up Fabio Cannavaro led Italy to victory in the 2006 World Cup. Nine months after the win, hospitals in
northern Italy reported a baby boom.
