In memory of the greatest of all. The Napoli fans were able to celebrate Diego Maradona again during a ceremony linked to the display of a life-size bronze statue, 1.67 high exactly as the Argentine champion, made in the Nolana Foundry by the former manager of the football player , Stefano Ceci, thanks also to the cast of the foot and the famous 'manita' of Maradona. The statue was paraded all around the stadium, in front of 35,000 fans who sang the choirs dedicated to their unforgettable champion. The bronze was covered by a cloth that was pulled off to show the work to the public by the president of Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis, by the vice president Edoardo De Laurentiis, by the former president Corrado Ferlaino, accompanied by the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino,by the mayor of the city, Gaetano Manfredi, by the coach Luciano Spalletti and by the former Azzurri players Beppe Bruscolotti, Salvatore Bagni, Fabio Cannavaro and Luigi Caffarelli.
The statue was then spun around the entire ring of the stadium's running track, with the floodlights turned off and thousands of fan cell phone bulbs glowing in the stands.
The journey of the work was accompanied by the reading of a letter to Maradona from the writer Maurizio De Giovanni, read by the actor Gianfranco Gallo.
Infantino, De Laurentiis and Ferlaino then commented on Dazn's microphone ceremony.
'' The whole city, the whole country and the whole world gather around Diego - said the president of FIFA - It is a unique emotion.
We remembered who made Napoli fans fall in love with football and those who are not.
An incredible talent, a fantastic character. ''
Ferlaino recalled: '' When I signed Maradona's contract in Barcelona, I could have thought everything except that after many years I would have been facing a city crazy for him. That day I went to get a whiskey at the bar and the bartender said to me: 'We made you a can, at Napoli we sold Maradona who is already fat and has a belly' That whiskey stayed in my throat and I never drank a other in my life. ''
Finally, De Laurentiis explained why he stroked the left foot of the statue of Maradona.
'' Such an important foot can only be a viaticum to start over every time in a strong way, in the sense that when you take the field, on any occasion of your life and for every type of action you want to take, you have to leave, yes he says, on the right foot.
And there is absolutely no denying that Maradona's foot was that the right one is clear.
Caressing it is also a not just good luck viaticum ''.
