#2 Maradona’s arrival and subsequent triumphs at Napoli
The enigma that is Diego Armando Maradona never ceased to capture the imagination of the footballing community during his formative years as a player. After having conquered Spain with Barcelona, it came as a rather intriguing move when the Argentine playmaker decided to make the switch to Naples in the summer of 1984.
His mere arrival at the city, enriched with Italian culture, woke the city from its slumber. There were 75,000 fans in attendance when he was unveiled at Napoli and a local newspaper even went on to claim, “Mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona,” expressing their delight at the arrival of the world beater; and Maradona did not disappoint.
He led Napoli to their first ever league title in the 1986-87 season, making them the first ever team from the Southern Italian peninsula to win the title and followed it up with another brilliant 1989-90 season when he helped them win their second ever league title. The Argentine enjoyed some of his finest years at Napoli and is still revered to this day in the city, having achieved demi-god status.
