Pele Among Those Delivering Maradona Tribute Ahead of Napoli’s Game

Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, was present in Naples to honor one of the city’s adopted sons. He led Napoli to two league titles and the 1989 UEFA Cup. Maronda, sadly, died one year ago.

The statue depicting their idol flying high atop the number 10 was carried around by fans who chanted Maradona’s name.

On the stadium’s large screens was a tribute to Pele. Meanwhile, players came out to warm up to the sounds of “Life Is Life” from Opus. This song is the one to which Maradona used to do warm-up exercises. It is the footage that has been the most beloved of all the footage of the Argentine.

The occasion was further emphasized by Napoli players’ decision to wear special game jerseys. The shirts depicted the team’s greatest player on this important occasion. It proved to be a moving and worthy tribute to El Pibe d’Oro.

Man of the Match, Dries Mertens spoke to DAZN about the significance of the match and the result. “We put in one of our best performances, now the important thing is to always play like that because you need to repeat those kinds of displays. The way we played today was perfect,” the Belgium forward told reporters.

Napoli was inspired by the emotional ceremony and took full advantage of AC Milan’s 3-1 home defeat against Sassuolo. Napoli’s 4-0 victory over Lazio keeps the Partenopei at the top of Serie A and proved a worthy tribute for Diego Armando Maradona.