Maradona, one of football’s all-time greats, died of a heart attack at the age of 60 on Wednesday. He had been recovering at home following brain surgery at the start of November.
Although coach of Argentinian side Gimnasia Esgrima La Plata at the time of his death, Maradona was more renowned for his remarkable playing career, during which he inspired his country to 1986 World Cup success and also played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli and Sevilla.
Napoli’s current team all took to the pitch in jerseys emblazoned with Maradona’s name and iconic number 10 on the back before Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League win over Rijeka at Stadio San Paolo, which is set to be renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The club’s tributes to their greatest player do not stop there, as they confirmed on Sunday that a new strip inspired by Maradona and Argentina – which was conceived last year – is set to be revealed and worn against Roma later in the day.
A statement on the club’s official website read: “A year ago, together with Kappa, we thought of designing a special jersey that echoes Diego Maradona, his beloved Argentina and the close-knit bond with the people of Naples.
Napoli head into the game with Roma sat in seventh in Serie A, but a win would enable them to leapfrog their opponents and keep up their title challenge.
Serie A glory has not come their way since Maradona led them to the title in 1990.
