Napoli – She is 6 meters and 20 centimeters tall, wears the Buitoni shirt from the first championship and seems almost alive, with her socks pulled down and the ball glued to her head.
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The new cardboard statue of Diego Armando Maradona, installed tonight in Largo Maradona in the Spanish Quarters, has already become an icon. A tribute to the “Pibe de Oro” on the day in which Naples celebrates its fourth tricolor, won under the leadership of Antonio Conte.
A majestic work: “D10S” dominates the neighborhood
Created by the Italian-Argentine artist Salvador Gaudenti, the work is titled “D10S” – Maradona’s sacred nickname – and, according to its promoters, it would be the tallest statue in the world dedicated to the Argentine champion. The timing couldn’t be more symbolic: after the Scudetto celebrations, thousands of people flocked to the heart of the historic center to admire it, transforming Largo Maradona into a secular pilgrimage.
Diego's people: Neapolitans, Argentines and tourists celebrating
Among the crowd, a kaleidoscope of colors and cultures: Neapolitans with today's Napoli shirts and vintage ones from the 80s;
Argentines wearing the shirts of Boca Juniors and the Argentine national team;
Tourists from Spain, Peru and Chile, arrived to pay homage to the myth.
Some wear headbands, wristbands or photos of Diego, some stop to pray, some simply observe in silence. Between open-air fry shops, street vendors of “open-leg lemonade” and children playing soccer in the street, the atmosphere is that of a popular symposium, where the sacred and the profane mix.
Pagan cult or tribute of love?
“It’s as if Diego were here to welcome everyone,” says an old fan, while an elderly woman from the neighborhood watches the scene in amazement from the window. Napoli’s fourth Scudetto almost seems like a pretext to reunite the “people of Maradona,” who even today, almost 35 years after his first triumph, continue to venerate him as a secular saint.
Around the statue, the typical chaos of the Neighborhoods: scooters whizzing by, traffic police trying to maintain order, Jehovah's Witnesses preaching into the microphone. And yet, in this perfect disorder, Maradona still smiles, immortal in his cardboard version, while Naples dedicates a new chapter of its legend to him.
Article published on May 24, 2025 - 22:00 pm
