AP PHOTOS: Maradona's legend hovers over Napoli title

The legend of Diego Maradona at Napoli hovers over the current team’s Italian league title, which was sealed Thursday.

The Argentina standout holds saint-like status in Naples 2½ years after his death and more than three decades after he led Napoli to its first two Serie A titles.

Images of Maradona are still waved on huge banners inside the club’s stadium, which was renamed for him when he died in November 2020.

In the downtown Quartieri Spagnoli, a huge mural of Maradona acts as an unofficial museum to the former player.

“It’s a problem in terms of overcrowding,” Napoli Mayor Gaetan Manfredi said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “It’s a sort of secular cult, which is really appreciated.”

Added local taxi driver Antonio Tortora: “Even after his death, he still brings people to Naples. He’s a saint.”

Maradona captained Napoli to the 1987 and 1990 Serie A titles, and also led the team to the 1989 UEFA Cup trophy. He gave hope to an entire generation of Neapolitans in the southern city, which is often seen as a poor cousin to the northern soccer capitals of Milan and Turin.

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