Napoli fans honor Diego Maradona with emotional tribute on 5th anniversary of his death

By Canadian Press on November 25, 2025.

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli and its fans paid tribute to Diego Maradona on the fifth anniversary of his death.

A video of Maradona was shown on the big screens in the stadium before Napoli’s match against Qarabağ in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the stadium announcer saying: “Napoli wants to remember you with a special video. Five years ago the greatest of all time left us.”

The whole of the stadium chanted “Diego, Diego.”

In the 10th minute — Maradonas shirt number — fans started chanting “there’s only one Maradona” and singing songs about him, at the same time as they waved flags, scarves and team shirts in his honor.

Maradona died of a heart attack at age 60 on Nov. 25, 2020, two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following surgery for a blood clot on the brain.

He led Napoli to its first two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 and the club’s stadium was renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after his death.

Maradona, who famously led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup, is regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press