Never before has a player been able to plunge a city into a football frenzy and be so admired by everyone. Diego Maradona – the legend and god of Naples.
Before the start of the World Cup in '94, many people thought that Maradona was not going to do it, and it was completely finished. He was banned by the Italian Football Federation for 15 months for drug use and fled Naples after falling out with the local mafia.
After a brief stint with Sevilla FC in La Liga, Maradona returned to Buenos Aires in 1993 and lost all of his form, playing only one friendly match for the team after joining Newell Old Boys.
However, as Argentina struggled in the South American division of that year's World Qualifiers, then coach Basile bowed to fan pressure and had to bring Maradona back.
If you name three names that better represent indulgence, madness and unbridled in sports, perhaps no one's story will be as tumultuous as Maradona's rollercoaster in Naples.
From crazy parties to shooting journalists with air guns, from plastic penises to cocaine in the papal bathrooms...
Like a dizzying cocktail of a mixture of loyalty, chaos and unparalleled glory, keep increasing the dose until it's enough to kill a horse...
What happens next is a story that Netflix won't tell you.
Diego arrived at Napoli in 1984 after a controversial period at Barca. Rumor has it that he was mixed up with a group of avid addicts.
His career at Camp Nou ended in scandal, knocking his opponent unconscious with a flying knee in that melee in the Copa del Rey final. But the Neapolitans did not care - they were completely captivated by the aura of God.
When Diego's transfer hit an obstacle, hysterical fans began a hunger strike, locking themselves in front of the stadium. When Barca asked Napoli to pay an extra £500,000 for Diego's transfer, fans even started organising street fundraising to raise money.
Diego soon mingled with the local mafia. He was photographed by reporters lying in a jacuzzi with Luigi Giuliano, the boss of the Camorra family.
There are even rumors that Diego brings his friends a football full of cocaine every time he returns to Argentina. And his own drug use is getting bigger and bigger, even spiraling upward.
During a visit to the Vatican in 1985, Diego took a snorts a line in the pope's private bathroom.
Then began to slam the pope for halfway in helping poor children: "What to do? Man, sell the ceiling! You have to do something! He said to the Pope.
But on the pitch, things have never been better.
In 1986, Diego won the World Cup and led Napoli to the first Serie A title in club history in the 86/87 season. In the same year, he won the Coppa Italia.
In the 88/89 season, Diego led the team to their first UEFA Cup crowning. The following year, Napoli won Serie A for the second time, along with the Italian Super Cup.
The city went crazy and the street revelry lasted for three days. The banner at the cemetery reads: You will never know what you missed!
Every time he left home, Diego was surrounded by avid fans, and his driver later estimated that he slept with at least 8,000 women.
When Diego taught his daughter to say "Fuck Juve," his demigod status was already fully established in the city of Naples.
But when he tried to leave Napoli to join Marseille, the air began to smell bad.
In the end, Diego chose to stay and won a second Serie A title for Napoli, but the city is devouring him.
"There are drugs everywhere." Diego recalls, "They almost always brought me trays, and I spent time on drugs and parties from Sunday to Wednesday. ”
He injected clean urine into a plastic penis to fool with drug tests, and tried again and again.
In the 88/89 season, before the UEFA Cup game against Spartak Moscow, he missed a flight because he smoked big. Had to get a private jet and arrive at 2 a.m. on race day. Instead of going to the hotel where the team was staying, he went straight to Red Square and persuaded the guards to let him into Lenin's mausoleum.
This was followed by the '90 World Cup in Italy, where Diego's Argentina met host Italy in the semifinals, in Napoli.
Diego told reporters, "Naples is not Italy. With the Napoli fanatical fans supporting Argentina, Diego scored the winning goal in a penalty shootout.
As the Italian's dreams of winning the World Cup at home were dashed, the manic Italian media began attacking Diego.
La Repubblica conducted a survey that asked readers to vote for their most hated figures in history. Of the options of dictator, murderer and war criminal, Diego was elected by an overwhelming margin.
But things are about to get worse...
In 1991, Diego was photographed soliciting prostitutes through his mafia friends and arrested for drug possession. More prostitutes reveal stories of their and Diego's crazy faction spurred on by cocaine.
In March of the same year, after the match against Barry, Diego was asked to undergo a drug test.
Since the authorities had already identified his plastic dildo, Diego, who had no choice, had no choice but to hand over his real sample.
Drug tests showed that he had enough cocaine in his urine to kill a polar bear. He was banned by the Italian Football Federation for 15 months.
Realizing that his days as king of Naples were over, Diego fled back to Buenos Aires overnight.
But he was not forgotten by Napoli, and the city is full of murals of the Argentine ball king. After Maradona's death, Napoli renamed their stadium: Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Now, it is only a matter of time before Napoli win their third Serie A title in their history after 33 years.
To commemorate the season, and to honour Maradona's memory, the club plans to engrave Maradona's name on the championship trophy. Napoli's last home game of the season, a huge poster of Maradona will also rise in the stands again...