Naples will install two statues of Maradona a year after his death

The Italian city of Naples will remember Diego Maradona with a statue that will be installed today, one year after his death, in front of the stadium of the Neapolitan club of which he became a symbol and which now bears his name. The sculpture, designed by the artist Domenico Sepe and commissioned by the municipal government, will be inaugurated in a ceremony attended by city authorities, his former Napoli teammates and his son Diego Armando Maradona Junior.La statue, which represents in real size the player with the shirt of the Neapolitan team, in which he played from 1984 to 1991, respects his physique and his expressions, and seeks to represent “a living champion”, in the words of the artist, according to local media. The work, for now, can only be seen this Thursday, since then it will be removed before being officially placed in the coming weeksAs well, a second bronze sculpture of the footballer will be installed inside the changing rooms of the stadium, in the space in front of the rooms for the referees, which will be inaugurated next Saturday 27 when the stadium comes to life with the match between Napoli and Lazio.That night several will also be placed Replicas of the statue in different areas of the stadium and the perimeter of the enclosure will be filled with images of Maradona.The friend and former manager of Maradona Stefano Ceci commissioned this work and had the phrase “I am also Neapolitan” engraved to fulfill the promise he made to the player: to raise a statue that portrayed him and that carried the words that he himself dictated. Finally, a third sculpture made by Christian Leporino and entitled “The Hero’s Dream” will be exhibited in the Camellia Garden of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.This piece, three meters high and molded in clay, plaster and wax, and cast in bronze, represents a winged victory that symbolizes the dream of a young Maradona to become a champion when he played in the dusty streets of the Villa Fiorito neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

Original source in Spanish