I tell the Corriere – Maradona and Naples: victimization and only claim

Dear aldo,
I believe that the reaction of our country, and of its press, to the death of Maradona and then Rossi has once again demonstrated the xenophilia that often distinguishes Italy. It seemed more relevant to the first than the second. true, Diego was the greatest. Because he was not Italian, on the contrary he eliminated us from a world championship, and especially at home. In two days, the San Paolo received its name. To Rossi, on the other hand, that a world championship, I will not say it alone, made us win, I do not think that anyone has thought to dedicate anything. I think the Center of Coverciano, home of the Azzurri, is a worthy recipient of the name of a blue that cared a lot about the shirt, and to which it gave a lot.
Enrico Sartor, Zoppola (Pn)

Dear Enrico,
The space that was rightly given to Maradona’s disappearance has nothing to do with xenophilia. Maradona was a planetary figure, with strong Argentine roots, who became the center of Italian public life. There was more talk about him than Paolo Rossi because Rossi made everyone agree, while Maradona pitted each other. Beyond the undoubted caliber of the character – who combined extraordinary soccer talent, a strong personality and an equally undeniable dark side – Maradona’s story brought out the unresolved relationship between Italy and the city that best connotes his identity. : Naples. It was seen when, on the eve of the world semifinal, Diego – heard by many – invited the Neapolitans to cheer him on against Italy. And this was also seen in the reactions to his death. Whoever criticized Maradona was identified as an enemy of Naples and the Neapolitans. A feeling returns to each occasion, a mixture of victimhood and just claim. In 1861, Naples was by far the largest Italian city; with the unification it has lost us, in terms of political centrality; but in the long run the Naples that has conquered Italy, not the other way around. Abroad they think of Italy as an immense Naples: the sun, the sea, the pizza; Pulcinella and precisely Maradona. I like to remember Tot’s cinema, Eduardo’s theater, Pino Daniele’s music. In the big cities of the North, half of the inhabitants have southern blood in their veins. Naples has in itself all the vices and all the national virtues, elevated to the square. She feels despised and abused by the rest of the nation, but perhaps she is not fully aware of the sympathy she awakens at the same time and of her own mythopoetic, myth-making capacity, from literature to fiction.