Napoli players don Maradona's No. 10 jersey before Rijeka clash

Naples (Italy) (AFP) – Napoli’s players honoured club legend Diego Maradona on Thursday by stepping out onto the pitch wearing his number 10 jersey ahead of their Europa League match with Rijeka.

Captain Lorenzo Insigne had earlier led the tributes alongside fans gathered outside the San Paolo Stadium before the game, Napoli’s first since Maradona’s death at the age of 60 on Wednesday.

All wearing black armbands, the team also wore Maradona’s iconic jersey during the team presentation and minute’s silence, under a photo projected on a large screen of the man who led Napoli to league titles in 1987 and 1990 and the UEFA Cup in 1989.

Throughout the day, supporters thronged in front of the San Paolo stadium, which could soon be renamed in honour of Maradona. 

“I believe it is right to baptise the San Paolo with your name to still have you with us,” wrote club president Aurelio de Laurentiis on the club’s website.

A plaque was put up on the gates of the stadium which read “Diego Armando Maradona Stadium” and bore the face of the fans’ Argentine hero.

Blue-white scarves, flowers, photos of Maradona and shirts stamped with number 10 were left in memory of the player whose seven seasons between 1984-1991 left an indelible mark on Neapolitans.

An hour before kick-off, there were still several hundred fans singing in front of the stadium.

Other Neapolitans, even more numerous, gathered in Piazza del Plebiscito in the centre of Naples. 

Shortly before the match, Insigne and former Napoli storekeeper, Tommaso Starace, left the stadium to join the tributes by laying a wreath at the foot of the gates.

“Maradona means a lot, not just to me but to all Neapolitans. He has always stood up for us, he has always held us in his heart and we must do the same,” said Insigne.

A few hundred fans remained outside the stadium during the game but most left before kick-off.

The Europa League match against Croatian team Rijeka took place behind closed doors, like all matches in Italy because of the coronavirus pandemic.