Diego Armando Maradona Between secular sainthood and the redemption of Southern Italy
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This contribution examines the figure of Diego Armando Maradona as a symbolic construction and an identity-forming device in 1980s Naples. The champion’s arrival at SSC Napoli in 1984 occurred during a phase of profound socio-economic crisis marked by the aftermath of the earthquake and ongoing deindustrialisation, thereby acting as a catalyst for a process of collective identification. Through a historical and sociological analysis of the urban and footballing context, the essay interprets the “secular sainthood” attributed to Maradona as an expression of Southern redemption within the framework of the persistent North–South divide. The first league title in 1987 thus acquires a metapolitical significance, configuring itself as a symbolic victory against power structures perceived as hegemonic. The player’s charismatic dimension transcends the sporting sphere and consolidates into a global myth capable of fostering pride, belonging, and shared memory, notwithstanding an awareness of his biographical contradictions.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Bifulco, L. (2021). Tra eroismo calcistico, identità e comunità: Maradona, Napoli e il tifo partenopeo. Bibliomanie. Letterature, storiografie, semiotiche, 52(1), 1.
Bifulco, L., Bory, S., Diana, P., & Pecchinenda, G. (Eds.). (2023). Global Maradona: Dall'uomo all'eroe sportivo. Dalla celebrità al mito (Vol. 1). Novalogos.
Bifulco, L., & Dini, V. (Eds.). (2014). Maradona: Sociologia di un mito globale. Associazione Ipermedium Libri.
Bifulco, L., & Pirone, F. (2014). A tutto campo: Il calcio da una prospettiva sociologica. Guida.
Boyle, R. (2023). Maradona and the British media. In P. Brescia & M. Paz (Eds.), Diego Maradona: A socio-cultural study (pp. 6-10). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003196587-7
Brancato, S. (2014). Fenomenologia di Maradona: Il "briccone divino" e l'epica mediale del calcio. In L. Bifulco & V. Dini (Eds.), Maradona: Sociologia di un mito globale (p. 37). Associazione Ipermedium Libri.
Bromberger, C. (1999). La partita di calcio: Etnologia di una passione. Editori Riuniti.
Bromberger, C., Hayot, A., & Mariottini, J.-M. (1995). Le match de football: Ethnologie d'une passion partisane à Marseille, Naples et Turin. Éditions de la MSH. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.editionsmsh.4077
Carotenuto, A. (2017, May 5). I figli del primo scudetto del Napoli si chiamano Diego. La Repubblica.
Cialdini, R. B., Borden, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(3), 366-375. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.34.3.366
Ciriello, M. (2018). Maradona è amico mio. 66th and 2nd.
Maradona, D. A. (2012). Io sono El Diego. Fandango.
Nardi, L. (2025). Maradona, secular god of the Mediterranean: Sporting legend and identity cohesion in post-championship Naples. International Journal of Social Sciences & Education, 15, 38-43.
Pecchinenda, G. (2023). Essere Maradona: L’umana fragilità di un eroe. In L. Bifulco, S. Bory, P. Diana, & G. Pecchinenda (Eds.), Global Maradona: Dall’uomo all’eroe sportivo. Dalla celebrità al mito (pp. 35–54). Novalogos.
Piacci, G. (2025). A Napoli con Maradona: Non sarò mai una città comune. Giulio Perrone Editore.
Serra, M. (2015). Maradona entre la tierra y el cielo. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación, 20, 14-19. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_CIYC.2015.v20.49538
Vauchez, A. (1981). Santità. In R. Romano (Ed.), Enciclopedia Einaudi (Vol. 12, Ricerca-Socializzazione, p. 445). Giulio Einaudi.