Barcelona’s plan for ‘Maradona Cup’ branded ‘disrespectful’ after Napoli snub
Barcelona have caused a stir after arranging a special exhibition match in memory of the late Diego Maradona against Boca Juniors — snubbing Napoli from being invited to participate.
The Catalan giants announced the friendly will be played against the Argentinian side on December 14 at Mrsool Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is home to Saudi outfit Al Nassr and can host 25,000 spectators.
It has been named the Maradona Cup in honour of the Argentinian, who passed away at the age of 60 on November 25 last year after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Maradona was widely regarded as the most gifted player of his generation and one of the greatest footballers of all-time, spending his career at Barca, Napoli and Boca Juniors.
He spent the best years of his career with Napoli between 1984 and 1991, winning the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 after his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal.
In his 254 appearances for the Serie A outfit, he scored 115 goals and helped the Partenopei win two Scudettos in 1986-87 and 1989-90.
Maradona earned iconic status in the city of Naples and, following his death, the club’s request to rename the Stadio San Paolo the ‘Stadio Diego Armando Maradona’ was granted in December 2020.
But, despite his heroic reputation in the Italian city, the Blaugrana opted to face Boca Juniors, the club where he made his professional debut and ended his career with.
When details of the fixture emerged on Monday evening, fans took to social media to vent their anger at the arrangements, with several criticising the game as nothing but a money-spinning scheme.
Some Twitter users, such as Francis Portillo, criticised the location of the venue: “I got nothing against this game being played but Saudi Arabia… WHY?!?!”
“Like is there any other reason that’s not money for this game to be played in Saudi Arabia? You could’ve EASILY played this game in Italy at the Stadio Diego Maradona or in Argentina at La Bombonera.”
Another man, Dan Edwards, blasted the “shameless” attempt from both clubs to earn revenue from the fixture by using Maradona’s death.
He tweeted: “Barcelona and Boca's eagerness to play off Maradona's name to earn a quick buck in the Middle East is so brazen and shameless it's actually quite admirable.”
One user, Emanuela, wrote: “Maradona Cup without Napoli… only for money… ridicolous [sic].”
A Barcelona fan even suggested Barca president Joan Laporta arranged the fixture to guarantee Barca would win a trophy.
“Keeping Joan Gamper and Maradona Cup so we don’t go trophy-less. Laporta Masterclass,” they wrote.
Maradona enjoyed a glittering career as a footballer, starting his career at Boca in the 1981-82 season and winning the Metropolitano Championship in his first season.
After moving to Barcelona in 1982 and winning three trophies in his two seasons at Camp Nou, he headed to Napoli in 1984 where the magician made his name.
He returned to Boca to finish his career before hanging up his boots in 1998 and later became a manager for Argentina, Al Wasl and Gimnasia La Plata before resigning from the role in November.
However, he died just weeks after undergoing brain surgery, having suffered a cardiac arrest while he was sleeping.
Source: Read Full Article