Maradona to try to give Napoli a boost against Real Madrid
MADRID — Diego Maradona couldn’t do much on the field to keep Napoli from being eliminated by Real Madrid the last time the teams met in a European competition.
Almost 30 years later, though, he will be at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium trying to cheer the Italian club to its greatest Champions League achievement.
Maradona was Napoli’s biggest star in that European Cup encounter in 1987, when Madrid won 3-1 on aggregate. On Wednesday, he will be the team’s symbolic No. 1 fan.
Maradona and about 10,000 Napoli supporters made the trip to Madrid for what could be a historic moment for the club in Europe’s top team competition. Napoli has a chance to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history.