Talk to Diego Maradona Jr.. (36) is an experience that mobilizes. From Naples, locked in his room and with the noise of his two children in the background, the son of Diego Maradona and Italian Christian Sinagra He is the living image of the best footballer of all time.
The tone of his voice, his slogans, his gestures and even a certain posture of his body, carry the constant memory of the man who died on November 25, 2020 become a legend.
But Diego Jr. is also moving for what he represents on a human level. He lived almost 30 years without being recognized by his father and was able to transform that rejection into love and pride. “It was useless to be in the past”, he says today, focused on his new life as a coach, always linked to his passion, which is football.
In his video call dialogue with Clarionewill remember his first and last interview with Diego Sr. He will talk about those fateful days when the death of his father found him hospitalized, with covid, without the possibility of receiving the embrace of his wife and mother of his two children , Nunzia Pennino. She will retrace her recent trip to Buenos Aires, when she was finally able to visit her father’s grave in a Bella Vista cemetery. And she will confirm something that until now was believed to be a myth: the role of Pope francesco in the approach of Maradona and his heirs.
This October 10, 10 out of 10, the aura of Maradona also appears on the calendar which is present in murals, T-shirts, songs, tattoos, videos and much more. It is a date for the tributes and the official announcement of the party for peace for November 14, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, the occasion in which the memory of Diego will be the protagonist. The sporting event, as always, is promoted by Scholas Ocurrentes, an organization created by the Supreme Pontiff.
“Many tributes have been made for my father, but none of the kind. We will be with all my brothers for the first time and the most important thing is that the money raised will be for the people who need it, that’s what he would have liked. moreover.” my father, “explains Diego Jr., with enthusiastic Maradonian emphasis.
In the 2022 edition, established and former players are expected on the field. José MourinhoDT of Rome and an admirer of Diego, he will be one of the figures who will come to contribute his grain of sand to collaborate in the charitable cause. Ciro Immobile Y Ronaldinho they will also say present.
In the 2016 edition, Diego Jr. played alongside his father. On this occasion, already retired from football (he played in the minor leagues in Italy), he will show his new facet, that of a coach. A fan of Napoli, he directs Napoli United, an amateur team that keeps him in the sights of the club he loves. Diego Jr. knows that his surname is a holy word and allows him to open the doors but he chooses to work, prepare and dedicate himself completely to his new task. The opportunity will come.
“I am full of the team I am managing, combining my life as a coach and everyday life with my children and my wife, fortunately very happy. But football takes a lot of time. To do this job well, you have to dedicate yourself 24 hours a day. . It was a big change from my time as a player, when you were on the pitch for two hours and that’s it. Now I spend all day thinking about things that can happen, seeing how the boys are doing, how to set up a game, choose who plays, it is very difficult but it is a passion … “, explains Diego Jr., with a very fluent Spanish.
-What is your dream as a coach?
-The always dream is to lead Napoli, which is the team of my life. And I feel that one day I will make it happen. But of course I also have the illusion of managing Argentine football, of being able to reach the top. The only club I would not manage is Juventus, I don’t even go with the gun pointed in my head.
-Are you a River fan, would you run Boca?
-This costs me but in Argentina I would have no problem managing any team. Despite being a River fan, I logically prefer River to Boca.
-When and how was that love for River born in you?
– Look, I’m from 86. I started watching Argentine football when River had the pair Saviola and Aimar. And at that time you were Aimar or Riquelme, and I’ve always been an Aimar fan. By eliminating my old man, who was, is and will be the greatest in the world, my idol has always been Pablo Aimar. Watching him I became a River fan, and that doesn’t change.
-Has it influenced in any way that your father was so identified with Boca that you became a River fan?
-No, because at that age I knew my father had played for Boca but nothing else. On the other side of the world I didn’t really know what he generated, as I obviously understand today. It always made me nervous that people came up to me to tell me that I had played against River to go against my father. It’s a lie. Because all my life I have done the opposite: seek meeting points with my old man, not break up with him. But hey, people talk and don’t know.
-People give you good vibes.
– Forget it, I am very grateful to the Argentines. They have always treated me well. I lived there for a year, I have an Argentine passport and I am proud of it. I have always felt inside me a great sense of belonging, when I am in Buenos Aires I feel at home.
-You speak very well in Spanish, how did you do it?
-Look, when I was 13 or 14 and the Argentine media started calling me to ask me for notes, I didn’t understand anything. And that bothered me. I wanted to express myself and couldn’t explain what I was thinking. I started watching shows without subtitles, listened to match reports and gradually learned. When I was living there, in 2016, when I was in Dancing Marcelo (Tinelli), who helped me.
-I saw a picture of you recently in the Forest, did you go to see gymnastics?
-Yes … Look, with Gymnastics it is very difficult what it generates for me. My old man was very happy in gymnastics, we were all very happy thanks to gymnastics. And I am so grateful to the people of Gimnasia, for all the love they gave my old man. Unfortunately, it was the last stage in my old man’s life. And he gives me the peace that in his last leg he had a fan and people who really loved him. They always put him in the bank, in the good times, in the bad … I’m grateful to him and always will be. Whenever I go to Argentina I will always find time to go to the Forest to hug and greet the people of Gimnasia.
-What did you feel on the pitch, did you manage to wear the Wolf shirt, did you come into contact with your old man?
-I didn’t wear the shirt because they gave me an M and it didn’t fit me, haha. It was a very big emotion. I feel that my father is always by our side, by my side, my brothers, my children, my wife. And he will always be with us, in Argentina, Naples or anywhere in the world. Obviously there are places where we will have more emotions and the Forest is one of these places.
-On this last trip you were able to visit him for the first time at the Cemetery, right?
Yes, it was one of the saddest things in my life, if not the saddest. It is a very sad thing. There aren’t many words to explain it. It was a very sad day.
-Here in Argentina and there in Naples your father reappears everywhere, how does a child feel when faced with the constant memory of the absence of a loved one?
-I feel tremendous pride because I feel my old man gave people joy. And this is something that is very difficult to find today. We live in a world where the most famous athletes say yes to everything, bow their heads in front of the greatest powers, right? And he was always on the side of the people, thinking of the people, of the weakest. This is a great pride. Beyond what it was for people, it was also great for us, for his family. Those of us who knew him from the inside were able to enjoy what he was like when he was our father, when he was Diego. A wonderful person.
– Do your children have any idea who their grandfather was?
-Yes, yes … Every time they see a mural or a photo they sing the song but change the text. Instead of “I saw Maradona” they say “I saw Nono Diego”. Yes, you know, not much because one of them is 4 years old and the youngest will be 3 in a few days. They are not sure who he was, but they know that he was their grandfather and that he was a legend.
-Do you remember the last chat you had with your old man?
-The last time we spoke was the day after his head surgery. She was fine, she laughed, she joked with me. Jana called me, with a video call. It was little, then unfortunately I took the covid and I didn’t tell him anything, I didn’t want to worry him. He was no longer very well. And then I couldn’t talk anymore because I was in a bed, with oxygen. On the day of his death I was still hospitalized.
-Who informed you of his death?
-I saw it on television, they broke the news and I called my wife. We started calling Argentina, but no one answered me. Until at some point they took care of her and told her it was true. I always keep the good memory of her, she made us laugh a lot. With us, at home, in privacy.
-I already asked you about the last conversation, do you remember the first one they had?
-The first was when I was 17, when I was a boy. But then we met in Argentina, when I was already 29 or 30 years old. Look, I’ve never talked much about the past with him. We were always enjoying the present. He couldn’t go back, it was totally useless.
Did they talk about football?
-Puff … With him I talked every minute about football, all the time, we talked about a lot and I learned a lot with him. Especially how to talk to the players, how to motivate them, this helped me. And that I keep forever.
The role of the Pope in his life
The Peace Party of November 14 is promoted by Pope Francis, and the figure of the Supreme Pontiff is closely linked to the life of Diego Jr. During the video call with Clarín, he shows that he has a picture in his room with the image of his Argentine father.
“We are all Catholics and I like Pope Francis very much. In view of the Peace Party we will have an audience with him and it will be a great emotion to be there with my brothers and my children”. says Diego …
-Is it true that Pope Francis has interceded for your father to review his attitude towards you and decide to give you a place in his life?
– They confirmed it to me a couple of weeks ago. The person who organizes the party together with Scholas Occurrentes, is a person very close to the Pope. And the other day he confirmed that Francisco had something to do with my father’s decision, but not only with me, but with all children my father had and with whom he did not speak.
-Do you remember how you felt that day when you arrived at your grandparents’ chalet to be reunited with your father?
-It is one of the most beautiful images of my life, I have a photo taken with that photo. They were seconds where we were both really happy. These are beautiful things that stay with you throughout your life.
Source: Clarin
