Yes, Maradona really is a God on the soccer pitch. Having never won a major tournament, ailing football giant SSC Napoli had criminally underachieved. Their fanatical support was unequalled in both passion and size. None was more feared. But how they ached for success…
On 5th July 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee and for seven years all hell broke loose. The world’s most celebrated football genius and the most dysfunctional city in Europe were a perfect match for each other. Maradona was blessed on the field but cursed off it; the charismatic Argentine, quickly led Naples to their first-ever title.
It was the stuff of dreams. But there was a price… Diego could do as he pleased whilst performing miracles on the pitch, but when the magic faded he became almost a prisoner of the city. The third film from the Academy Award and BAFTA-winning team behind Senna and Amy, the film will be constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive and in the style of Senna and Amy, will be a high-end and definitive feature documentary made with the full support of Maradona.
In a city where the devil would have needed bodyguards, Maradona became bigger than God himself. This is the wild and unforgettable story of God-given talent, glory, despair and betrayal, of corruption and ultimately redemption. Watch the new Diego Maradona documentary directed by Asif Kapadia on HBO. Here’s the trailer.
What’s interesting too is how much exposure Puma gets in this film. By signing Maradona way back then to a sponsorship deal, which must have been one of the first or biggest deals made at that time, they got tons of exposure for their gear. I wonder how much of a fight there was between adidas, Nike and Puma to sign Maradona. There are some great old school type shirts and jerseys and shoes that Maradona wears in the documentary.
