Diego Armando Maradona Junior has resigned as manager of Napoli United after four months of non-payment that they were too much for the son of the famous Argentine footballer, who assured that he could not stand “still in the face of so much injustice”.
“How strange it is to have a passion, make it your job, train, commit every day and not get paid,” he said emphatically in a statement on his official Instagram account.
Maradona Junior took charge of Napoli United in 2021, an amateur team that was born in 2009 with the aim of creating and promoting social inclusion through sport by involving immigrants, asylum seekers and young people at risk of exclusion residing in the territory of Metropolitan City of Naples.
Almost two seasons into his coaching adventure, the son of the Argentine champion was forced to leave the project after four months of non-payment, a path he defined with a metaphor: “From the stars to the stables”.
“I could summarize my experience at Napoli United like this. A club that I respect and love since it was born. The stars, in the stomach, from that phone call in June 2021 in which the president Antonio Gargiulo asked me to become the coach of the first team. Thank you, 10 times thank you, for the opportunity you gave me, “he explained in a statement on his social networks.
“The first, a fantastic year, everything in its place, everything was pushing in the same direction. A few defeats, many victories. The way to the semi-finals of the ‘playoffs’, the highest goal ever achieved by Napoli United,” he added. .
A first year of work, that of the “stars”, which was followed by the descent to the “stables”, a situation of economic crisis for the club which made its continuity unsustainable.
“The second year, that of unpaid salaries for the team and players. Four months, more than 100 days without receiving any money. Work has been affected, even personal relationships. There are guys in the team who are thousands of kilometers from home and from Napoli United I left them without a penny to buy, without food, in one case even without hot water for several days. I couldn’t resist, I couldn’t stand still in the face of so much injustice. Integrate, welcome and leave people without food It’s quite shocking,” he said.
“So ten times thank you for giving me the opportunity to train, but no, I won’t. They are gone. And my relationships, including personal ones, with those who lied to me for months, adding one lie after another, adding one ‘I’ll pay the boys’ after another, they’re done,” he ruled.
Napoli United also issued a statement to greet the coach: “After a long discussion and with great regret, we have had to accept the resignation of coach Diego Armando Maradona Jr. and his team.”
“We recognize their great professionalism in the last two years, especially in a difficult moment, both from an organizational and economic point of view. We wish them the best for the future in this world which we know is difficult but which needs more professionals like them” , noted the Italian club.
