Headhunter, they called him until yesterday. He was a man ahead of his time. with a special vision of football, an international expert who knew how to find geniuses where others only saw a little bit of technique. He was a recruiter of great footballers for Napoli and Juventus for years. Gianni Di Marzio, coach and star finder, has left us. He became famous in the world for getting Maradona for his Naples of the soul. But that signing was made six years earlier, when he received a notice and went to see a young man named Maradona, who shone in Argentinos Juniors. “It was a taxi driver who tipped me off,” he would say when you talked to him with unusual sincerity. “I saw him score three goals in fifteen minutes, dribble past everyone and I wanted to hire him instantly, but Settimio Aloisio (president of Argentinos) refused”, a visionary who knew of his abilities told us frankly. In addition, the president of Napoli, Corrado Ferlaino, did not want to pay the transfer either. Big mistake. What Di Marzio did was start an endless friendship with Diego Armando. I used to send him Napoli jerseys, gifts. And in 1984 he finally managed to get him to sign for his city’s team, which he raised to glory by making him champion in Italy and Europe. A great success from a man who is famous for this success, but who has coached a dozen Italian teams. Maradona’s death was a huge blow for Gianni. He was like his son. “He is already training him in heaven,” his blood son, Gianluca, said yesterday. TOMAS GONZALEZ-MARTIN
