Shock in Italy with a news item echoed by the local press. They have found living on the street to Pietro Puzone, who is currently 57 years old, a former soccer player who was a Diego Maradona in his time at Naples.
In addition to Maradona, within that team led by Ottavio Bianchi names like Ciro Ferrara, Andrea Carnevale, Bruno Giordano and Salvatore Bagni, among others.
(+) Pietro Puzone organized a charity match for a boy from his town who needed an operation with Maradona
Puzone He lived spectacular years with the Argentine crack. Born out of the Neapolitan quarry, he did not play any matches that season, since he was the fourth forward, so he settled for seeing how his teammates triumphed.
However, life has not smiled as much as expected.
According to reports ‘La Gazzetta dello Spor
t’, Puzone He is a homeless man who sleeps on the street, in Acerra, a municipality located 14 kilometers northeast of Naples. Puzone's career was discreet but he fell into addictions that ended up bringing down his future.
His friendship with Maradona it was very narrow. As reported the newspaper ‘Il Mattino’, both established a “strong bond, especially off the field.” The newspaper affirms that both participated in “nights marked by transgression.”
They also say that he consoled Diego after he failed a definition penalty against Toulouse, which cost Napoli the elimination in the first round of the UEFA Cup 1986-87.
Pietro Puzone he retired from professional football in the 1996-97 season, defending the US Boys Calvanese jersey. While his sports career lasted, he played in clubs like Cavese, Akragas Calcio, Catania and AC Spezia. The vast majority of these teams were active at that time in Serie B.
The Mayor of Acerra, Raffaele Lettieri, explained in La Gazzetta: “We dealt with him in May, in the Covid-19 emergency, and previous conversations he had with the drug addiction service did not work. If his former teammates made him feel important, it could be a good encouragement. “