Serie A sides will show Diego Maradona’s iconic ‘Live is Life’ warm-up on big screens as teams prepare for kick-off this weekend… with stars wearing black armbands and taking part in a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the Napoli legend
Diego Maradona‘s famous ‘Live is Life’ warm-up will be shown on big screens at Serie A grounds this weekend as Italian football pays tribute to the Napoli legend.
The former Argentina star died at the age of 60 on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at home, just two weeks after he was released from hospital following surgery for a bleed on his brain.
Napoli, the club where Maradona became a hero between 1984 and 1991, marked his tragic death on Thursday night by lighting up their San Paolo Stadium blue before their Europa League win over Rijeka.
Diego Maradona’s famous ‘Live is Life’ warm-up will be shown on big screens by Serie A clubs
Napoli lit up their San Paolo Stadium to honour Maradona following his death on Wednesday
And now the rest of Italy’s top-flight clubs will get a chance to pay tribute to the World Cup winner when domestic football returns this weekend.
Players will wear black armbands and take part in a minute’s silence before kick-off – just as clubs in European action have done over the last two days.
Top-flight sides will also show an image of Maradona on their big screens in the 10th minute of games, in reference to the famous No 10 shirt he wore for Napoli, Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Argentina.
They will also show Maradona’s iconic warm-up from the 1989 UEFA Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich on their big screens.
Every Napoli player wore the No 10 shirt with Maradona on the back before kick-off
Maradona led Napoli to two league titles between 1984 and 1991, plus the UEFA Cup in 1989
With ‘Live is Life’ by Opus blaring around the Olympiastadion in Munich, Maraona danced around, juggled the ball and balanced it on his head with extraordinary ease before kick-off.
He then helped Napoli reach the final with a 2-2 draw against Bayern, before scoring once in a 5-4 aggregate win over Stuttgart to seal the club’s first and only European trophy.
Ajax star Nicolas Tagliafico paid a special tribute to his compatriot by mimicking his memorable warm-up before his side’s clash with FC Midtjylland on Wednesday.
Tagliafico, who is an Argentina international, paid homage to Maradona by dancing around, shaking his legs out on the spot and performing keepy-ups to the same music – just like Maradona did over 20 years ago.
Nicolas Tagliafico (left) paid tribute to Diego Maradona by mimicking his iconic warm-up routine from the 1989 UEFA Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich (right)
The same music which played when Maradona warmed up in 1989 was playing on Wednesday
