A year after the death of Diego Maradona, his personal trainer and friend Fernando Signorini talks about how his poor origins shaped the future world star, what made him a myth, and why drugs tragically offered him an outlet.
One of the many fantastic anecdotes that Fernando Signorini tells in his recently published book “Diego desde adentro” (in German: “Diego from inside”) is one from 1985. Diego Armando Maradona, then a player at SSC Napoli, had met Have to undergo the mandatory medical check before the start of the season, which also included a blood sample. The nurse took more blood from Maradona than necessary, separated some of it into a small glass and brought it to the cathedral in Naples. He placed it next to the ampoule with the blood of the city saint, San Gennaro, which has been kept there for centuries. Every September 19th there is the so-called “blood miracle” to marvel at in the Duomo: the dried blood of the martyr liquefies and turns red. “On all other 364 days the believers seem to be praying to another saint. To one who has now been dead for a year,” writes Signorini, 71, who was Maradona’s personal fitness trainer for decades and currently works at Chivas Guadalajara in Mexico.