Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterFew players have transformed a club as Diego Maradona did for Napoli. After winning two trophies in their first six decades, Napoli won five in six seasons with Maradona. Maradona's face still adorns the city walls today, and his legacy is etched into the hearts of Napoli supporters like Enzo Demme.Enzo was seven when he left Italy for Germany, carving out a playing career that took him as high as the 3. Bundesliga. Despite living in Germany, he never stopped supporting Napoli or idolizing Maradona. Even as he was serving a 15-month suspension for cocaine, Demme paid homage to Maradona by naming his son Diego.Diego followed in Enzo's footballing footsteps with Arminia Bielefeld and Paderborn before spurring RB Leipzig from the third tier to the Champions League. However, silverware eluded the Leipzig captain, whose closest brush with glory ended in defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2018/19 DFB-Pokal Final.Diego Demme: From Maradona's Namesake to Napoli's ScudettoWith Leipzig sitting atop the Bundesliga and challenging for their maiden championship, Demme made the surprising decision to join a Napoli side in crisis in January 2020. He established himself as a midfield linchpin, winning the 2019/20 Coppa Italia and ending their six-year trophy drought.After claiming their fourth trophy of the post-Maradona era, Demme helped Napoli go from seventh to fifth to third to first in Serie A, winning the 2022/23 Scudetto with five games remaining. Unlike in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions kept supporters apart, Napoli fans could finally take to the streets and celebrate their team's triumph together. You may like Diego Maradona Jnr on life as the son of a footballing icon 'When Gattuso hugs you before a game, it gives you a crazy kick. He was my idol, then all of a sudden I was playing for him 'Fans threw a severed bulls head onto the pitch in protest. It only motivated us more Ex-Bundesliga man reveals craziest tales from time representing Germany's most-hated club WILD CELEBRATIONS in Naples as Napoli win the third Scudetto in its history - YouTubeWatch On "We won at Udinese and flew back to Napoli, and the whole airport was closed because there were too many people at the airport," stated Demme in an exclusive FourFourTwo interview. "We went to the military airport, and there were still so many people."Napoli fans had spent 33 years wondering whether the sun would shine on them again after Maradona. 30 months after Maradona's untimely passing, they had finally found their answer.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over."I can't explain the sensation of winning the Scudetto, because it was unbelievable. We were driving from the airport, and behind the bus, there were 200 scooters in the tunnel. They were next to each other, and there was no space, and everybody was celebrating. I was like, Wow, if something happens, then there will be a domino effect, and everyone will fall."For Enzo, it was the culmination of a lifelong love affair with Napoli. Having watched from afar as Maradona inspired their first Scudetti in 1987 and 1990, he could finally celebrate the title in Naples alongside the son he'd named after his footballing hero."My father was crying because it was so emotional for him, because of the whole Maradona story and the Scudetto," added Demme. "Today, when I see the pictures, I think of how wonderful it was. It was a crazy night. We were celebrating with the whole city, and it was great."For a man who had spent nearly his entire life away from Italy, it was a poignant homecoming. The seven-year-old boy who had carried his adoration for Napoli across the Alps had lived long enough to see his son restore his team to the promised land.Demme left the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in 2024, spending two years at Hertha Berlin before retiring last month. He's still keeping his Napoli roots alive as the co-owner of two Neapolitan pizzerias in Berlin, and he plans to open another in Tbilisi with ex-teammate Khvicha Kvaratshkelia.Three decades after being named after Napoli's greatest hero, Diego Demme has come full circle. Football brought him back to his father's homeland, and even after hanging up his boots, he's ensuring that a slice of Naples will always remain with him.TOPICSDiego DemmeZach LowySocial Links NavigationAfter getting his big breakthrough as the co-founder of the football analytics website Breaking The Lines, Zachary Lowy has been able to tap into his footballing expertise for a number of esteemed outlets like ESPN, FotMob, The Times, The Independent and Urban Pitch. Since joining FourFourTwo as a freelancer in 2025, Lowy has been able to cover a wide range of topics from analyzing the sweeping changes to the MLS season to interviewing key figures like Asamoah Gyan and Rob Holding. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, Lowys versatile skillset has allowed him to traverse a number of different fields when covering major competitions like the FIFA Club World Cup. In addition to football, he is also a seasoned participant of other sports like pickleball, tennis, and volleyball.
