Diego Armando Maradona came to Naples in 1984 and that was where he achieved his greatest success.

In the southern Italian club, he won two league titles, an Italian cup title and the Uefa Cup before leaving in 1991.

But he could have come to the club much earlier.

SVT has spoken with the football journalist Gianluca di Marzio, whose father Gianni wanted to take Maradona to Naples in 1978.

- It was 1978. My father was a coach in Naples.

He went to Buenos Aires to watch the World Cup.

He was there with the other coaches, Trapattoni (then at Juventus) was one of them.

- Dad received many phone calls from Settimio Aloisio who was then chairman of Argentinos Juniors where Maradona played.

Aloisio was from Catanzario in Calabria (Italian region) and my dad had been the coach for Catanzario, so they had a strong bond.

He often called and said he wanted Dad to see a young guy, but Napoli's coach gets a lot of calls so he did not want to go.

He wanted to watch World Cup matches, not a little guy.

Then Settimio Aloisio went to Dad's hotel with flowers and a bottle of champagne and prayed and prayed.

Dad said 'okay, I'll come'.

"He did not want to meet anyone"

Gianni di Marzio went to a small plane in Buenos Aires where a friendly match had been arranged just so that di Marzio could see Maradona.

But Maradona was not there.

- My dad said 'will you take me to this pitch without me seeing him play?

Why should I be here? '

Maradona was at home and angry that he had been poked late by the Argentine World Cup squad.

He did not want to meet anyone, says Gianluca di Marzio.

Gianni di Marzio and Aloisio went home to Maradona, to Villa Fiorito, and tried to persuade him.

- Napoli's coach is here.

"He must see how skilled you are," Aloisio told Maradona.

Then Maradona agreed to go to the pitch.

"The price was low"

Gianluca di Marzio says:

- He played 15-20 minutes and was incredible.

He got off the field and then Dad gave him a little note from the hotel and said 'sign here and come to Naples with me.

I'm talking to the President of Naples and it's resolved. '

They spent a few days together in Argentina, says Gianluca Di Marzio and continues:

- Then the father of Naples' president, Corrado Ferlaino, called and said that he had found the new Omar Sivori (former star).

The price was low.

That was $ 300,000.

The rules for foreigners in Serie A at the time meant that Maradona had not been able to come directly, so Ferlaino was hesitant.

- He said 'He's too young.

We can not spend this money on a player who comes in two years. '

My father did not succeed in persuading Ferlaino to buy Maradona, says Gianluca di Marzio.

"He has regretted it all his life"

Gianni Di Marzio's dream of coaching Maradona in Naples died when he left the club in 1979. The same president Ferlaino bought Maradona from Barcelona instead five years later.

- In the first interview that Maradona did on the way from Barcelona to Naples, the journalist asked why he chose Napoli.

Then Maradona replied 'because Gianni di Marzio talked about Napoli in 1978. That was fate'.

Since then, my dad always talks about that moment.

He was the first to try to get Maradona to Italy and he is happy about that, but all his life he has regretted that he was never allowed to train Maradona, says Gianluca.

Father Gianni di Marzio's dream never came true, but his son Gianlucas did.

As a child, Gianluca di Marzio met Diego Maradona several times, but it took many years before they would meet again.

That was when Gianluca became a star journalist and in connection with the European Championship premiere in 2016 would do his first interview with the football star.

- I knew Diego's manager, so I asked where he would eat after the match.

I wanted to fulfill my dream of interviewing him.

The manager sent the name of the restaurant and said 'We can only hope that Diego does not drink too much during the match'.

After a couple of drinks Diego got angry and then the manager said 'we can only hope, but I can not promise you an interview'.

Then he came to the restaurant and I said I was Gianni di Marzio's son.

Then Diego stopped and said 'okay, no problem, we do the interview'.

It was the most beautiful day of my working life.