Cultured Lavezzi a new hero in Naples

“It’s like a final,” said Juan Mata yesterday of Chelsea’s match against Napoli.

It is a big match for English football too, with the Premier League threatened by total eclipse in Europe at the hands of unfancied clubs. For Napoli, and for Ezequiel Lavezzi in particular, it is the chance of a new dawn.

For years, Napoli have been sustained, but also burdened, by the memory of Maradona. Naples is like a South American colony for footballers, above all from Argentina. There have been 22 in all, mostly average players, several of them complete flops.