Diego Demme has admitted “it was nice” to help his team with his first Napoli goal last weekend and revealed coach Gennaro Gattuso was one of his “idols”.
After a turbulent season so far Napoli have started to gel under Gattuso and are currently 10th in Serie A on 30 points.
Demme, who scored during the 4-2 win against Sampdoria, has been compared to Diego Maradona, mostly because of his first name, and reveals he is named after the Argentine hero.
Diego Demme has admitted “it was nice” to help his team with his first Napoli goal last weekend and revealed coach Gennaro Gattuso was one of his “idols”.
After a turbulent season so far Napoli have started to gel under Gattuso and are currently 10th in Serie A on 30 points.
Demme, who scored during the 4-2 win against Sampdoria, has been compared to Diego Maradona, mostly because of his first name, and reveals he is named after the Argentine hero.
“It was nice to score and help the team,” Demme told Sky Sport Italia. “I don’t want to be compared to Maradona; he was the best in the world.
“My father was a huge fan and my name is Diego.”
The 28-year-old himself admired his new coach, the former Milan player Gattuso, when he grew up.
“Myself, I was a fan of [Gennaro] Gattuso and [Andrea] Pirlo instead. They were a very great pair.
“One fought, the other had great technique. They were my idols.”
Demme is focused on making an impact at the Partenopei and said the team have to focus on reaching the magic 40-point mark and then they can aim for a place in Europe.
“We are changing and the whole team are working hard at the training ground,” he said. “We have more quality in the middle, but I am only a small part of the group.
“We have to get to 40 points as soon as possible and then think about the European targets.”