Maradona left Barcelona for the Azzurri, though Marino admits it was a crowded field to land the Argentine icon.
“At the time, I was the youngest director in Serie A and to celebrate Avellino’s safety, I drew up a contract with Barcelona worth $100,000 to play a friendly if they brought Maradona along,” Marino told Radio Serie A.
“Just eight days before the match, the intermediary who worked on the deal – FIFA agent Riccardo Fuiga – arrived in my office to warn me Barcelona were coming, but without Diego, because he’d had a row with the club. He told me to figure something out for the 40,000 spectators coming.
“So, Fuiga proposed that I try to get someone in the Italian market to pick up Maradona. The only clubs who could afford him were Juventus, Sampdoria and Inter. I called all three, but none of them accepted. They all turned me down.
“Fuiga was stunned, he said how is it possible we’re offering Maradona and can’t find a club?”
Marino was convinced Napoli would benefit from Maradona's arrival, despite the outlay needed.
“A few nights before, I had been at dinner with Antonio Juliano, the director of Napoli, who told me they were looking for a foreign player. I called him, initially he said no, but 10 minutes later called back.
“The next morning, we organised a meeting. And the rest is history.”