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Napoli great Diego Maradona returns to Italy to clear his name in tax evasion case

By: The Associated Press

Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 at 2:29 PM | Comments: 0

Diego Armando Maradona makes his way through journalists as he arrives in Naples, Italy, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. Maradona is in Naples to attend a TV show and a press conference. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

NAPLES, Italy - Diego Maradona returned to Italy on Monday in a bid to clear his name in a tax evasion case.

The 1986 World Cup winner with Argentina landed in Rome dressed in black and wearing dark glasses before heading straight to Naples, where he will hold a news conference Tuesday morning.

Maradona's Italian debts of nearly €40 million (more than $50 million) stem from alleged unpaid taxes during the time he played for Napoli from 1984-91, a period in which he helped the club win its only two Serie A titles.

His lawyer, Angelo Pisani, recently said his client won the dispute. But the collection agency issued a statement earlier this month saying it had not "annulled, declared extinct, nor modified" Maradona's debts.

Fellow passengers scrambled to get near the star when they recognized him as they disembarked the plane. One particular fan caught Maradona's eye as he took a photo of him on a camera phone with a Juventus cover.

"When Juventus played against us they were always scared," Maradona joked.

Dozens of supporters wearing Napoli colours turned up to greet their hero with songs about him from his playing days. Amid the frenzy, Maradona and Pisani — who met his client at the airport — were ushered by police into an awaiting car and drove off to Naples' Hotel Royal.

Maradona came out onto the balcony to wave to about 300 chanting fans. When they started singing "who doesn't jump is a Juventus fan," the 52-year-old Argentine immediately started jumping.

Maradona will reportedly fly to Dubai late Tuesday but will return to Naples for Friday's match against title rival Juventus.

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