Lang's ear gesture at the Maradona widens his rift with Napoli fans
Whistled at every touch against Lazio, he answered both ends of the ground with the same gesture. It goes back to the night in Porto, when he walked past the supporters instead of greeting them.
It started at the Dragão. After the 4-1 defeat to Porto, the squad went over to the travelling fans to apologise. Lang did not. He walked straight to the dressing room to avoid the protest, and against Lazio he was whistled for it. He answered the Curva A (one of the two ends behind the goals) with a finger to his ear, as if to say "I can't hear you". From then on the Maradona whistled him every time he touched the ball.
He made the same gesture to the Curva B after the 1-1, a Pedraza own goal that came from his cross from the left. At the final whistle he again tried to go off alone. His teammates brought him back in front of the Curva B, where he stayed at the back and then left early. The gesture is wrong, even after a good game. Napoli's supporters forgive a mistake. They do not forgive someone who turns his back on them.
Read also Napoli sit tenth on 15 points, 14 behind leaders Lazio
We remember another whistling: Maradona's, on 17 September 1989, back at Fuorigrotta after trying to leave. He took it, even missed a penalty, kept working and led Napoli to their second league title. When Lang arrived, he said he was one of those players who justify the price of a ticket. Now the account is open. The next instalment is Napoli v Torino on Saturday 21 November at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET), again at the Maradona.
Source: AreaNapoli
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