Ospina retires at 38 with a farewell to Napoli

The Colombian goalkeeper spent four seasons at Napoli, played 103 games and won the 2020 Coppa Italia against Sarri's Juventus.

by Rosaria CimminoWednesday 4 November, 16:25 CET· 2 hours ago

Ospina — Foto: bleacherreport.com

David Ospina has retired from professional football at 38. The Colombian goalkeeper announced his decision on Wednesday 4 November in a video posted on his social media accounts.

The clip looks back at the main stages of an international career that lasted more than 20 years, with special thanks to every club that believed in him. His words for Napoli were emotional, and one line spread quickly among the club's supporters: "Napoli, a passion you can't explain, you live it."

"Napoli, a passion you can't explain, you live it."

Ospina was at Napoli from 2018 to 2022. He played 103 games and won the 2020 Coppa Italia (Italy's cup competition), the pandemic year, beating Sarri's Juventus in the final. The club replied on Instagram with "Grazie patron" ("Thank you, patron"), the nickname he carried in Naples. Former teammates also paid tribute, from Politano and Di Lorenzo to Mertens.

His goodbye came on the day of Porto-Napoli, three days after the 2-0 in Turin. On the eve of the match Politano admitted: "We keep falling back into the same mistakes." The passion Ospina talks about now has to come from the players wearing the shirt, at the Dragão at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET) on Wednesday 4 November.