S.S.C. Napoli
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| Full name | Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli SpA |
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| Nickname(s) | Azzurri (blues) Partenopei |
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| Founded | 1904 (Naples Foot-Ball Club) 1926 (AC Napoli) |
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| Ground | Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy (Capacity 78,210) |
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| Chairman |  Aurelio De Laurentiis |
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| Manager | Edoardo Reja |
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| League | Serie A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | Serie A, 8th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as simply Napoli or the abbreviation SSC Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that was originally founded in 1904.[1] The club has spent most of their history in the top tier in Italian football,[1] where they currently play for the 2007–08 season after recently gaining promotion.
Napoli, who play in azure blue shirts with white shorts have won Serie A twice, first in 1986–87 and then again in 1989–90.[1] They have also won Coppa Italia in their home country three times. On the European stage, Napoli have won the UEFA Cup, a triumph which was achieved in 1988–89. Historically, Napoli are the ninth most successful club in Italian football[2] and the most successful in Southern Italy.[2]
The club have had several names changes since first appearing in 1904; one of these was after a merger with another club called Internazionale Napoli. The most recent change was in 2004,[3] when the club went bankrupt but were refounded by film-producer Aurelio De Laurentiis as Napoli Soccer; he restored the name back to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli in early 2006.[1]
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[edit] History
- For more details on this topic, see History of S.S.C. Napoli
The club was first founded as Naples Foot-Ball & Cricket Club in 1904, by English sailor William Poths and his associate Hector M. Bayon.[4][5] Neapolitans such as Conforti, Catterina and Amedeo Salsi were also involved, the latter of which was the club's first president.[6] The original kit of the club comprised of a sky blue and navy blue striped shirt, with black shorts.[7] The name of the club was shortened to Naples Foot-Ball Club in 1906.[8]
Early on, the Italian Football Championship was limited to just Northern clubs, so Southern clubs competed against sailors[4] or in cups such as Sir Thomas Lipton's Lipton Challenge Cup. In the cup competed between Naples and Palermo FBC, Naples won three finals.[9] The foreign contingent at the club broke off in 1912 to form Internazionale Napoli,[4] in time for both club's debut in the Italian Championship of 1912–13.[10] Though the sides had a keen rivalry in the Campania section, they were not as successful outside of it and a few years after World War I they merged as Foot-Ball Club Internazionale-Naples also known as FBC Internaples.[11]
[edit] Associazione Calcio Napoli
Under the presidency of Giorgio Ascarelli, the club changed its name to Associazione Calcio Napoli on 23 August 1926.[12] After a poor start,[13] Napoli began to improve thanks in part to Paraguayan born Attila Sallustro who was the first fully fledged hero to the fans.[14] He was a capable goal-scorer and eventually set the all-time goal-scoring record for Napoli, which still stands today.[15]
Napoli entered the Serie A-era under the management of English coach William Garbutt,[16] during his six year stint the club would be dramatically transformed, frequently finishing in the top parts of the table.[13] This included two third place finishes during the 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons,[13] with added notables such as Antonio Vojak, Arnaldo Sentimenti and Carlo Buscaglia.[17] For the years leading up to World War II Napoli went into decline, surviving relegation in 1939–40 by goal difference.[13]
Napoli lost a closely contested relegation battle by the end of 1942 and were relegated to Serie B. They moved from Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli to Stadio Arturo Collana and stayed in Serie B until after the war. When play continued, Napoli earned the right to compete in Serie A,[13] but were relegated after two seasons. The club bounced back to ensure top flight football at the start of the 1950s.[18] Despite erratic league form with highs and lows during this period, including a further relegation and promotion, Napoli had some cup success when they beat Spal to lift the Coppa Italia in 1962, with goals from Corelli and Ronzon.[19] Their fourth relegation cut celebrations short the following season.[1]
[edit] Napoli on the rise: mid-'60s onwards
As the club changed their name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964[1] they began to rise up again, gaining promotion in 1964–65. Under the management of former player Bruno Pesaola they won the Coppa delle Alpi[1] and were back amongst the elite in Serie A, with consistent top five finishes.[13] Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68, finishing just behind AC Milan in second place.[13] Some of the most popular players from this period were Dino Zoff, José Altafini, Omar Sívori and hometown defender Antonio Juliano. Juliano would eventually break the appearance records, which still stand today.[17]
The trend of Napoli performing well in the league continued into the 1970s, with third place spots in 1970–1971 and 1973–74.[13] Under the coaching of former player Luís Vinício, this gained them entry into the early UEFA Cup competitions; in 1974–75 they reached the third round knocking out FC Porto 2–0 on the way. During the same season Napoli finished second in Serie A; just two points behind champions Juventus.[13] Solid performances from locally born players such as Bruscolotti, Juliano and Esposito were relied upon during this period, coupled with goals from Giuseppe Savoldi.[17]
After beating Southampton 4–1 on aggregate to lift the Anglo-Italian League Cup,[20] Napoli were entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for 1976–77 where they reached the semi-finals.[21] The club won their second Coppa Italia trophy in 1975–76, knocking out AC Milan and Fiorentina en route, before beating rivals Verona 4–0 in the final.[1] In terms of the Italian league, Napoli were still very much a consistent top six side for much of the late 1970s.[13] Even into the earliest two seasons of the 1980s, the club were performing respectably with a third place finish in 1980–81, however by 1983 they had slipped dramatically and were involved in relegation battles.[13]
[edit] The Maradona era
Napoli broke the world transfer record fee, turning to Diego Maradona with a £6.9 million deal from Barcelona in 1984.[22] The squad was gradually re-built, with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Salvatore Bagni and Fernando De Napoli filling the ranks.[17] The rise up the tables was gradual, by 1985–86 they had a third place finish under their belts, but better was yet to come. The 1986–87 season was the landmark in Napoli's history; they won the double, securing the Serie A title by three points and then beating Atalanta 4–0 to lift the Coppa Italia.[1] Because a mainland Southern Italian team had never won the league before, this turned Diego Maradona into a cultural, social and borderline religious icon[23] for Neapolitans, which stretched beyond the realms of just football.[23]
The club were unsuccessful in the European Cup in the following season and finished runners-up in Serie A. However, Napoli were entered into the UEFA Cup for 1988–89 and won their first major European title.[1] Juventus and Bayern Munich were defeated on the way to the final, where Napoli beat VfB Stuttgart 5–4 on aggregate, with two goals from Careca and one each from Maradona, Ferrara and Alemão.[24]
Napoli added their second Serie A title in 1989–90, beating AC Milan by two points in the title race.[1] However, this was surrounded by less auspicious circumstances as Napoli were awarded two points for a game, when in Bergamo an Atalanta fan threw a 100 lira coin at Alemão's head.[13] A controversial set of events set off at the 1990 World Cup, when Maradona made comments pertaining to North-South inequality in the country and the risorgimento, asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the semi-finals against Italy in Naples.[25]
| “ | I don't like the fact that now everybody is asking Neapolitans to be Italian and to support their national team. Naples has always been marginalised by the rest of Italy. It is a city that suffers the most unfair racism. | ” |
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—Diego Armando Maradona, July 1990 |
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Napoli ultras responded by displaying a banner in their curva that read: "Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our homeland".[26] It was the only stadium during the competition where the Argentine national anthem wasn't jeered,[26] Maradona bowed to the Napoli fans at the end and his country went on to reach the final. However, after the final the Italian Football Federation forced Maradona to take a doping test, which he failed testing positive for cocaine; Napoli and he claimed it was a revenge plot for events at the World Cup.[23] Maradona was banned for 15 months and would never play for the club again.[23] The club still managed to win the Supercoppa Italiana that year, with a record 5–1 victory against Juventus, but it would be their last major trophy. In the European Cup however, they went out in the second round.[27]
[edit] Decline and rebirth
Though the club finished fourth during the 1991–92 season,[13] Napoli gradually went into decline after that season, both financially and on the field. Players such as Gianfranco Zola, Daniel Fonseca and Careca had all departed by 1994. Though Napoli did manage to qualify for the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, reaching the third round and in 1996–97 Napoli appeared at the Coppa Italia final, but lost 3–1 to Vicenza.[28] Napoli's league form had dropped lower, and relegation to Serie B came at the end of 1997–98 when they recorded only two wins all season.[13] The club returned to Serie A after gaining promotion in the 1999–00 season, though after a closely contested relegation battle they were relegated back down.[13] They failed to gain promotion following this and slipped further down. By August 2004, Napoli was declared bankrupt with debts estimated up to €70 million [29] To secure football in the city, film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis rebirthed the club under the name Napoli Soccer,[3] as they were not allowed to use their old name. FIGC placed Napoli in Serie C1, where they missed out on promotion after losing a play-off 2–1 to local rivals Avellino.[1]
Despite the fact that Napoli were playing in such a low division, they retained higher average attendances than most of the Serie A clubs, breaking the Serie C attendance record with 51,000 at one game.[30] The following season, they secured promotion to Serie B and De Laurentiis bought back the club's history, restoring its name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli in May 2006.[1] After just one season back in Serie B, they were promoted on the final day, along with fellow sleeping giants Genoa CFC.[31] The 2007–08 season marks the first return of Napoli to Serie A since relegation in 2001.[1] Napoli finished the season placed 8th in the Serie A, enough to secure a place in the Intertoto Cup Third round.
[edit] Players
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For all transfers and loans pertaining to Napoli for the current season, please see; 2007–08 transfers.
[edit] Retired numbers
- 10 –
Diego Armando Maradona, attacking midfielder, 1984–1991[33]
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Presidential history
Below is the official presidential history of Napoli, from when Giorgio Ascarelli took over at the club in 1926, until the present day.[34]
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[edit] Managerial history
Napoli have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team. Here is a chronological list of them from 1926 onwards:[35]
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[edit] Club statistics and records
Antonio Juliano holds Napoli's official appearance record, having made 502 over the course of 16 years from 1962 until 1978.[36] Juliano also holds the record for league appearances with 394.[17] Of the current Napoli squad Francesco Montervino has the most appearances with 124 (as of August 2007).[37] The all-time leading goalscorer for Napoli is Attila Sallustro, with 118 league goals scored.[17] In Serie A the only Napoli player to finish the season as the league's topscorer, known in Italy as the capocannonieri, is Diego Maradona in the 1987–88 season with 15 goals.[38]
The first ever official league game participated in by Napoli was in the sixteenth Italian Football Championship, against Internazionale Napoli; the club won 2–1.[13] The biggest ever victory recorded by Napoli was 8–1 against Pro Patria, in the 1955–56 season of Serie A.[13] Napoli's heaviest championship defeat came during the 1927–28 season when eventual champions Torino beat them 11–0.[13]
Below are appearance and goalscoring records pertaining to Napoli players in the Italian leagues.
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[edit] Colours, badge and nicknames
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| Napoli's current third kit. | |||||||||
As Naples is a coastal city, the colours of the club have always been derived from the blue waters of the Gulf of Naples.[39] Originally while using the name Naples FBC, the colours of the club implemented two shades of blue.[40] Since the 1920s however, a singular blue tone has been used in the form of azure; as thus they share the nickname azzurri with the Italian national side.[41]
One of the nicknames of Napoli is I ciucciarelli which means "the little donkeys", they were given this name after a particularly poor performance during the 1926–27 season. It was originally meant to be derogatory, as the Neapolitan symbol is a rampant black horse,[42] the club however adopted the donkey as a mascot called O Ciuccio, displaying it with pride.[43]
The club badge which Napoli are most famous for is a large N placed within a circle, it can be traced back to Internazionale Napoli who used a similar design on their shirts.[44] Since the club officially adopted the N badge as its representative, Napoli have altered it slightly at various times; sometimes it features the club's name around it, sometimes it does not.[45] The main difference between each badge is the shade of blue used, usually the N is white, though it has previously been gold.[45]
Partenopei is a popular nickname for the club and people from the city of Naples in general.[46] It is derived from Greek mythology where the siren Partenope tried to enchant the hero of the story Odysseus from his ship to Capri. In the story Odysseus had his men tie him to the ship so he was able to resist the song of the sirens; as a result Partenope unable to live with the rejection of love, drowned herself and her body was washed up upon the shore of Naples.[47]
[edit] Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1978–1980 | Puma | None |
| 1981–1982 | Snaidero | |
| 1981–1981 | NR | |
| 1982–1983 | Cirio | |
| 1983–1984 | Latte Berna | |
| 1984–1985 | Linea Time | Cirio |
| 1985–1988 | NR | Buitoni |
| 1985–1991 | Mars | |
| 1991–1994 | Umbro | Voiello |
| 1994–1996 | Lotto | Record Cucine |
| 1996–1997 | Centrale del Latte di Napoli | |
| 1997–1999 | Nike | Polenghi |
| 1999–2003 | Diadora | Peroni |
| 2003–2004 | Legea | Russo Cicciano |
| 2004–2005 | Kappa | Manuale d'amore / Sky Captain / Crash - Contatto fisico / Christmas in Love / Mandi |
| 2005–2006 | Lete | |
| 2005–present | Diadora |
[edit] Supporters and rivalries
Napoli is the fourth[48] most supported football club in Italy with around 9% of Italian football fans supporting the club (according to the important italian Newspaper, Repubblica. Like other top clubs in the country, Napoli's fanbase goes beyond the Italian border; it has been estimated by the club that there are around 5 to 6 million fans worldwide.[49][50]
Napoli have several rivalries, the most significant of which is with Roma. In terms of location Napoli and Roma are quite close, together they compete in the Derby del Sole ("Derby of the Sun"), a rivalry which was at its peak in the 1980s.[51] There are also strong rivalries with Lazio and Hellas Verona,[52] as well as local Campanian ones with Salernitana and Avellino.[51]
Conversely, the fans of Napoli have a long standing friendship with Genoa CFC[52] which goes back to 1982. On the last day of the 2006–07 season, the clubs drew 0–0 ensuring both were promoted back into Serie A; Genoa ultras could be seen holding up banners saying "benvenuto fratello napoletano", meaning Welcome Neapolitan brother.[53] There are also good relationships with fans of Ancona and Palermo.
[edit] Honours
[edit] National titles
Serie A: 2
Coppa Italia: 3
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- Winners: 1990–91
Serie B: 1
Serie C1: 1
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- Champions: 2005–06
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- Winners: 1909; 1911; 1914
- Runners-up: 1910; 1912; 1913
[edit] European titles
UEFA Cup: 1
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- Winners: 1988–89
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- Winners: 1966
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- Winners: 1976
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Storia", CalcioNapoliNet.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Italy -All-Time Table 1898-2002", RSSSF.com, 23 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Luigi e Aurelio De Laurentiis", MyMovies.it, 26 June 2007.
- ^ a b c "Storia Del Club, by Pietro Gentile and Valerio Rossano", Napoli2000.com, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "Willy Garbutt, The Italian Trailblazer", BritishCouncil.org, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "Dal Naples Football Club all'Internaples", SSCNapoli.it, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "La Storia - Periodo 1904 - 1926", Napolissimo, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "Italian Serie A - Napoli", Goal.com, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "I Primi 60 Anni: Dalla Nascita Aalla Coppa Lipton", CuoreRosanero.com, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "La Storia. - Periodo 1904 - 1926 - La Preistoria", Napolissimo, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Napoli", Goal.com, 11 July 2007.
- ^ "A short history of Napoli's roots: The Spark of Life", 'O Ciuccio, 24 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Modena, Panini Edizioni (2005). Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004.
- ^ "Il primo, e ancora indimenticato idolo, dei tifosi partenope", Cronologia, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Storia del Napoli: Gli anni venti e trenta", Vesuvio, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Gli anni '30", YouNapoli.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Napoli Player Statistics. ClubAngloNapulitano. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ "Storia del Napoli (1904 - 1960)", Magico Napoli, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Italy - Coppa Italia History", RSSSF.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Anglo-Italian League Cup", RSSSF.com, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "UEFA Cup Winners' Cup", UEFA.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Finals Countdown: Argentina", U4 The Game, 26 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d "People’s champion", Channel4.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "European Competitions 1988-89", RSSSF.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ Maradona, Diego (2004). El Diego, pg. 165.
- ^ a b Maradona, Diego (2004). El Diego, pg. 166.
- ^ "UEFA European Cup Matches 1990-1991", Xs4All.nl, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Coppa Italia champions - Names and Numbers; soccer", FindArticles.com, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "Napoli declared bankrupt says ANSA", CNN.com, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "De Laurentiis: "Il mio Napoli tra le grandi"", SoloNapoli.com, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "Serie B - Playoff no, playout sì", Eurosport, 24 June 2007.
- ^ La Prima Squadra (Italian). SSCNapoli.it. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
- ^ "Latest news about Diego", VivaDiego.com, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Tutti i Presidenti da Ascarelli a De Laurentiis", SSCNapoli.it, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "Omaggio al Napoli di Giovanni Armillotta", Gloria Eterna Al Napoli, 24 June 2007. (Italian)
- ^ Napoli Football. Kooran. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ Francesco Montervino Statistics. CalcioNapoliNews. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ Italy - Serie A Top Scorers. RSSSF.com. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ "Napoli Calcio", Agenda Online, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "La Storia - Periodo 1904 - 1926", Napolissimo, 23 June 2007.
- ^ "What's In a Nickname? The Answer Is in the Cup", NPR, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "Stemma Provincia di Napoli", Comuni-Italiani, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "A short history of Napoli's roots", 'O Ciuccio, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "Napoli Story", Riccardo Cassero, 24 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Napoli Information", WeltFussballarchiv.com, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "The Story of La Partenope", LaPartenope.net, 24 June 2007.
- ^ "Center of Naples, Italy", Chadab Napoli, 24 June 2007.
- ^ Fonte: [http://www.repubblica.it/2007/08/sezioni/sport/calcio/tifo-contro/tifo-contro/tifo-contro.html
- ^ "De Laurentiis: "Il mio Napoli tra le grandi"", SoloNapoli.com, 29 June 2006.
- ^ "Napoli History", Napoli AZplayers, 29 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Football Derby matches in Italy", FootballDerbies.com, 29 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Italian Ultras Scene", View from the Terrace, 29 June 2007.
- ^ "Genoa and Napoli", SSCNapoli.it, 29 June 2007.
[edit] External links
- (English) / (Italian) Official website
- (English) Ultras Napoli - Videoblog
