How Serie A leaders Napoli became Europe’s best team
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Every week, Luis Miguel Echegaray offers his latest thoughts from the world of football. You have the analysis; now comes LME’s commentary.
Welcome to The Tap-In.
A ballad for Napoli
There’s a scene in “Maradona,” Asif Kapadia’s wonderful documentary about the iconic Argentine player, that essentially paints the perfect picture of Napoli as a cathedral of Italian football. It’s actually the opening sequence.
It was the summer of 1984 and moments after his arrival to the city, Maradona entered the Stadio Sao Paolo (which was renamed after the man himself passed in 2020) where more than 75,000 Neapolitans greeted him with overwhelming warmth.
At the time, the city felt the unwanted child of Italy, forced to accept its role as the proverbial “peasant” while the North sneered. Maradona’s introduction, therefore, represented the beginning of a new chapter for him and Napoli. This was a revolution for a mainland Southern team, and the people were ready to create history. The noise inside the stadium was overwhelming and Maradona soaked it in, both a protagonist and a witness of history. He may have been born and raised in Lanús, Argentina, but he could sense he was finally home.
Less than three years later, thanks to a gradual rebuilding project, Napoli were finally kings of Italy as they won their first-ever Serie A title in the 1986-87 season. They even became the third Italian team to win the double after beating Atalanta in the Coppa Italia. The 1989-90 season gave them their second league title … and their last.
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Trophies have been scarce since then, and many supporters wondered if Maradona’s era was a cruel anomaly as Juventus and the two teams in Milan continued their winning trend. The late 1990s were notably tough as Napoli suffered relegation in 1998; things worsened when they declared bankruptcy in 2004 and were forced to play in the third division.
The door seemed to be closing on this proud franchise. But…
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