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55-581: Even though Napoli was in the Serie C1 during the 2005–06 season, Napoli achieved the feat of having the 3rd highest average home attendance in Italy for the season, with only two Serie A clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan recording higher attendances. Napoli's final game of the season drew a crowd of 51,000 which now stands as a Serie C all-time record. The stadium also hosted Italy's Euro 2008 qualifier against Lithuania on 2 September 2006. The stadium

110-479: A penalty shoot-out against Juventus in the finals . In December 2020, Napoli renamed San Paolo after club icon Diego Maradona , following his passing. Napoli finished fifth in Serie A that season after a draw on the finals day, missing a Champions League berth by one point. In the 2021–22 season, Luciano Spalletti replaced Gennaro Gattuso as head coach and led the team to the third place in Serie A, securing

165-1103: A 3-0 away loss against Hellas Verona , but the Azzurri quickly bounced back with 5 wins and one draw in the following six matches. Below is the official presidential history of Napoli, from when Giorgio Ascarelli took over at the club in 1926, until the present day. Napoli has had many managers and trainers, co-managers in some seasons, since 1926. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. In

220-583: A 3–2 win against the English crew of the boat Arabik with goals from William MacPherson, Michele Scafoglio and Léon Chaudoir. Early into its existence, the Italian Football Championship was limited to just northern clubs, so southern clubs competed against sailors or in cups such as Thomas Lipton 's Lipton Challenge Cup . In the cup competed between Naples FBC and Palermo FBC Naples won three finals. The foreign contingent at

275-479: A Champions League spot for the azzurri after a two-years absence. In the 2022–23 season, Napoli clinched the Serie A titles for the first time since the 1989–90 season, and their third title overall, following a 1–1 draw against Udinese on 4 May 2023, their first time as titleholders since the days of Diego Maradona . Meanwhile, in the Champions League , Spalletti led them to the quarter-finals for

330-554: A giant flag in their " curva " of the stadium saying "Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our homeland". Maradona later said he was touched that Napoli was the only stadium during that World Cup where the Argentinian national anthem was not jeered. The match finished 1–1 after extra time. A penalty shoot-out ensued, with Argentina winning and Maradona scoring one of his side's penalties. SSC Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli ( pronounced [ˈnaːpoli] )

385-404: A €12 million deal from Barcelona on 30 June 1984. The squad was gradually re-built, with the likes of Ciro Ferrara , Salvatore Bagni and Fernando De Napoli filling the ranks. 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. With the attacking trio of Maradona, Bruno Giordano , and Careca (nicknamed MaGiCa),

440-678: Is a coastal city, the colours of the club have always been derived from the blue waters of the Gulf of Naples . Originally, while using the name Naples FBC , the colours of the club implemented two shades of blue. However, since the 1920s, a singular blue tone has been used in the form of azure. Thus, Napoli share the nickname " Azzurri " with the Italy national team . The shade of blue has been sky blue in many instances. Napoli typically wear azure shirts with white shorts at home and white shirts with either white or blue shorts away, though in recent years

495-556: Is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Naples that plays in Serie A , the top flight of Italian football . In its history, Napoli has won three Serie A titles, six Coppa Italia titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and one UEFA Cup . The club was formed in 1926 as Associazione Calcio Napoli following the merger of US Internazionale Napoli and Naples Foot-Ball Club . Napoli saw relatively little success in its early years, winning their first major trophy in

550-471: Is derived from the shirts of Naples FBC and the shorts of Internazionale Napoli after the clubs merged to form Napoli's predecessor Internaples in 1922. Napoli have rivalries with Juventus , Roma , Internazionale and AC Milan . The club's anthem is "Napoli", one of the major hits of the Neapolitan singer Nino D'Angelo . Although the club was officially founded in 1926, Napoli traces its roots to

605-456: The 1962 Coppa Italia . Napoli then saw increased success in the late 1970s (including their second Coppa Italia in 1976 ) and especially in the 1980s, after the club acquired Diego Maradona in 1984. During his time in Naples, Maradona helped the team win several trophies, which led to the club retiring his number 10 jersey. During this period, Napoli won two league titles (in 1987 and 1990 ),

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660-534: The 1986–87 season was the landmark in Napoli's history, becoming just the third Italian team to win the double after securing the Serie A title by three points and then beating Atalanta BC 4–0 to lift the Coppa Italia . Because a mainland Southern Italian team had never won the league before, this turned Maradona into a cultural, social and borderline religious icon for Neapolitans, which stretched beyond

715-421: The 1987 Coppa Italia , the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana , and their only European trophy with the 1989 UEFA Cup . Following his departure, however, Napoli struggled financially, and endured several relegations and a bankruptcy, prior to being re-founded in 2004 by film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis . Under his leadership, the club has stabilized, which has led to renewed on-field success, winning 2005–06 Serie C1 ,

770-542: The 1994–95 UEFA Cup , reaching the third round and in 1996–97 , Napoli appeared at the Coppa Italia finals, but lost 3–1 to Vicenza ; Napoli's primavera squad won the Coppa Italia Primavera that season. Napoli's league form had dropped lower, and relegation to Serie B came at the end of 1997–98 when they won only two matches all season. The club returned to Serie A after gaining promotion in

825-531: The 1999–2000 season, though after a closely contested relegation battle, they were relegated immediately back down the following season. By August 2004, Napoli was declared bankrupt. To secure football in the city, film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis re-founded the club under the name Napoli Soccer, as they were not allowed to use their old name until the next season. FIGC placed Napoli in Serie C1 , where they missed out on promotion after losing 2–1 in play-offs to local rivals Avellino in 2004–05 . Despite

880-412: The 2012 , 2014 , and 2020 Coppa Italia titles, and the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana , eventually culminating in their third league title in 2023 , the first since Maradona's departure. By attendance, Napoli have the fourth-largest fan base in Italy, and were ranked as the fifth highest-earning football club in Serie A, with $ 182 million in revenue during the 2017–18 season. In 2018, Forbes estimated

935-492: The 2017–18 season, Napoli challenged for the titles for the entire season, and finished with a club record of 91 points. However, the titles ultimately went to Juventus in the penultimate round of matches. On 23 December 2017, Marek Hamšík overtook Diego Maradona as Napoli's all-time leading scorer after scoring his 115th goal. At the end of the season, Sarri left for Chelsea , succeeded by Carlo Ancelotti in May 2018. He managed

990-528: The Stadio Olimpico to win the Coppa Italia for the fourth time in the club's history, 25 years after their last cup win. The team finished second in its group of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, progressing to the round of 16, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Chelsea . In 2012–13 , Napoli finished in second place in Serie A , the club's best performance since winning the 1989–90 Scudetto . Edinson Cavani finished as top scorer in

1045-620: The Supercoppa Italiana that year, with a record 5–1 victory against Juventus, but it would be their last major trophy for 22 years. In the European Cup , they were eliminated in the second round. Though the club finished fourth during the 1991–92 season, Napoli gradually went into decline after that season, both financially and on the field. Players such as Gianfranco Zola , Daniel Fonseca , Ciro Ferrara and Careca had all departed by 1994. Nonetheless, Napoli qualified for

1100-480: The 1980s, the club were performing respectably with a third-place finish in 1980–81 . Napoli's Primavera squad was also doing well at the time, winning the Torneo di Viareggio Cup in 1975 and their only Campionato Nazionale Primavera title in 1979. However, by 1983, they had slipped dramatically and were involved in relegation battles. Napoli broke the world transfer record fee after acquiring Diego Maradona in

1155-439: The Azzurri to finish 10th in the league, 50 points behind eventual champions Inter. In Europe, the club passed the group stage of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League in a group with Real Madrid , 1. FC Union Berlin , and SC Braga , but were ultimately eliminated by FC Barcelona in the round of 16. For the 2024-25 season, the club signed Antonio Conte in a bid for a swift return to winning ways. Their season started out with

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1210-619: The Champions League, but missed out on the group stage as they lost to Athletic Bilbao in the play-off round. Their subsequent run in the Europa League ended when they lost 2–1 on aggregate to Dnipro in the semi-finals. They finished the 2014–15 season in fifth, with Benítez then leaving for Real Madrid and being replaced by Maurizio Sarri . In Sarri's first season in charge in the 2015–16 season , Napoli finished in second place with 82 points, and were knocked out of

1265-423: The Europa League in the round of 32 against Villarreal . In the following season, Napoli finished in 3rd place on 86 points and were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 against Real Madrid. This year saw the breakout season for Dries Mertens who scored 34 goals in all competitions after he was moved from the left-wing to centre-forward following Milik's torn Anterior cruciate ligament . In

1320-555: The Napoli fans at the end and his country went on to reach the finals. However, after the finals, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) forced Maradona to take a doping test, which he failed testing positive for cocaine ; both Maradona and Napoli staff later claimed it was a revenge plot for events at the World Cup. Maradona was banned for 15 months and would never play for the club again. The club still won

1375-446: The Serie B titles that season to ensure top flight football at the start of the 1950s. Napoli moved to their new home ground Stadio San Paolo in 1959. Despite erratic league form with highs and lows during this period, including multiple relegations and promotions, Napoli won their first major trophy when they beat SPAL to lift the Coppa Italia in 1962, with goals from Gianni Corelli and Pierluigi Ronzon . The victory made Napoli

1430-621: The Terme di Agnano to a new stadium, the Stadio Militare dell'Arenaccia. After a poor start, with a sole point in an entire championship, Napoli was re-admitted to Serie A's forerunner, the Divisione Nazionale, by the Italian Football Federation ("FIGC"), and began to improve thanks in part to Paraguayan-born Attila Sallustro , who was the first fully fledged hero to the fans. He was a capable goal-scorer and eventually set

1485-516: The all-time goal-scoring record for Napoli, which was later surpassed by players like Diego Maradona and Marek Hamšík . Napoli entered the Serie A era under the management of William Garbutt . During Garbutt's six-year stint, the club would be dramatically transformed, frequently finishing in the top half of the table. This included two third-place finishes during the 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons, with added notables such as Antonio Vojak , Arnaldo Sentimenti and Carlo Buscaglia . However, in

1540-544: The away kits have often deviated from this tradition. One of the nicknames of Napoli is " I ciucci ", which means "the donkeys " in the Neapolitan language . Napoli 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, but the club adopted the donkey as a mascot named "' O Ciuccio ". 1986%E2%80%9387 Coppa Italia The 1986–87 Coppa Italia ,

1595-512: The club broke off in 1911 to form Internazionale Napoli , who wore blue shirts with white shorts, in time for both club's debut in the Italian Championship of 1912–13 . Each of the teams won a Prima Categoria southern Italian titles and therefore competed in the national semi-finals, Naples doing so in 1912–13 and Internazionale Napoli in 1913–14 . They were set to face each other for the southern titles again in 1914–15 but it

1650-691: The club is the fifth most valuable club in Italy, worth $ 379 million. Napoli are also one of the associate members of the European Club Association . Since 1959, the club has played their home games at the Stadio San Paolo, which was renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after the Argentine striker's death in 2020. Napoli traditionally wear sky blue shirts, white shorts, and sky blue socks at home and white shirts, white or sky blue shorts, and white or sky blue socks away; this

1705-426: The club to another second-place finish, but was sacked on 10 December 2019, following a poor run of results in the 2019–20 season which left them seventh in the table. Gennaro Gattuso was named head coach the next day. On 14 June 2020, Dries Mertens became Napoli's all-time top scorer after scoring his 122nd goal in a Coppa Italia semi-finals match against Inter . Napoli went on to win the 2019–20 Coppa Italia in

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1760-408: The division with 29 goals, which resulted in him being sold to Paris Saint-Germain for a club-record fee of €64 million. In the 2013 close-season, Mazzarri left Napoli and Rafael Benítez became the club's manager . They finished the 2013–14 season by winning the 2014 Coppa Italia finals , their fifth title in the tournament, with a 3–1 win against Fiorentina , as well as qualifying for

1815-429: The elite in Serie A, with consistent top-five finishes. Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68 , finishing just behind Milan in second place. Some of the most popular players from this period were Dino Zoff , José Altafini , Omar Sívori and hometown midfielder Antonio Juliano . Juliano would eventually break the appearance records, which still stands today. The trend of Napoli performing well in

1870-424: The fact Napoli were playing in 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 match. The following season , they secured promotion to Serie B and De Laurentiis brought back the club's history, restoring its name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli in May 2006. After just one season in Serie B, they were promoted to

1925-532: The finals . That season, they also defeated Southampton 4–1 on aggregate to lift the 1976 Anglo-Italian League Cup . Napoli were entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for 1976–77 , where they reached the semi-finals, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Anderlecht . In the Italian league, Napoli were still very much a consistent top six side for much of the late 1970s. Even into the earliest two seasons of

1980-554: The finals leg of the Supercoppa di Lega Serie C1 ; primacy belongs to him also for last appearance in the championship, 12 May 2006 at the home match against Lanciano . As regards exclusively the championship, however, the honour goes to the Argentine footballer Roberto Sosa , the distinction of being the last to wear the 10 at the San Paolo and at the same time to score in the match against Frosinone on 30 April 2006. As Naples

2035-402: The first relevant Neapolitan club, founded as "Naples Foot-Ball & Croquet Club" in 1905 by English sailor William Poths and his associate Hector M. Bayon. Neapolitans such as Conforti, Catterina and Amedeo Salsi were also involved; Salsi was named the club's first president. The original kit of the club was a sky blue and navy blue striped shirt, with black shorts. Naples' first match was

2090-524: The first team to win the Coppa while in Serie B, and they were promoted to Serie A that season. Their fourth relegation cut celebrations short the following season. As the club changed their name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964 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 and were back among

2145-423: The first time in their European history, where they were beaten 2–1 (1–0 away and 1–1 at home) by fellow Serie A side Milan. The 2023-24 season proved to be extremely difficult for the club, as they went through three different coaches - Rudi Garcia , a returning Walter Mazzarri , and Francesco Calzona ; this managerial instability, as well as the new hires largely not performing to the club's expectations, led

2200-482: The first was a Round of 16 match against Colombia on 23 June winning 2–1 after extra time, and the second was a Quarter-finals match against England on 1 July losing 3–2 after extra time. The fifth and last was the semi-final between Argentina and Italy on 3 July. Argentina's superstar Diego Maradona , who played for Naples's Italian 1st division team and was a hero to their supporters, asked Napoli fans to cheer for Argentina. The Napoli tifosi responded by hanging

2255-400: The horse is a symbol of Naples. Internaples were immediately enrolled in the top-flight Prima Divisione Lega Sud championship, as both Internazionale Napoli and Naples competed in that division pre-merger. Since the end of World War I both clubs had lost dominance of the region to the likes of Puteolana and Savoia . Even with the combined strength of Internaples, Savoia still proved to be

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2310-744: The league continued into the 1970s, with third place spots in 1970–71 and 1973–74 . 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 Porto 2–0 en route . During the same season , Napoli finished second in Serie A, just two points behind champions Juventus . Solid performances from locally born players such as Giuseppe Bruscolotti , Antonio Juliano and Salvatore Esposito were relied upon during this period, coupled with goals from Giuseppe Savoldi . The club won their second Coppa Italia trophy in 1975–76 , eliminating Milan and Fiorentina en route , before beating rivals Hellas Verona 4–0 in

2365-484: The north and one combined division of Serie A and Serie B teams from the central and south, with the top four of each division advancing to the national round that followed. Napoli won the Centro-Sud Serie A-B to secure a place in the Divisione Nazionale (where they placed fifth) and automatic promotion to the next season's Serie A. They were relegated after two seasons for a bribery scandal. The club won

2420-439: The number 10 shirt in 2004–2005 in Serie C . In Serie C the starting players had to wear shirts with the number 1-11. However, for regulatory reasons, the number was reissued on blue shirts 2004 to 2006 Serie C1 , a tournament utilizing the old numbering from 1 to 11. The last player to wear and score goals with this shirt in an official match was Mariano Bogliacino in the home match of 18 May 2006 against Spezia , valid for

2475-599: The realms of just football. 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 titles. Juventus, Bayern Munich and PAOK were defeated en route 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 . Napoli added their second Serie A titles in 1989–90 , defeating Milan by two points in

2530-463: The semi-finals against Italy in Naples. 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. The Stadio San Paolo was the only stadium during the competition where the Argentine national anthem was not jeered, Maradona bowed to

2585-425: The stadium to "Stadio Diego Armando Maradona", and on December 4, 2020, the proposal was passed by the city council. The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup , and held five matches. The first two were Argentina’s Group B matches: the first was against Soviet Union on 13 June winning 2–0, and the second was against Romania on 18 June ending in a 1–1 draw. The next two were Cameroon matches:

2640-445: The summer of 2000, Napoli retired the jersey number 10 belonged to former club legend Diego Maradona , who played for the club from 1984 to 1991. In order, the last players to wear number 10 were Fausto Pizzi (1995–1996), Beto (in 1996–1997), Igor Protti in 1997–1998 was the last player to play and score a goal with the number 10 shirt in Serie A and Claudio Bellucci in 1998–1999 and 1999–2000 in Serie B . Karl Corneliusson wore

2695-474: The titles race. 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. 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

2750-432: The top division, along with fellow "sleeping giants" Genoa . In 2010, under manager Walter Mazzarri , Napoli finished in sixth place to qualify for a 2010–11 UEFA Europa League spot. Napoli finished third in the 2010–11 season , qualifying directly for the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League . In the 2011–12 season , Napoli ended in fifth place in Serie A , but defeated unbeaten champions Juventus at

2805-573: The top team in southern Italy. Internaples reached the interregional semi-finals of Lega Sud in each of its first two seasons, and reached the Lega Sud finals in 1925–26 . This secured the club a spot in the new Divisione Nazionale for the following season. Under the presidency of Giorgio Ascarelli, and likely under pressure from the new fascist government to "Italianize" the club name, Internaples changed its name to Associazione Calcio Napoli on 25 August 1926. The newly renamed team also moved from

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2860-579: The years leading up to World War II, Napoli went into decline, only surviving relegation in 1939–40 by goal average. Napoli lost a closely contested relegation battle at the end of 1942 and were relegated to Serie B . They moved from the Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli to the Stadio Arturo Collana and remained in Serie B until after the war. Play restarted in 1945 with two divisions: one consisting of Serie A teams from

2915-402: Was cancelled due to World War I. Due to financial pressure, the two rival clubs merged as the "Foot-Ball Club Internazionale-Naples", abbreviated as "FBC Internaples" on 2 October 1922. Internaples', and later Napoli's kits are derived from those of Naples FBC and Internazionale Napoli; adopting the sky blue from Naples' shirts and the white shorts from Internazionale Napoli. The merged club

2970-500: Was renovated in preparation for the 2019 Summer Universiade ; this included replacing metal fencing with glass barriers and replacing seats. This means the stadium's capacity was reduced from 60,240 to 54,726. The stadium hosted the opening ceremony and athletics event . Following the death of club legend Diego Maradona in November 2020, Naples' mayor Luigi de Magistris and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis proposed renaming

3025-422: Was seen by some media and fans to be a continuation of Internazionale Napoli rather than a new club; it played its games at Internazionale Napoli's Terme di Agnano rather than Naples FBC's Campo del Poligono and kept Internazionale Napoli's nickname of Gli Azzurri (The Blues) rather than I Blucelesti (The Navy Blue and Sky Blues) used by Naples. Internaples were also given the nickname I Puledri (the foals), as

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