In the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Diego Maradona's Argentina faced the hosts in the semifinal at Naples. One Italian newspaper headline read: “Dear Diego, see you at your home”. The “dear” was bullshit, Maradona wrote in his autobiography, El Diego, “but the stuff about my home was, in part, very true”. He had been playing his club football for Napoli in Naples since 1984 and had inspired the southern Italian team to four trophies, including its maiden league title, and its only European honour till date. For Neapolitans, he was almost a deity.
On the day of the semifinal, Maradona was applauded as he stepped on to the pitch at Napoli's Stadio San Paolo. Banners read: “Diego in our hearts, Italy in our songs”; “Maradona, Naples loves you but Italy is our homeland”. For the first time in the World Cup, the Argentine national anthem was applauded. “I was moved: these were my people,” wrote Maradona. But, he would be forced to leave Naples within a year. He tested positive for cocaine in March 1991 and received a 15-month ban from the Italian authorities (he said it was revenge for beating Italy in the World Cup semifinal). Maradona would never play for Napoli again. And Napoli would not win a major honour for 22 years – till they won the Coppa Italia in 2011-12.
The wait for a league title was longer—33 years. It finally ended on May 5, when Napoli drew away at Udinese. It would have been a fitting tribute to the Argentine legend if they had been able to clinch the title at home on April 30 in the stadium named after Maradona—Stadio San Paolo was renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after his death in 2020. However, the match against Salernitana ended in a 1-1 draw.
Peek into the past
Napoli trace their roots to a Neapolitan club founded in 1905. They had early successes in southern Italy, punctuated by disruptions such as a breakaway club formed in 1911 that then became a rival. (Financial strain forced the two clubs to merge in 1922). Success at the national level though remained elusive with Napoli oscillating between phases of finishing in the top half, including two third-place finishes in the 1930s, and battling relegation.
The erratic form continued till the 1960s with multiple relegations and promotions. But, incredibly, Napoli won their first major trophy, the Italian cup (Coppa Italia), in 1961-1962, while they were in the second division (Serie B)—the first Serie B team to do so. The team was also promoted to the first division (Serie A) in the same season. But, it went straight back down. And returned after a one-year exile. This time, at long last, Napoli stabilised in Serie A, even managing a second-place finish in 1967-1968. The good run continued into the 1970s and the club won a second Coppa Italia in 1975-1976. The decade saw another second-place finish and multiple third-place finishes. But, by the start of the 1980s, Napoli were in free fall again and were involved in relegation scraps.
The solution was in Barcelona—Maradona was unsettled at the Catalan club. Napoli went all in and acquired him for a then world record transfer fee of €12 million in 1984. The Maradona years began. In the next seven years, Napoli won their first and second league titles (1986-1987 and 1989-1990), a third Coppa Italia (1986-1987), the UEFA Cup (1988-1989; now the Europa League) and one Italian supercup (shortly after 1990 World Cup).
After Maradona left, Napoli gradually declined, both on the field and financially. They were relegated twice, in 1997-1998 and 2000-2001, and were declared bankrupt in 2004. It seemed like the prestigious, albeit relegation-prone club, would be relegated to history.
But, in its hour of need, Italian film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis stepped up and refounded the club. It had to start afresh in Serie C, the third division. Notably, the Neapolitans never stopped supporting the club—Napoli recorded higher average attendances in the third division than most clubs in Serie A. Their faith was rewarded after the club won two promotions in three years to return to Serie A. It stabilised quickly and signed a 23-year-old Edinson Cavani in 2010, initially on loan, and eventually for a fee of €17 million. Cavani was rampant at Napoli, scoring more than 100 goals in three seasons and inspiring them to third place in 2010-2011, a fourth Coppa Italia the following season and second-place in the next. He caught the eye of cash-rich Paris Saint-Germain and was sold for around €65 million.
Napoli re-invested smartly ahead of the 2013-2014 season, bringing in Gonzalo Higuaín, Dries Mertens and Jorginho for around €50 million. Jorginho alone fetched the club around €60 million when he was eventually sold to Chelsea in 2018. Mertens had become the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 148 goals by the time he left in 2022. And Higuaín took over from Cavani as the team's spearhead, scoring 91 goals in 146 matches before being sold to Juventus for €90 million ahead of the 2016-2017 season. In the 2013-2014 season, Napoli's new-look squad slipped to third, but won their fifth Coppa Italia. Following a disappointing fifth-place finish the next season, Napoli brought in Maurizio Sarri as the manager.
The 'Sarriball' era
Sarri's style—now known as Sarriball—was fast, possession-based, attacking football, with the use of high-energy pressing to win back the ball. It made Napoli an attractive team to watch, and in his first season, the team was in pole position to win the league after 24 of the 38 games. But, a few bad results saw Juventus overtaking them and eventually winning with a comfortable nine-point lead. In 2017-2018, Sarri got even closer to the elusive league title. Napoli finished with a club record 91 points and were first after 27 games. But, Juventus, raised their game and surged to 95 points at the end of the 38 games. It has been suggested that Sarri's aggressive style caused his players to be more fatigued towards the end of the season, resulting in slip-ups.
Sarri left ahead of the 2018-2019 season and current Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti came in as his replacement. Another second-place finish followed. Ancelotti was sacked halfway into the next season after a poor run of results. AC Milan legend Gennaro Gattuso replaced him—ironically, the Italian midfielder was a ward of Ancelotti's during his time as Milan manager. He lasted a year and a half and was disappointing in the league, but managed to win Napoli's sixth Coppa Italia. Gattuso also signed Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen for €70 million, including add-ons.
Over to Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti, who finally ended Napoli's three-decade wait for a Serie A title, was brought in ahead of the 2021-2022 season. The former Roma coach is, perhaps, best remembered for turning Francesco Totti into one of the most iconic false-9's in football history. But, despite improving Roma and the two Coppa Italias he won with them, the two-time Serie A coach of the year had not won a Serie A title when he arrived at Napoli. His style was similar to Sarri's and Napoli won all of their first eight games. But, some fans were not impressed; they perhaps feared that the style would once again lead to fatigue and crucial slip-ups towards the end of the season. As a result, a group of fans stole Spalletti's car and said he could have it back if he resigned. Unfazed, Spalletti continued his work and the team was first after 27 games. But, just as it did under Sarri, Napoli stumbled towards the end and dropped to third place. It was starting to look like the heartache of near-misses would never end.
Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti | Reuters
Ahead of the 2022-2023 season, it seemed like the task at hand would become more difficult for Spalletti after De Laurentiis decided to cut costs. Napoli moved on senior players, including Mertens, captain Lorenzo Insigne and centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. The club generated over €80 million in transfer fees and made substantial savings on wages. It re-invested smartly once again, bringing in quality players for reasonable fees. South Korean centre-back Kim Min-jae was bought for less than €20 million. On paper, it looked a big risk to replace a seasoned centre-back like Koulibaly with the untested Kim. But, it has proven to be an outstanding piece of business. The South Korean has been dominant defensively and his ball-playing ability has helped Napoli initiate fast counterattacks and catch opponents out.
Osimhen has developed into a world-class striker and has more than 30 goal contributions (goals plus assists) in all competitions this season. The 24-year-old also leads the press and unsettles defences with his pace and power. But, the most impressive Napoli player this season has been Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The 22-year-old has been highly regarded for a couple years now but Napoli managed to sign him for an absolute bargain because of circumstances caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kvaratskhelia was playing in Russia in early 2022, but returned to Georgia following the invasion. Napoli bought him from Georgian club Dinamo Batumi for around €10 million in July 2022. His current market value is estimated to be close to €100 million.
Napoli's Victor Osimhen scores their first goal against Udinese | Reuters
Kvaratskhelia, too, has 30 goal contributions. But, more than the numbers, it is his impact that is truly remarkable. Able to exploit every inch of space on the left-wing and able to pick up and hold on to the ball under pressure, he has given Spalletti's team a reliable outball. His performances were so impressive that within months of arriving in Naples, the Neapolitans dubbed him “Kvaradona”. Considering his contribution to Napoli's first league win since Maradona left, the nickname is well-deserved.
More importantly, Kvaratskhelia represents what is different about Napoli this season. The reason why Napoli were able to go all the way, instead of falling behind in the final lap as they have done many times, across decades. In Spalletti's words: “Systems no longer exist in football, it's all about the spaces left by the opposition. You must be quick to spot them and know the right moment to strike, have the courage to start the move even when pressed.”
Also, fatigue has been managed better this season. The club brought in back-up players of a decent level without overspending. This included astute loan deals. Spalletti then micromanaged game time for his core group of players, giving his starters sufficient rest and keeping the squad players in good spirits. It also helped that his starting 11 is significantly younger after the cost-cutting exercise at the start of the season.
Napoli have also mixed things up more this season, while retaining the essence of Spalletti's attacking philosophy. There have been passing triangles, one-two passes and individual runs as well as the occasional long pass at the opportune moment. This unpredictability made Napoli a nightmare to play against.
But, even amid the joy of a long-awaited Serie A title, there is disappointment regarding the quarterfinal exit in the UEFA Champions League. It is Napoli's best performance in the competition, but there was an opportunity to go further. The club got a favourable draw for the knockout stages—avoiding heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the path to the final. This made Napoli favourites to reach the final. But, Milan, who are more than 20 points behind Napoli in Serie A, managed to edge them out 2-1 in the quarterfinal.
However, Napoli's remarkable season cannot be diminished by the Champions League exit. Most teams in Italy and Europe, including English giants Liverpool, seemed unable to figure out how to deal with the Italian champions this season. Milan are the notable exception. They only lost to Napoli 1-2 in the season's first meeting and had thrashed them 0-4 in Naples 10 days before the Champions League quarterfinal's first leg. But, an Austrian seemed to have identified what made Napoli so formidable. Oliver Glasner, coach of German team Eintracht Frankfurt, who faced Napoli in the Champions League round of 16, said that Napoli play “anti-Italian football”. “They always have great intensity,” he observed. “Without the ball, they play aggressively, pressing very high.... They are very different from other Italian teams.” Top marks for analysis. But, unfortunately for Glasner, unlike Milan coach Stefano Piolo, he was unable to come up with a way to neutralise Napoli's “anti-italian football”. Frankfurt were decimated 5-0 over two legs.
The next season will be infinitely more challenging for Napoli. Moreover, Osimhen is on the radar of richer clubs. Kvaratskhelia was linked to newly rich Newcastle United in March, but those rumours have died down. So, even if Osimhen leaves, Napoli will be hopeful of holding on to Kvaratskhelia. If that happens, the Georgian will have to shoulder much more of the responsibility. The biggest club in southern Italy will be fighting for all of the region against the might of the north—Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan have 74 league titles between them compared with Napoli's three. Maradona, who was instrumental in two of those titles, managed to offer the south a brief spell of pride. It remains to be seen whether “Kvaradona” can do the same.
