I still remember watching on TV, together with my father, the emotional celebration of Diego Armando Maradona with the sea blue shirt of napoli. I didn’t really understand what was happening, I was 4 years old and my memories are not very clear, but I remember seeing my father scream with emotion, because his team had won the “scudetto” (championship) again with the “Golden Boy”. Was 1990 and the “squadra azzurra” had won the A series.
I come from a Neapolitan family of “tifossi” (fans) of the Partenopean team that, naturally, I followed in my father’s footsteps. However, after the World Cup Italy 90everything turned dark for the team.
First, the semifinal in which the selection of Argentina against Italy took place at the stadium formerly called Saint Paulin Napoli and for the Neapolitans it was seen almost as a betrayal.
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Thus began the decline of the idol. A few months later in 1991, the police intervened some telephone calls from Maradona with the “quarrel” (the Neapolitan mafia) and after a game against the Bari He underwent an anti-doping control that was positive, so the italian federation He imposed a fifteen-month ban on him not to play and nothing was the same again, neither for Maradona nor for Napoli.
Although in 1992 with Claudio Ranieri as coach they obtained a fourth place in the league and a sixth place in ’94 with Marcello Lippi; the financial crisis forced the club to deprive itself of its best men.
The decline came in 1998, with the descent to B-seriesafter 33 years being in the highest category. A year later they returned to Serie A to be relegated the following year.
in the summer of 2004 hit rock bottom by filing for bankruptcy. However, the film producer, Aurelio DeLaurentistook charge of the team and gradually leveled up the team “azzurro”.
In 2007the club achieved immediate promotion to Serie A, returning after 6 years of absence. In the 2012-2013 championship he finished in second place with the Uruguayan edinson cavani top scorer in the league.
This is how he entered the blue bench Maurizio Sarri, that in the 2015-2016 made Napoli winter champion (had not happened since the 1989-1990 season), although they did not get the ‘Scudetto’, defeated only by Juventus, (the eternal rival).
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The Azzurri held firm at the top, taking third place in 2016-2017and the following year graduating as winter champions again, but once again the title victory went back to the bianconeri. It wasn’t enough for Napoli to score 91 pointsa record fee for a team that finished second.
In 2020with Gennaro Gattuso on the bench, the Azzurri won the sixth Italian Cup of its history, by beating on penalties the Juventus. The following season, thanks to a series of absences due to injuries and positive results to the COVID-19 between December and February, turned out to be very complex for Gattuso’s team, which finished fifth, with the Champions League just one point away.
In August of 2019 The Mexican arrived at Napoli hirving “Chucky” Lush under the technical direction of Carlo Ancelottiand in the course he gained ownership until he became an essential player today.
In the 2021-22 season, Luciano Spalletti He is hired as a Napoli coach: the season in Serie A starts off optimally, with eight victories in as many days, including a comeback 2-1 against Juventus and two consecutive 4-0 in view of udinese and sampdoria; thus equaling the best start in his history four years earlier, under the direction of Sarri.
However, the Neapolitan club struggled to keep up with the Inter and the Milan, and in the end it reached third place, still enough for the Champions Leaguebehind the two Milanese clubs.
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For the current season, Napoli has managed to win first place in the table, thanks to players like the Georgian Khvicha Kvarastskheliathe nigerian Victor Osimhen and his own “Chucky Lozano”who with this triad have become unstoppable.
In the penultimate day against the Empoli, they achieved their eighth consecutive victory, getting 65 points. In the last day they lost against Lazio, followed by Inter Milan with 50 points.
Despite that, the “Azurri” are getting closer to the “scudetto”for the 15 points of advantage they have.
This makes us “tifossi” (fans) we are so excited. And now that I am a father, I want to celebrate with euphoria with my son (who is also already “tifosso”) how my father did with me ago almost 33 years.
