page_title: S.S.C. Napoli
section_title: Napoli on the rise: Maradona era
hierarchical_section_title: S.S.C. Napoli / History / Napoli on the rise: Maradona era
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Stadio S. Paolo (Napoli)
context_page_description: Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won two league titles, six Coppa Italia titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and one UEFA Cup.
  Formed in 1926, the club saw relatively little success in its early years, winning one Coppa Italia until 1965, where they were refounded. Napoli then saw increased success in the 1980s, after the club acquired Diego Maradona. 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 their sole league titles, in 1987 and 1990. Following his departure, however, Napoli struggled financially, and endured several relegations, prior to being refounded in 2004 by film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis. Under his guise, the club has stabilized, which has led to renewed on-field success, winning the 2012, 2014, and 2020 Coppa Italia titles.
context_section_description: 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 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 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.
  After defeating Southampton 4–1 on aggregate to lift the 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. 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 the final. 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 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.
  Napoli broke the world transfer record fee after acquiring Diego Maradona in 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. 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.
  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 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 title. 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 title in 1989–90, defeating Milan by two points in the title 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 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.
  — Diego Maradona, July 1990
  The Stadio San Paolo was the only stadium during the competition where the Argentine national anthem was not jeered, Maradona bowed to the Napoli fans at the end and his country went on to reach the final. However, after the fi
caption: Napoli supporters celebrating the team's first scudetto in May 1987
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