page_title: History of S.S.C. Napoli
section_title: Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli: on the rise
hierarchical_section_title: History of S.S.C. Napoli / Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli: on the rise
caption_attribution_description: A line-up of S.S.C. Napoli in the 1974–75 season, posing inside the San Paolo Stadium in Naples, Italy.
context_page_description: Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as simply Napoli, the most successful football club in Southern Italy and among the major clubs in the Italian Serie A, has a long history, which spans from its foundation in 1905 as Naples Foot-Ball Club to the present day.
  Napoli has been refounded a number of times during its history, the most recent of which was in 2004, they have spent the majority of their history in Serie A. The club are perhaps most famous for the time when Diego Maradona was a member during the 1980s and early 1990s, during that time they won various honours including the scudetto twice and the Coppa Italia; they also had success in Europe where they captured the UEFA Cup.
context_section_description: The mid-1960s saw the club rise up again. Their name was changed to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964 and they were promoted as runners-up from Serie B during the 1964–65 season. During their first season back in Serie A, the Neapolitan side managed to finished an impressive third place in the league with Argentine manager Bruno Pesaola at the helm. They also won the Coppa delle Alpi trophy in the same year, defeating Juventus.
  Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68, finishing just behind Milan in second place. During this spell for the club, their squad boasted several players who achieved widespread recognition in the game, including future 1982 World Cup winner Dino Zoff, the record breaking striker José Altafini and Naples-born defender Antonio Juliano. The club managed to keep their name amongst the elite of Italian football in the early '70s, with two third-place finishes in 1970–71 and 1973–74.
  The 1974–75 season under coach and former Napoli player Luís Vinício was the closest Napoli had ever come to capturing the scudetto at this point. They ended the season just two points behind champions Juventus and the goal difference between the clubs was also only two. Although their efforts did not earn them the scudetto, it gained the club access into Europe for the 1974–75 UEFA Cup, where they reached the third round of the competition, knocking out Porto 2–0 along the way.
  Napoli's second ever Coppa Italia trophy was won the same season, eliminating Milan and Fiorentina en route to the success; they beat Hellas Verona 4–0 in the final, with goals from Ginulfi, Braglia, and two from Giuseppe Savoldi. In the Anglo-Italian League Cup, Napoli beat English side Southampton 4–1 aggregate, which included a resounding 4–0 victory at home in Naples to win the competition.
  Because the club had won the Coppa Italia the previous season, they gained access to the 1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup, giving them their second shot at European football; Napoli managed to reach the semi-finals of the competition. In the last two seasons of the '70s, Napoli came in at sixth.
caption: 1974–75 Napoli
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