page_title: History of S.S.C. Napoli
section_title: The Maradona era: League and European success
hierarchical_section_title: History of S.S.C. Napoli / Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli: on the rise / The Maradona era: League and European success
caption_attribution_description: English: Maradona salutes the crowd at San Paolo Stadium during his presentation in Naples.
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 1980s for the club started in relatively good fashion with third- and fourth-place league positions early in the decade. But it was until Argentine Diego Maradona joined the club from Barcelona in 1984 that Napoli were on the world football map.
  Success with Maradona was not instant. The club had to work hard, first with an eighth-place position in 1984–85, followed by a third-place finish in 1985–86. 1986–87 proved to be Napoli's year with Maradona; Napoli won the scudetto for the first time in their history. In so doing, they also became the first and only mainland Southern Italian team (not including Sardinian club Cagliari) to win the league, a record that still stands today. It was not just Serie A that the club won that season either, they also beat Atalanta 4–0 in the Coppa Italia final to complete the double. 
  In the subsequent year, the team were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid but a runners-up spot in Serie A meant qualification for the UEFA Cup. Juventus and Bayern Munich were among Napoli's victims en route to the final where Maradona and Careca scored a goal apiece late in the second half to beat VfB Stuttgart two-one in the first leg. In the second leg, played in Stuttgart, the match ended in draw (3–3), ensuring Napoli's first ever European trophy. Napoli also reached the final of the Coppa Italia that year, only to be beaten by Sampdoria.
  In 1990, Napoli were champions again, although in rather less auspicious circumstances than their previous Serie A title. They were awarded two points after the Brazilian Alemão was struck by a coin at Atalanta's Stadio Comunale. If this was not bad enough, Napoli's physio was caught on TV cameras exhorting the player to stay on the ground. Notwithstanding, these two points were not crucial, as Milan lost its match against Hellas Verona, meaning Napoli would have won the championship without the two points. During the Italian-hosted 1990 World Cup, however, Maradona made inflammatory remarks appealing to Neapolitans to cheer on his Argentina national team over the northern-dominated Italy national team.
  The Napoli tifosi responded by displaying a banner in their "curva" that read, "Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our homeland". It was touching for Maradona as Napoli was the only stadium during that World Cup in which the Argentinian national anthem was not jeered. Apparently, Napoli fans were the "black sheep" of Italy because they rooted for Maradona. He departed after testing positive for cocaine less than a year later, while the club was in financial crisis. Although he let his nightlife affect his legacy with Napoli, Maradona will still go down as the greatest Napoli player ever. He has mentioned many times that his love for Napoli is almost as much for his native team Boca Juniors.
  The following year, the club won the Supercoppa Italiana, the last major trophy won by Napoli for 22 years, after defeating Juventus 5–1. The game included two goals from Careca, two from Andrea Silenzi and the fifth from Massimo Crippa; Roberto Baggio grabbed the consolation goal for the old lady. The result was a record margin victory in the competition for any club, a record still stands today.
caption: Maradona salutes the crowd at San Paolo Stadium during his presentation in Naples, 5 July 1984
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