S.S.C. Napoli

Attila Sallustro in the middle, with Napoli teammates in 1927

Under the presidency of Giorgio Ascarelli, the club changed its name to Associazione Calcio Napoli on 25 August 1926.[14] After a poor start, with a sole point in an entire championship,[15] Napoli was readmitted to Serie A's forerunner, the Divizione Nazionale, by the Italian Football Federation ("FIGC"), and began to improve thanks in part to Paraguayan-born Attila Sallustro, who was the first fully fledged hero to the fans.[16] He was a capable goal-scorer and eventually set the all-time goal-scoring record for Napoli, which was later surpassed by players like Diego Maradona and Marek Hamšík.[17]

Napoli moved to the new Stadio San Paolo in 1959, where they have played since.

Napoli entered the Serie A era under the management of William Garbutt.[18] During Garbutt's six-year stint, the club would be dramatically transformed, frequently finishing in the top half of the table.[15] This included two third-place finishes during the 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons,[15] with added notables such as Antonio Vojak, Arnaldo Sentimenti and Carlo Buscaglia.[19] However, in the years leading up to World War II, Napoli went into decline, only surviving relegation in 1939–40 by goal average.[15]

Napoli lost a closely contested relegation battle at the end of 1942 and were relegated to Serie B. They moved from the Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli to the Stadio Arturo Collana and remained in Serie B until after the war. When play continued, Napoli earned the right to compete in Serie A,[15] but were relegated after two seasons for a bribery scandal.[20] The club bounced back to ensure top flight football at the start of the 1950s.[21] Napoli moved to their new home ground Stadio San Paolo in 1959. Despite erratic league form with highs and lows during this period, including a further relegation and promotion, Napoli had some cup success when they beat SPAL to lift the Coppa Italia in 1962, with goals from Gianni Corelli and Pierluigi Ronzon.[22] Their fourth relegation cut celebrations short the following season.[2]

Napoli at the start of the 1970s with Dino Zoff, José Altafini, and others

As the club changed their name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964[2] 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[2] and were back among the elite in Serie A, with consistent top-five finishes.[15] Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68, finishing just behind Milan in second place.[15] 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.[19]

The trend of Napoli performing well in the league continued into the 1970s, with third place spots in 1970–71 and 1973–74.[15] 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.[15] 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.[19]

After defeating Southampton 4–1 on aggregate to lift the Anglo-Italian League Cup,[23] 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.[24] 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.[2] In the Italian league, Napoli were still very much a consistent top six side for much of the late 1970s.[15] 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.[15]

Napoli broke the world transfer record fee after acquiring Diego Maradona in a €12 million deal from Barcelona on 30 June 1984.[25] The squad was gradually re-built, with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Salvatore Bagni and Fernando De Napoli filling the ranks.[19] 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.[2]

Napoli supporters celebrating the team's first scudetto in May 1987

Because a mainland Southern Italian team had never won the league before, this turned Maradona into a cultural, social and borderline religious icon[26] for Neapolitans, which stretched beyond the realms of just football.[26]

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.[2] 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.[27]

Napoli added their second Serie A title in 1989–90, defeating Milan by two points in the title race.[2] 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.[15] 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.[28]

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,[29] Maradona bowed to the Napoli fans at the end and his country went on to reach the final. However, after the final, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) forced Maradona to take a doping test, which he failed testing positive for cocaine; both Maradona and Napoli staff later claimed it was a revenge plot for events at the World Cup.[26] Maradona was banned for 15 months and would never play for the club again.[26] The club still won the Supercoppa Italiana that year, with a record 5–1 victory against Juventus, but it would be their last major trophy for 22 years. However, in the European Cup, they were eliminated in the second round.[30]

Though the club finished fourth during the 1991–92 season,[15] Napoli gradually went into decline after that season, both financially and on the field. Players such as Gianfranco Zola, Daniel Fonseca, Ciro Ferrara and Careca had all departed by 1994. Nonetheless, Napoli qualified for the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, reaching the third round and in 1996–97, Napoli appeared at the Coppa Italia final, but lost 3–1 to Vicenza.[31] Napoli's league form had dropped lower, and relegation to Serie B came at the end of 1997–98 when they won only two matches all season.[15]

The club returned to Serie A after gaining promotion in the 1999–2000 season, though after a closely contested relegation battle, they were relegated immediately back down the following season.[15] By August 2004, Napoli was declared bankrupt.[32] To secure football in the city, film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis refounded the club under the name Napoli Soccer,[33] as they were not allowed to use their old name. FIGC placed Napoli in Serie C1, where they missed out on promotion after losing 2–1 in play-offs to local rivals Avellino in 2004–05.[2]

Despite the fact Napoli were playing in a low division, they retained higher average attendances than most of the Serie A clubs, breaking the Serie C attendance record with 51,000 at one match.[34] The following season, they secured promotion to Serie B and De Laurentiis brought back the club's history, restoring its name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli in May 2006.[2] After just one season in Serie B, they were promoted to the top division, along with fellow "sleeping giants" Genoa.[35] In 2010, under manager Walter Mazzarri, Napoli finished in sixth place to qualify for a 2010–11 UEFA Europa League spot.[36] Napoli finished third in the 2010–11 season, qualifying directly to the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League.[37]

In the 2011–12 season, Napoli ended in fifth place in Serie A, but defeated unbeaten champions Juventus in the Stadio Olimpico to win the Coppa Italia for the fourth time in club history, 25 years after their last cup win. The team finished second in its group of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, progressing to the round of 16, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Chelsea. In 2012–13, Napoli finished in second place in Serie A, the club's best performance since winning the 1989–90 Scudetto. Cavani finished as top scorer in the division with 29 goals, which resulted in him being sold to Paris Saint-Germain for a club-record fee of €64 million.[38]

Napoli celebrating their 2014 Supercoppa Italiana win

In the 2013 close-season, Mazzarri left Napoli and Rafael Benitez became the club's manager.[39] They finished the 2013–2014 season by winning the 2014 Coppa Italia Final, their fifth title in the tournament, with a 3–1 win against Fiorentina,[40] as well as qualifying for the Champions League, but missed on playing at group stage as they lost to Athletic Bilbao in play-off round. Their subsequent run in Europe League ended when they lost unexpectedly to Dnipro in semi-finals, after beating Anderlecht, Dynamo Moscow and Wolfsburg. They could only finish 2014–15 season fifth with 64 points, with Benitez signing for Real Madrid, replaced by Maurizio Sarri.

Napoli significantly improved the next season, finishing second. They lost to Roma on 25 April 2016, giving Juventus a 12-point lead with only three games left, thus revealing Serie A winner. As the result, they participated in Champions League next season, losing to Real Madrid in Round of 16. They finished 2016–17 season third with 86 points, one behind second-placed Roma. In 2017–18, Napoli challenged for the title all season, which went to Juventus in the penultimate round of matches.[41] Napoli won play-off against Nice, but were 3rd placed in Champions League group stage, being transferred to 2017–18 UEFA Europa League knockout phase. The club lost to RB Leipzig in Round 32. At the end of the season, Maurizio Sarri left for Chelsea, succeeded by Carlo Ancelotti.[42][43] He managed the club to another second place, with Napoli trailing Juventus by eleven points, while ten points ahead of third. After poor start of the campaign, with Napoli trailing not only 17 points from leaders, but also 7 points off 6th place, Ancelotti was sacked on December, 10; his last game in charge of Napoli was a 4–0 Champions League win over Genk. Gennaro Gattuso was named head coach the next day.[44]

As of 28 February 2020[45]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Alex Meret 2 DF Kévin Malcuit 4 MF Diego Demme 5 MF Allan 6 DF Mário Rui 7 FW José Callejón (vice-captain) 8 MF Fabián Ruiz 9 FW Fernando Llorente 11 FW Hirving Lozano 12 MF Elif Elmas 13 DF Sebastiano Luperto 14 FW Dries Mertens (third-captain) 19 DF Nikola Maksimović

No. Position Player 20 MF Piotr Zieliński 21 FW Matteo Politano (on loan from Inter Milan) 22 DF Giovanni Di Lorenzo 23 DF Elseid Hysaj 24 FW Lorenzo Insigne (captain) 25 GK David Ospina 26 DF Kalidou Koulibaly 27 GK Orestis Karnezis 31 DF Faouzi Ghoulam 34 MF Amin Younes 44 DF Kostas Manolas 68 MF Stanislav Lobotka 99 FW Arkadiusz Milik

As of 1 February 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Nikita Contini (at Virtus Entella until 30 June 2020) — DF Vlad Chiricheș (at Sassuolo until 30 June 2020) — DF Filippo Costa (at Bari until 30 June 2021) — DF Luigi D'Ignazio (at Carrarese until 30 June 2020) — DF Giuseppe Esposito (at Fermana until 30 June 2020) — DF Luigi Liguori (at Fermana until 30 June 2020) — DF Amir Rrahmani (at Verona until 30 June 2020) — DF Lorenzo Tonelli (at Sampdoria until 30 June 2020, obligation to buy) — MF Antonio Illuminato (at Pergolettese until 30 June 2020) — MF Alfredo Bifulco (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2020) — MF Michael Folorunsho (at Bari until 30 June 2021) – MF Gianluca Gaetano (at Cremonese until 30 June 2020) — MF Zinédine Machach (at Cosenza until 30 June 2020) — MF Francesco Mezzoni (at Pontedera until 30 June 2020)

No. Position Player — MF Luca Palmiero (at Pescara until 30 June 2020) — MF Mario Prezioso (at Cosenza until 30 June 2020) — MF Marko Rog (at Cagliari until 30 June 2020) — FW Amato Ciciretti (at Empoli until 30 June 2020) — FW Raffaele Russo (at Rieti until 30 June 2020) — FW Eugenio D'Ursi (at Bari until 30 June 2021) — FW Franco Ferrari (at Livorno until 30 June 2020) — FW Roberto Inglese (at Parma until 30 June 2020) — FW Leandrinho (at Red Bull Bragantino until 30 June 2020) — FW Adam Ounas (at Nice until 30 June 2020) — FW Gennaro Tutino (at Empoli until 30 June 2020) — FW Simone Verdi (at Torino until 30 June 2020) — FW Alessio Zerbin (at Cesena until 30 June 2020) — FW Andrea Petagna (at SPAL until 30 June 2020)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 10 FW Diego Maradona (1984–91)

In the summer of 2000, Napoli retired the jersey number 10 belonged to former club legend Diego Maradona, who played for the club from 1984 to 1991. In order, the last players to wear number 10 were Fausto Pizzi (1995–1996), Beto (in 1996–1997), Igor Protti in 1997–1998 was the last player to play and score a goal with the number 10 shirt in Serie A and Claudio Bellucci in 1998–1999 and 1999–2000 in Serie B. Karl Corneliusson wore the number 10 shirt in 2004-2005 in Serie C. In Serie C the starting players had to wear shirts with the number 1-11

However, for regulatory reasons, the number was reissued on blue shirts 2004 to 2006 Serie C1, a tournament where there is the old numbering from 1 to 11. The last player to wear and score goals with this shirt in an official match was Mariano Bogliacino in the home match of 18 May 2006 against Spezia, valid for the final leg of the Supercoppa di Lega Serie C1; primacy belongs to him also for last appearance in the championship, 12 May 2006 at the home match against Lanciano. As regards exclusively the championship, however, the honour goes to the Argentine footballer Roberto Sosa, the distinction of being the last to wear the 10 at the San Paolo and at the same time to score in the match against Frosinone on 30 April 2006.[46]

• Serie A

• Winners (2): 1986–87, 1989–90

• Coppa Italia

• Winners (5): 1961–62, 1975–76, 1986–87, 2011–12, 2013–14

• Supercoppa Italiana

• Winners (2): 1990, 2014

• UEFA Cup

• Winners (1): 1988–89

• Serie B

• Winners (1): 1949–50[86]

• Serie C1-South

• Winners (1): 2005–06 South

• Anglo-Italian League Cup

• Winners (1): 1976

• Coppa delle Alpi

• Winners (1): 1966