S.S.C. Napoli

The first relevant Neapolitan club was founded as Naples Foot-Ball & Cricket Club in 1905 by English sailor William Poths and his associate Hector M. Bayon.[6][7] Neapolitans such as Conforti, Catterina and Amedeo Salsi were also involved, the latter of whom was the club's first president.[8] The original kit of the club was a sky blue and navy blue striped shirt, with black shorts.[9] Naples' first match was a 3–2 win against the English crew of the boat Arabik with goals from William MacPherson, Michele Scafoglio and Léon Chaudoir.[10]

Early into its existence, the Italian Football Championship was limited to just northern clubs, so southern clubs competed against sailors[6] or in cups such as Thomas Lipton's Lipton Challenge Cup. In the cup competed between Naples and Palermo FBC Naples won three finals.[11] The foreign contingent at the club broke off in 1912 to form Internazionale Napoli,[6] in time for both club's debut in the Italian Championship of 1912–13.[12] In 1922, the two rival clubs, under financial pressure, merged as the Foot-Ball Club Internazionale-Naples, abbreviated as FBC Internaples.[13]

Attila Sallustro in the middle with Napoli teammates in 1927

Under the presidency of Giorgio Ascarelli, Internaples 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 re-admitted to Serie A's forerunner, the Divisione 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,[19] with added notables such as Antonio Vojak, Arnaldo Sentimenti and Carlo Buscaglia.[20] However, in the years leading up to World War II, Napoli went into decline, only surviving relegation in 1939–40 by goal average.[19]

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.

Play restarted in 1945 with two divisions: one consisting of Serie A teams from the north and one combined division of Serie A and Serie B teams from the central and south, with the top four of each division advancing to the national round that followed. Napoli won the Centro-Sud Serie A-B to secure a place in the Divisione Nazionale (where they placed fifth) and automatic promotion to the next season's Serie A.[19] They were relegated after two seasons for a bribery scandal.[21] The club won the Serie B title that season to ensure top flight football at the start of the 1950s.[22] Napoli moved to their new home ground Stadio San Paolo in 1959.

Despite erratic league form with highs and lows during this period, including multiple relegations and promotions, Napoli won their first major trophy when they beat SPAL to lift the Coppa Italia in 1962, with goals from Gianni Corelli and Pierluigi Ronzon.[23] The victory made Napoli the first team to win the Coppa while in Serie B, and they were promoted to Serie A that season. Their fourth relegation cut celebrations short the following season.[1]

As the club changed their name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964[1] 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[1] and were back among the elite in Serie A, with consistent top-five finishes.[19] Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68, finishing just behind Milan in second place.[19] 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.[20]

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

The trend of Napoli performing well in the league continued into the 1970s, with third place spots in 1970–71 and 1973–74.[19] 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.[19] 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.[20]

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. That season, they also defeated Southampton 4–1 on aggregate to lift the 1976 Anglo-Italian League Cup.[24] 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.[25] In the Italian league, Napoli were still very much a consistent top six side for much of the late 1970s.[19] Even into the earliest two seasons of the 1980s, the club were performing respectably with a third-place finish in 1980–81. Napoli's Primavera squad was also doing well at the time, winning the Torneo di Viareggio Cup in 1975 and their only Campionato Nazionale Primavera title in 1979.[26] However, by 1983, they had slipped dramatically and were involved in relegation battles.[19]

Napoli broke the world transfer record fee after acquiring Diego Maradona in a €12 million deal from Barcelona on 30 June 1984.[27] The squad was gradually re-built, with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Salvatore Bagni and Fernando De Napoli filling the ranks.[20] 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, becoming just the third Italian team to win the double after securing the Serie A title by three points and then beating Atalanta 4–0 to lift the Coppa Italia.[1]

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 for Neapolitans, which stretched beyond the realms of just football.[28]

Diego Maradona celebrating with the UEFA Cup trophy after beating VfB Stuttgart, May 1989

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.[1] 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.[29]

Napoli added their second Serie A title in 1989–90, defeating Milan by two points in the title race.[1] 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.[19]

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.[30]

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,[31] 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.[28] Maradona was banned for 15 months and would never play for the club again.[28] 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. In the European Cup, they were eliminated in the second round.[32]

Though the club finished fourth during the 1991–92 season,[19] 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; Napoli's primavera squad won the Coppa Italia Primavera that season.[33][34] 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.[19]

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.[19] By August 2004, Napoli was declared bankrupt.[35] To secure football in the city, film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis re-founded the club under the name Napoli Soccer, as they were not allowed to use their old name until the next season.[36] 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.[1]

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.[37] 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.[1] After just one season in Serie B, they were promoted to the top division, along with fellow "sleeping giants" Genoa.[38] In 2010, under manager Walter Mazzarri, Napoli finished in sixth place to qualify for a 2010–11 UEFA Europa League spot.[39] Napoli finished third in the 2010–11 season, qualifying directly for the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League.[40]

In the 2011–12 season, Napoli ended in fifth place in Serie A, but defeated unbeaten champions Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico to win the Coppa Italia for the fourth time in the club's 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. Edinson 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.[41]

Napoli celebrating their 2014 Supercoppa Italiana win

In the 2013 close-season, Mazzarri left Napoli and Rafael Benítez became the club's manager.[42] They finished the 2013–14 season by winning the 2014 Coppa Italia Final, their fifth title in the tournament, with a 3–1 win against Fiorentina,[43] as well as qualifying for the Champions League, but missed out on the group stage as they lost to Athletic Bilbao in the play-off round. Their subsequent run in the Europa League ended when they lost 2–1 on aggregate to FC Dnipro in the semi-finals. They finished the 2014–15 season in fifth, with Benítez then leaving for Real Madrid and being replaced by Maurizio Sarri.

In Sarri's first season in charge in the 2015–16 season, Napoli finished in 2nd place on 82 points and were knocked out of the Europa League in the round of 32 against Villarreal. In the following season, Napoli finished in 3rd place on 86 points and were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 against Real Madrid. This year saw the breakout season for Dries Mertens who scored 34 goals in all competitions after he was moved from the left-wing to centre-forward following Milik's torn Anterior cruciate ligament.

In the 2017–18 season, Napoli challenged for the title for the entire season, and finished with a club record of 91 points. However, the title ultimately went to Juventus in the penultimate round of matches.[44] On 23 December 2017, Marek Hamšík overtook Diego Maradona as Napoli's all-time leading scorer after scoring his 115th goal.[45] At the end of the season, Sarri left for Chelsea, succeeded by Carlo Ancelotti in May 2018.[46][47] He managed the club to another second-place finish, but was sacked on 10 December 2019, following a poor run of results in the 2019–20 season which left them seventh in the table. Gennaro Gattuso was named head coach the next day.[48] On 14 June 2020, Dries Mertens became Napoli's all-time top scorer after scoring his 122nd goal in a Coppa Italia semi-final match against Inter.[49] Napoli went on to win the 2019–20 Coppa Italia in a penalty shoot-out against Juventus in the final.[50]

In December 2020, Napoli renamed San Paolo after Diego Maradona, after the passing away of their beloved club icon.[51] Napoli finished fifth in Serie A that season after a draw on the final day, missing a Champions League berth by one point.

In the 2021–22 season, Luciano Spalletti replaced Gennaro Gattuso as head coach and led the team to the third place in Serie A, securing a Champions League spot for the azzurri after a two-years absence.[52]

As of 31 August 2022[53]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ITA Alex Meret 3 DF  KOR Kim Min-jae 4 MF  GER Diego Demme 5 DF  BRA Juan Jesus 6 DF  POR Mário Rui 7 MF  MKD Eljif Elmas 9 FW  NGA Victor Osimhen 11 FW  MEX Hirving Lozano 12 GK  ITA Davide Marfella 13 DF  KOS Amir Rrahmani 16 GK  POL Hubert Idasiak 17 DF  URU Mathías Olivera 18 FW  ARG Giovanni Simeone (on loan from Hellas Verona) 20 MF  POL Piotr Zieliński

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW  ITA Matteo Politano 22 DF  ITA Giovanni Di Lorenzo (captain) 23 FW  ITA Alessio Zerbin 30 GK  ITA Salvatore Sirigu 31 MF  ALG Karim Zedadka 55 DF  NOR Leo Østigård 59 DF  ITA Alessandro Zanoli 68 MF  SVK Stanislav Lobotka 70 MF  ITA Gianluca Gaetano 77 FW  GEO Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 81 FW  ITA Giacomo Raspadori (on loan from Sassuolo) 91 MF  FRA Tanguy Ndombele (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 99 MF  CMR André-Frank Zambo Anguissa

As of 1 September 2022.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ITA Nikita Contini (at Sampdoria until 30 June 2023) — DF  ITA Filippo Costa (at Foggia until 30 June 2023) — DF  ITA Sebastiano Luperto (at Empoli until 30 June 2023) — DF  ITA Francesco Mezzoni (at Ancona until 30 June 2023) — DF  ITA Lorenzo Sgarbi (at Renate until 30 June 2023) — DF  ITA Davide Costanzo (at Alessandria until 30 June 2023)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  ITA Leonardo Candellone (at Pordenone until 30 June 2023) — FW  ITA Antonio Cioffi (at Pontedera until 30 June 2023) — FW  ITA Giuseppe D'Agostino (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2023) — FW  ITA Eugenio D'Ursi (at Foggia until 30 June 2023) — FW  ITA Michael Folorunsho (at Bari until 30 June 2023) — FW  ITA Andrea Petagna (at Monza until 30 June 2023)

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 10 FW  ARG Diego Maradona (1984–91)

Jersey number 10, retired in 2000 as tribute to Diego Maradona

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.[54]

• Serie A

• Winners: 1986–87, 1989–90

• Serie B

• Winners: 1945–46, 1949–50[55]

• Serie C1-South

• Winners: 2005–06 South

• Coppa Italia

• Winners: 1961–62, 1975–76, 1986–87, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2019–20

• SuperCoppa Italiana

• Winners: 1990, 2014

• UEFA Cup

• Winners: 1988–89

• Anglo-Italian League Cup

• Winners: 1976

• Coppa delle Alpi

• Winners: 1966

Napoli ultras at Stadio San Paolo

Napoli is the fourth most supported football club in Italy with around 13% of Italian football fans supporting the club.[79] Like other top clubs in the country, Napoli's fanbase goes beyond the Italian border; in 2018 the society announced that the team had over 35 million supporters worldwide and 120 million people who liked to watch Napoli matches.

In the morning we went to the San Paolo to warm up, Carlos (Tevez) was telling me about this stadium, but I've played for Barça so I said to myself, it can't be that big of a deal! Yet when I set foot on that pitch I felt something magical, different. In the evening, when there was the anthem of the Champions League, hearing 80,000 people whistling us I realized what a mess we were in! I did play some important matches in my career, but when I heard that cry for the first time my legs were shaking! Well, it was there that I realized that for those people this is not just a team, it is a visceral love, like the one between a mother and a son! It was the only time I remained on the pitch after losing a match, just to enjoy the show.[80]

— Yaya Touré

Unlike other Italian cities such as Genoa, Milan, Rome and Turin, Napoli is the only major football club in the city and therefore there is no derby in the strict sense of the term.

Countrywide rivalries are contested with AS Roma, known as derby of the sun, a rivalry with Juventus, with all three clubs having large fanbases frequently contesting the championship throughout the years. They also have a rivalry with the other Roman club Lazio, and contest the derby Mezzogiorno against Bari and derby Bourbon against Foggia.

The derby of Southern Italy: against Catanzaro during the seventies has been considered one of the most important derbies in Southern Italy.[81]

The fans of Napoli do co-star in two particular derbies in Italy against other regional teams: Derby della Campania generally refers to a rivalry with regional clubs, mainly Avellino and Salernitana.[82]

The now infrequent derby with Savoia was played for the first time 24 December 1939, during the knockout phase of the Italian Cup from 1939 to 1940, the score was 1–3 Savoy Naples.[83]

Napoli have a famous and long-standing friendship with the fans of Genoa.[84] It also has a smaller friendship with the fans of Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Plovdiv; Napoli gave birth to the name "Napoletani Ultras Plovdiv", which is how the friendship arose.[85]

A friendly rivalry[86] with Palermo is contested, known as the Two Sicilies derby, in reference to the historical link of the former Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

Other friendships exist with Catania, Borussia Dortmund,[87] Paris Saint-Germain,[88] and Celtic.[89]