Napoli is now proud of its third ‘scudetto’ in its nearly hundred-year history. Madness was released to its fans after over thirty years of waiting since then, by the hand of the revered Diego Armando Maradona they celebrated in style the titles won in 1987 and 1990, when, as now, they claimed southern Italy against the power of the country’s north represented by Juventus, Milan or Inter.
On May 10, 1987, Napoli, with Ottavio Bianchi as coach, won Serie A for the first time thanks to a draw against Fiorentina (1-1) in San Paolo, stadium that bears the name of Diego Armando Maradona after his death in 2020. It was the penultimate of 30 days since the championship was contested by 16 teams at the time.
Victories are still worth two points and Napoli have added 42 from 30 games after winning 15, drawing 12 and losing just 3. Juventus are second with 39 and Inter third with 38. Maradona became the team’s top scorer with 10 goals ahead of Andrea Carnevale, who had 8.
jump into monopoly
Until that year, 1987, only Cagliari, Roma and Lazio managed to break the monopoly of the traditional northern Italian clubs in Serie A. Roma were the first to do so in 1942 (they later won another two ‘scudetti’ in 1983 and 2001), he followed with Cagliari in 1970 and Lazio in 1974 (he got another one in 2000).
Corrado Ferlaino, President of Naples, he achieved the goal set when he gave himself a three-year deadline to win the ‘scudetto’ when he signed Maradona from FC Barcelona in 1984 for 2,000 million of the old pesetas (12 million euros). .
Ottavio Bianchi managed to surround Maradona, at 26 years old in the prime of his career after winning the 1986 World Cup with Argentina, from a defensively strong team with Claudio Garella under the sticks and a ciro ferrara as a leader, skilled in the midfield with Salvatore Bagni and in attacking the Carnevale and Bruno Giordano including ’10’.
“The title of one champion in Naples is worth ten for Juventus”, Maradona declared while the city of Vesuvius plunges into an unforgettable party.
In 1990 the passion between Maradona and Napoli seemed to have reached a crisis point with the Argentine’s attempt to leave Marseille in the summer, seeking to win the Champions League, after the Azzurri’s victory in the now defunct UEFA Cup in 1988. -89 after beating Stuttgart in the final
But his refusal was new Maradona really became a God in Naples by leading his team to a second ‘scudetto’ whose success was delayed this time until the last day with a victory over Lazio (2-0) in San Paolo on April 29, 1990.
The World Cup broke the idyll
A few weeks later the Argentina’s idol was booed in the same stadium as San Paolo in the 1990 World Cup semifinal against hosts Italy. Maradona led the albiceleste’s victory with penalties (1-1 and 4-3) that changed his shot.
This contempt for the Neapolitans was the beginning of the end for Maradona in ‘calcio’. His excesses of all kinds and extra-sporting escapades prevented him from regaining his level and in March 1991 he tested positive for cocaine after the match He returned to Argentina in April after being suspended for 15 months and never returned. When you finish your sentence, in September 1992 he signed for Sevilla. Napoli pocketed 750 million pesetas at the time (5.7 million euros).
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
