Football is a sport that fascinates millions of people all over the world and Italy is no exception.
Among the most loved and followed teams in the Italian football scene, the Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli has a fascinating history full of successes.
In this article, we will focus on the path that led Napoli to win its three league titles, which represented unforgettable moments for all Azzurri fans.
Napoli's first Scudetto
In the 1986-1987 season, Napoli achieved the first championship in its history and won the Coppa Italia for the third time, making one historic double. The season began on August 24 with the preliminary stage of the Italian Cup, where Napoli won the fifth qualifying group, made up of Lazio, Cesena, LR Vicenza, Taranto and SPAL.
In the league, the Neapolitans have took command in early November, after defeating Juventus 3-1. Towards the end of the first leg, Inter joined Napoli in the standings, but the Nerazzurri were defeated in Verona, allowing Napoli to secure the symbolic title of winter champion by two points.
The gap between Napoli and Inter widened to four points at the end of February, when the Milanese lost against Roma and Napoli won 0-1 against Torino in Turin. Two weeks later, the lead became seven points, thanks to Inter's defeats in the derby and in Genoa. Despite a slight slowdown in the spring, Napoli have maintained a safe distance from Milan and Rome. The Scudetto was won a day early, after the draws against Como and Fiorentina, and the defeat of Inter in Ascoli.
In the UEFA Cup, Napoli were eliminated in the first round by French side Toulouse, who prevailed on penalties. However, the season ended with the prestigious success in the Coppa Italia, won by the Neapolitans for the third time. Napoli eliminated Brescia in the round of XNUMX, overcame Bologna in the quarter-finals, beat Cagliari in the semi-finals with a double victory and triumphed in the final against Atalanta, overcoming them in both matches.
This extraordinary season gave Napoli a dream brace, remained imprinted in the memory of the fans and in the history of Italian football.
Napoli's second Scudetto
Napoli managed to win its second championship in the 1989-1990 season, three years after the first historic triumph. Alberto Bigon took the place of Ottavio Bianchi on the bench and strengthened the team with the purchase of Massimo Mauro from Juventus, the talented Gianfranco Zola from Torres and the promising Marco Baroni from Lecce.
Despite a start to the season conditioned by the commitment of the South American players in the Copa América, Napoli remained undefeated for the first sixteen rounds of the championship. The first defeat came in the last round of the first leg against Lazio, with a heavy 3-0. However, Napoli still won the symbolic title of winter champion.
At the end of February, Milan managed to reach and overtake Napoli in the standings, taking advantage of the defeat of the Neapolitans in the direct match and another reverse against Inter. Milan also eliminated Napoli in the semi-finals of the Italian Cup, after Bigon's team had overcome Monza, Reggina, Fiorentina and Bologna in the previous rounds.
On April 8, Napoli returned to first place thanks to Milan's draw in Bologna and the forfeit victory against Atalanta, obtained following a controversial episode in which the player Alemão was hit on the head by a coin thrown from the stands.
The fate of the championship they decided in the last two days. In the penultimate round, Milan unexpectedly lost against Verona, while Napoli won 2-4 away against Bologna, thus returning to the top of the table. The following week, on 29 April, Napoli needed at least one draw against Lazio to win the Scudetto and won thanks to a Marco Baroni goal in the opening minutes of the game. Napoli closed the championship with two points ahead of Milan, winning the Italian flag for the second time in its history.
In the UEFA Cup, Napoli, holders of the trophy, he could not defend the previous year's success. After defeating Sporting Lisbon in the first round and Wettingen in the round of XNUMX, the team was eliminated in the round of XNUMX by Werder Bremen.
The De Laurentiis era and the third championship
In 2004, SSC Napoli was going through one of the most difficult periods in its history, which culminated in the bankruptcy and consequent relegation to Serie C1. It was at that moment that Aurelio De Laurentiis, a film producer and football enthusiast, entered and took over the club and began a process of relaunch and rebirth.
De Laurentiis invested considerable economic resources to bring Napoli back to the top of Italian and international football. His management was based on a prudent and farsighted strategy, focusing on young and talented players, as well as coaches with great experience and charisma.
The first great success of the De Laurentiis era came with the promotion to Serie A in 2007, thanks to the contribution of coach Edoardo Reja and players such as Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik. Since then, Napoli has continued to grow and consolidate its position in the Italian and international football scene.
In the following years, Napoli achieved important results both in the league and in European competitions, thanks to coaches such as Walter Mazzarri, Rafa Benítez and Maurizio Sarri. Under the leadership of Sarri, Napoli has came close to winning the Scudetto in the 2017-2018 season, with a spectacular game and a league record 91 points, unfortunately not enough to overtake Juventus.
During the De Laurentiis era, Napoli also won two Italian Cups (2011-2012 and 2019-2020) and an Italian Super Cup (2014), confirming its competitiveness and ambition.
The third championship of Napoli
In the 2022-2023 season, which saw the arrival of the third Italian championship, Napoli made their return to the Champions League, after a two-year absence, and faced a season of great changes. Indeed, the captain Lorenzo Insigne, who led the team for four years, moves to Toronto FC. However, the club strengthens the squad with several new signings, including Olivera, kvaratskhelia, Østigård, Kim, Sirigu, Simeon, Ndombele e Breakers. By Lorenzo new captain is appointed.
Napoli's season begins with great success in the league, with several wins and draws taking the team to the top of the table. Napoli keeps the top, with a five-point lead over Atalanta. The lead increases to eight points after the victory against Atalanta, and the team continues to dominate the championship, becoming winter champion two days in advance.
Napoli's great season continues, seeing a key moment in the last minute victory at Juventus on matchday 31 of the championship. Despite the already large advantage over the opponents, this victory was the one that made the Neapolitan fans realize that the Scudetto would not remain just a dream.
In the Champions League, Napoli are drawn in group A together with Ajax, Liverpool and Rangers. The team begins its European journey with three consecutive victories, beating Liverpool, Rangers and Ajax. Thanks to the victory against Ajax, Napoli mathematically qualified for the round of XNUMX with two games to spare and will reach the historic quarter-finals, where they will then be eliminated by Milan.
Another unexpected disappointment of the season was Cremonese's elimination in the round of XNUMX of the Italian Cup on penalties.
The match against Udinese turns out to be decisive in winning the Scudetto, with a draw with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
1:1, Napoli is sample.
Napoli's third scudetto party: the ordinances
The party for the third Napoli championship will see the whole city overwhelmed by a real blue wave fed by tens of thousands of fans.
In this regard, numerous precautions have been taken by the authorities. For example, the traffic was severely limited , meter will be active throughout the night. If that weren't enough, the sale of drinks and fireworks. The roads will also be filled with doctors and first aid points.
