Resident Paisan: Napoli Headed Back Toward Serie A
The Resident Paisan reflects this month on the excellent performances Napoli are churning out in Serie B.
zoom - galleria I’ve been to many cities around the world and soccer fans in each one of them always claim to be the most rabid. Sure, they have banners and flags, fireworks and horns, but none match the passion exuded by the local tifosi who follow Napoli and bleed the team’s colors of sky blue and white. The electric atmosphere generated by Napoli fans, particularly at their home field at the San Paolo Stadium, is tremendous.
The city of Naples -- a hectic mix of old cobblestone roadways, street markets and the occasional gangster shooting -- is filled with residents passionate about everything: pizza (it was invented in Naples), women, and of course, calcio. The team happens to be doing pretty well, actually very well, at the moment. Napoli is in first place in Serie B with 25 points after 13 games -- a point ahead of second place Juventus -- thanks to a hard-fought win on the road against Pescara this past Saturday. Honestly, seeing the name Napoli at the top of the standings is something pretty rare these days, unless you consider last season’s first place finish in Serie C1 something to brag about.
A friend of mine in Naples recently told me that there hasn’t been this much excitement generated by the team since Diego Maradona led them to the Scudetto in 1990. But the man behind this soccer fairytale isn’t the stocky Argentine (although he has said recently that he wants to return to Naples and work for the club). Instead, this latest production is the work of film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis. The Roman-born movie mogul took over the bankrupt club in August 2004 after convincing creditors that he could guarantee them a satisfactory recovery package. “Give me five years and I’ll take Napoli to Europe,” he proclaimed at the time during a packed news conference to announce that he had taken over the storied club. De Laurentiis still has three more seasons to put his money where his mouth is. In the meantime, Napoli is a favorite to gain promotion to Serie A.
The future wasn’t always this bright. De Laurentiis’ first two seasons with the club were tough in Serie C1, the country’s third division. Napoli finally earned promotion to Serie B last season, though they had come close the previous spring but lost to rivals Avellino in a two-leg playoff game.
Those of you who have watched Napoli on TV this season (or visited the San Paolo) know that this team doesn’t play the most entertaining soccer. Instead, they get the job done. At times, the team is downright unwatchable. At other times, they demonstrate a certain scrappy edge that can make them unbeatable. In the biggest match of the season so far, Napoli renewed its rivalry against Juventus 20 years after the two clubs went at it for a shot at the Scudetto. During the 1986-87 season, it was Napoli that emerged victorious in the end, winning its first Scudetto and elevating Maradona to sainthood among the locals.
This time around, the game was also a big deal, attracting over 60,000 spectators at the San Paolo three weeks ago and ending in a 1-1 draw. Though not the most attractively played game this season, both sides put on a show in the second period. Alessandro Del Piero put Juve ahead after 67 minutes on a 30-yard free kick, curling the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Napoli tied the score six minutes later on a close-range effort by Mariano Bogliacino to beat Gianluigi Buffon, who until that point hadn’t been beaten in eight consecutive Serie B games. The last time Napoli, who are coached by the talented and tactically astute Edy Reja, and Juve had met was in August in a third round Coppa Italia game. The game had ended 3-3, but Napoli knocked out the disgraced club after winning a penalty shootout.
Napoli’s two biggest stars are striker Emanuele Calaio, who has scored six goals so far this season, and defender Paolo Cannavaro, younger brother of Italy captain and World Cup champion Fabio. Both Fabio, winner of France Football’s European Player of the Year award, and Paolo grew up just a corner kick away from the San Paolo Stadium in the nearby working-class neighborhood of Fuorigrotta. Possibly – hopefully – Fabio will join his brother at Napoli when his contract with Real Madrid expires in 2 ½ years.
Many have said that Serie A is lacking something this season because Juventus is in Serie B. I’d argue something else: Serie A has been missing something since Napoli was demoted in 2001. Perhaps this is the season Napoli returns to Serie A.
The Resident Paisan, Clemente Lisi, writes a monthly column on Italian soccer. You can also read his daily blog on Goal.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
id love for napoli and genoa to join juventus back in the serie A.will the next season be a great one if torino remain in serie A,and juventus,genoa and napoli get promotion into the serie A?
The Resident Paisan reflects this month on the excellent performances Napoli are churning out in Serie B.
zoom - galleria I’ve been to many cities around the world and soccer fans in each one of them always claim to be the most rabid. Sure, they have banners and flags, fireworks and horns, but none match the passion exuded by the local tifosi who follow Napoli and bleed the team’s colors of sky blue and white. The electric atmosphere generated by Napoli fans, particularly at their home field at the San Paolo Stadium, is tremendous.
The city of Naples -- a hectic mix of old cobblestone roadways, street markets and the occasional gangster shooting -- is filled with residents passionate about everything: pizza (it was invented in Naples), women, and of course, calcio. The team happens to be doing pretty well, actually very well, at the moment. Napoli is in first place in Serie B with 25 points after 13 games -- a point ahead of second place Juventus -- thanks to a hard-fought win on the road against Pescara this past Saturday. Honestly, seeing the name Napoli at the top of the standings is something pretty rare these days, unless you consider last season’s first place finish in Serie C1 something to brag about.
A friend of mine in Naples recently told me that there hasn’t been this much excitement generated by the team since Diego Maradona led them to the Scudetto in 1990. But the man behind this soccer fairytale isn’t the stocky Argentine (although he has said recently that he wants to return to Naples and work for the club). Instead, this latest production is the work of film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis. The Roman-born movie mogul took over the bankrupt club in August 2004 after convincing creditors that he could guarantee them a satisfactory recovery package. “Give me five years and I’ll take Napoli to Europe,” he proclaimed at the time during a packed news conference to announce that he had taken over the storied club. De Laurentiis still has three more seasons to put his money where his mouth is. In the meantime, Napoli is a favorite to gain promotion to Serie A.
The future wasn’t always this bright. De Laurentiis’ first two seasons with the club were tough in Serie C1, the country’s third division. Napoli finally earned promotion to Serie B last season, though they had come close the previous spring but lost to rivals Avellino in a two-leg playoff game.
Those of you who have watched Napoli on TV this season (or visited the San Paolo) know that this team doesn’t play the most entertaining soccer. Instead, they get the job done. At times, the team is downright unwatchable. At other times, they demonstrate a certain scrappy edge that can make them unbeatable. In the biggest match of the season so far, Napoli renewed its rivalry against Juventus 20 years after the two clubs went at it for a shot at the Scudetto. During the 1986-87 season, it was Napoli that emerged victorious in the end, winning its first Scudetto and elevating Maradona to sainthood among the locals.
This time around, the game was also a big deal, attracting over 60,000 spectators at the San Paolo three weeks ago and ending in a 1-1 draw. Though not the most attractively played game this season, both sides put on a show in the second period. Alessandro Del Piero put Juve ahead after 67 minutes on a 30-yard free kick, curling the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Napoli tied the score six minutes later on a close-range effort by Mariano Bogliacino to beat Gianluigi Buffon, who until that point hadn’t been beaten in eight consecutive Serie B games. The last time Napoli, who are coached by the talented and tactically astute Edy Reja, and Juve had met was in August in a third round Coppa Italia game. The game had ended 3-3, but Napoli knocked out the disgraced club after winning a penalty shootout.
Napoli’s two biggest stars are striker Emanuele Calaio, who has scored six goals so far this season, and defender Paolo Cannavaro, younger brother of Italy captain and World Cup champion Fabio. Both Fabio, winner of France Football’s European Player of the Year award, and Paolo grew up just a corner kick away from the San Paolo Stadium in the nearby working-class neighborhood of Fuorigrotta. Possibly – hopefully – Fabio will join his brother at Napoli when his contract with Real Madrid expires in 2 ½ years.
Many have said that Serie A is lacking something this season because Juventus is in Serie B. I’d argue something else: Serie A has been missing something since Napoli was demoted in 2001. Perhaps this is the season Napoli returns to Serie A.
The Resident Paisan, Clemente Lisi, writes a monthly column on Italian soccer. You can also read his daily blog on Goal.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
id love for napoli and genoa to join juventus back in the serie A.will the next season be a great one if torino remain in serie A,and juventus,genoa and napoli get promotion into the serie A?
Buy on AliExpress.com