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SSC Napoli

Published: Friday 7 January 2011, 9.39CET
Club profile
SSC Napoli
Diego Maradona celebrates winning the UEFA Cup with Napoli ©Getty Images
Published: Friday 7 January 2011, 9.39CET

SSC Napoli

Club profile

Formed: 1926
Nickname: Partenopei (a reference to Parthenope, one of the Sirens of Greek mythology)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Cup: 1989

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 2 (1990)
• Italian Cup: 3 (1987)

History
• The modern Napoli side were founded with the merger of Naples Foot-Ball Club, formed in 1904 by English businessman William Poths and Italian engineer Emilio Anatra, and US Internazionale Napoli, a side set up under the initiative of a group of local workers in 1912. They were briefly FBC Internaples before settling on their current identity in 1926.

• A moderately successful side in their early years, Napoli nevertheless boasted a fine following, 80,000 watching them beat Juventus 2-1 in the first game at their Stadio San Paolo in 1959. Relegated from Serie A the following season, the Partenopei became the first Serie B side to win the Coppa Italia in 1962, beating Spal 1907 2-1 in Rome, and they gained promotion in the same campaign.

• President Corrado Ferlaino's arrival in 1969 signalled the beginning of a significant period in the club's history; he was responsible for signing club legend Diego Maradona from FC Barcelona in June 1984 and under Ottavio Bianchi, Napoli were the first southern side to win Serie A as they claimed a domestic double in 1987.

• A 5-4 aggregate success against VfB Stuttgart secured Napoli's only major continental honour, the 1988/89 UEFA Cup, but following their second title success the following year things began to unravel with the departure of Maradona and, due to financial problems, the sale of the likes of Gianfranco Zola and future Ballon d'Or winner Fabio Cannavaro.

• Declared bankrupt in 2004, a new owner and president − film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis − helped the club start from scratch in Serie C1, and they were back in the top division by 2007/08, returning to Europe after a 14-year absence in the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup. In 2011, Walter Mazzarri's team enjoyed a third-place finish, which guaranteed Napoli UEFA Champions League football for the following season.

Club records
Most appearances: Giuseppe Bruscolotti (511)
Most goals: Diego Maradona (115)
Record victory: Napoli 8-1 Pro Patria (Serie A, 16 October 1955)
Record defeat: Torino FC 11-0 Napoli (First Division, 4 March 1928)

* Last updated 1 June 2011

Last updated: 06/09/11 18.16CET

Related information

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http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/teams/club=50136/profile/index.html#ssc+napoli

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