goal.com
6/29/2007 12:27 PM
TGIF Video: Maradona At Napoli Today's TGIF (Thank God It's Friday no link
to the restaurant chain; just the original meaning of the saying) video
brings readers a chance to review one of the most enduring love stories in
world football: Diego Armando Maradona and SSC Napoli
With Napoli making their return to greatness with the Serie A elite next
season, it's high time that readers have a chance to renew their
acquaintance with the Azzuri from Naples when they stood at the forefront of
Italian and world football.
Maradona and Napoli: A Potted History
The club that was started with a whiff of England British sailors brought
a battered leather ball to the port city and a joint football and cricket
club was founded by a mix of local Neapolitans and Englishmen in 1904 (the
club in its pure footballing SSC Napoli form was born again in 1926)
became inseparably associated with the Argentine legend in the early 1980s.
At the time Napoli had won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) in 1961-62 and
1975-76, but the league had eluded the San Paolo club that had caressed
Serie A supremacy in 1967-68 and 1974-75 but had to settle for second best.
This had left the Partenopei faithful with a taste of honey on their lips
and longing for final success in the domestic league and in Europe.
The 1980s seemed to see Napoli on the rise again after the mid-70s
flirtation with glory as the club clinched a third and fourth place in Serie
A. Feeling that he was on the verge of something truly great, President
Corrado Ferlaino took a leap that would kick start that longed-for success
by signing the-then FC Barcelona star.
Maradona had clashed with the hard-headed, Napoleonic Barcelona President
Josep Lluís Nuñez as stubborn as he was growth-restricted and the
combination of both unyielding personalities was fire and petrol. The door
flew open as Corrado Ferlaino and SSC Napoli swooped to bring the
Albiceleste star in for a then-record $12 million.
Despite the instant adulation that the fans gave to the man who would spur
the biggest successes in Napoli history, it wasn't an instant fairy tale.
The 1984-85 season ended up with Napoli in a so-so eighth place, the Azzuri
taking a step up the next season with a third place finish, but 1986-87
would be the year that marked the attainment of the Holy Grail.
Maradona had just returned triumphantly from the World Cup in Mexico where
he had captained Argentina to a World Cup triumph that is indelibly etched
into football history with the two goals he scored against England in the
(in)famous quarter-final. The final crowning glory was the 3-2 win over
West Germany.
Despite being limpet-marked throughout the match he served Jorge Burruchaga
with the winning goal. Maradona returned to Italy as a man with an apparent
divine wind pushing him forward and Napoli was in just the right position
to complement and benefit from the number 10 in peak form. It was time for
the South to finally steal the limelight from the rich North.
Diego was on fire and beautiful goals seemed to appear effortlessly; a
diving header against Sampdoria; dribbling two AC Milan defenders before
dropping jaws by scoring from the goal kick line being just two of the
fantastic feats he performed on the pitch that season. Maradona scored 10
goals in 29 matches* to become Capocannoniere (Top Scorer), Andrea Carnevale
in his wake with eight strikes.
Not only was the Scudetto finally raised for the first time by a team from
the mainland south, so often looked down and despised by rich northerners
who sadly and arrogantly saw (many still do) the south as a different,
inferior country. The double tap was completed in the Coppa Italia, Napoli
sweeping the board by winning a record 13 out of the 13 matches, Maradona
scoring seven times** in the process.
Next season Napoli fans were left initially heartbroken as the Azzurri were
knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid and a
Scudetto double was frustratingly near yet so far with a second place.
Nevertheless a runners-up place put Napoli into the (then more restrictive
and prestigious) UEFA Cup.
After starting off by kicking PAOK Salonica out, giants such as Juventus and
Bayern Munich were eliminated until Napoli found themselves facing
Klinsmann's (absent in the first leg) Stuttgart. Napoli, however, had a
stellar cast that included Ciro Ferrera, Alemão, De Napoli and, most
tellingly, a perfect partner in Brazilian star Careca.
The Maradona-Careca worked wonders with a providential double-tap in the
waning minutes of the second half of the first leg. The Stuttgart second leg
ended in a 3-3 stalemate that provided Napoli with their first and only
European trophy to date.
In 1990 Napoli won the Scudetto again, but Maradona, now substance-fuelled
to an extent that led to many poor decisions best left forgotten, missed his
mark at the 1990 Italy World Cup, urging Neapolitans to support the
Albiceleste team as a way of showing their distaste for a northern-dominated
Italy.
This didn't go down well with many Napoli fans, but it did strike a minor
chord as San Paolo was the only Italian stadium not to openly boo the
Argentinean national anthem, but the end was near as a blizzard of white
powder engulfed the star. Maradona tested positive for cocaine and in 1991
the Maradona era was over at Napoli.
Nevertheless, his overall legacy was a landmark for Napoli and will never be
forgotten. For those who didn't have the opportunity to witness Maradona in
a Napoli shirt at the time, here is a chance to spend a great Friday with
two trips down memory lane. Enjoy; its Friday!
Maradona At Napoli Compilation
--
Cavaliere
AC Milan atau tidak sama sekal!
FORZA INDONESIA >> Tak pernah berhenti berharap Indonesia bisa tampil di
Piala Dunia.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
HAPUS BAGIAN EMAIL YG TIDAK PERLU SEBELUM ME-REPLY.
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