SSC Napoli

Napoli

Full name	Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli S.p.A.
Nickname(s)	Partenopei Azzurri (The Blues)
Founded	1926
Ground	Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy
Capacity	60,240
Owner	Aurelio De Laurentiis
President	Aurelio De Laurentiis
Head Coach	Walter Mazzarri
League	Serie A
2011–12	Serie A, 5th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926 (refounded in 2004). The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2012–13 season. Napoli has won Serie A twice, in 1986–87 and 1989–90. They have also won the Italian Cup four times and the Italian Super Cup, and on the European stage have won the UEFA Cup in 1988–89. Napoli is also the most successful club in Southern Italy and the fourth most supported football club in Italy.

The club has had several name changes since first appearing in 1926; the most important of these was in 1964, when it was changed from Associazione Calcio Napoli to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli. The most recent change was in 2004, when the club went bankrupt but was refounded by film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis as Napoli Soccer; he restored the name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli two years later. The bankruptcy of the club in 2004 had seen it placed in the third division of Italian football (Serie C1), but progress of the reformed club was swift and after just three years it returned to Serie A.

History

For more details on this topic, see History of S.S.C. Napoli

The first club was founded as Naples Foot-Ball & Cricket Club in 1904 by English sailor William Poths and his associate Hector M. Bayon. Neapolitans such as Conforti, Catterina and Amedeo Salsi were also involved, the latter of whom was the club's first president. The original kit of the club was a sky blue and navy blue striped shirt, with black shorts. The name of the club was shortened to Naples Foot-Ball Club in 1906.

Early into its existence, the Italian Football Championship was limited to just Northern clubs, so Southern clubs competed against sailors or in cups such as Thomas Lipton's Lipton Challenge Cup. In the cup competed between Naples and Palermo FBC, Naples won three finals. The foreign contingent at the club broke off in 1912 to form Internazionale Napoli, in time for both club's debut in the Italian Championship of 1912–13. Though the sides had a keen rivalry in the Campania section, they were not as successful outside of it and a few years after World War I, they merged as Foot-Ball Club Internazionale-Naples, also known as FBC Internaples.

Associazione Calcio Napoli

Attila Sallustro in the middle, with Napoli teammates in 1927

Under the presidency of Giorgio Ascarelli, the club changed its name to Associazione Calcio Napoli on 23 August 1926. After a poor start, with a sole point in an entire championship, Napoli was readmitted to Serie A's forerunner National Division by the Italian FA, and began to improve thanks in part to Paraguayan-born Attila Sallustro, who was the first fully fledged hero to the fans. He was a capable goal-scorer and eventually set the all-time goal-scoring record for Napoli, which still stands today.

File:Stadiosanpaolo.jpg

Napoli moved to the new Stadio San Paolo in 1959, where they have played since.

Napoli entered the Serie A-era under the management of William Garbutt. During his six-year stint, the club would be dramatically transformed, frequently finishing in the top half of the table. This included two third-place finishes during the 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons, with added notables such as Antonio Vojak, Arnaldo Sentimenti and Carlo Buscaglia. For the years leading up to World War II Napoli went into decline, surviving relegation in 1939–40 by goal average.

Napoli lost a closely contested relegation battle at the end of 1942 and were relegated to Serie B. They moved from Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli to Stadio Arturo Collana and stayed in Serie B until after the war. When play continued, Napoli earned the right to compete in Serie A, but were relegated after two seasons for a bribery scandal. The club bounced back to ensure top flight football at the start of the 1950s. Napoli moved to their new home ground Stadio San Paolo in 1959. Despite erratic league form with highs and lows during this period, including a further relegation and promotion, Napoli had some cup success when they beat SPAL to lift the Coppa Italia in 1962, with goals from Gianni Corelli and Pierluigi Ronzon. Their fourth relegation cut celebrations short the following season.

Napoli on the rise: Maradona era

Napoli at the start of the '70s with Dino Zoff, José Altafini, and others.

As the club changed their name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964 they began to rise up again, gaining promotion in 1964–65. Under the management of former player Bruno Pesaola, they won the Coppa delle Alpi and were back amongst the elite in Serie A, with consistent top five finishes. Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68, finishing just behind AC Milan in second place. Some of the most popular players from this period were Dino Zoff, José Altafini, Omar Sívori, and hometown midfielder Antonio Juliano. Juliano would eventually break the appearance records, which still stand today.

The trend of Napoli performing well in the league continued into the 1970s, with third place spots in 1970–71 and 1973–74. Under the coaching of former player Luís Vinício, this gained them entry into the early UEFA Cup competitions; in 1974–75 they reached the third round knocking out Porto 2–0 on the way. During the same season, Napoli finished second in Serie A; just two points behind champions Juventus. Solid performances from locally born players such as Bruscolotti, Juliano and Esposito were relied upon during this period, coupled with goals from Giuseppe Savoldi.

After beating Southampton 4–1 on aggregate to lift the Anglo-Italian League Cup, Napoli were entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for 1976–77, where they reached the semi-finals, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Anderlecht. The club won their second Coppa Italia trophy in 1975–76, knocking out Milan and Fiorentina en route, before beating rivals Verona 4–0 in the final. In terms of the Italian league, Napoli were still very much a consistent top six side for much of the late 1970s. Even into the earliest two seasons of the 1980s, the club were performing respectably with a third place finish in 1980–81, however by 1983 they had slipped dramatically and were involved in relegation battles. Napoli broke the world transfer record fee, turning to Diego Maradona with a €12 million deal from Barcelona on 30 June 1984. The squad was gradually re-built, with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Salvatore Bagni, and Fernando De Napoli filling the ranks. The rise up the tables was gradual, by 1985–86, they had a third place finish under their belts, but better was yet to come. The 1986–87 season was the landmark in Napoli's history; they won the double, securing the Serie A title by three points and then beating Atalanta 4–0 to lift the Coppa Italia.

Because a mainland Southern Italian team had never won the league before, this turned Diego Maradona into a cultural, social and borderline religious icon for Neapolitans, which stretched beyond the realms of just football.

The club were unsuccessful in the European Cup in the following season and finished runners-up in Serie A. However, Napoli were entered into the UEFA Cup for 1988–89 and won their first major European title. Juventus, Bayern Munich, and PAOK were defeated on the way to the final, where Napoli beat Stuttgart 5–4 on aggregate, with two goals from Careca and one each from Maradona, Ferrara and Alemão.

Napoli added their second Serie A title in 1989–90, beating Milan by two points in the title race. However, this was surrounded by less auspicious circumstances as Napoli were awarded two points for a game, when in Bergamo, an Atalanta fan threw a ₤100 lira coin at Alemão's head. A controversial set of events set off at the 1990 World Cup, when Maradona made comments pertaining to North-South inequality in the country and the risorgimento, asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the semi-finals against Italy in Naples.

I don't like the fact that now everybody is asking Neapolitans to be Italian and to support their national team. Naples has always been marginalised by the rest of Italy. It is a city that suffers the most unfair racism.

— Diego Armando Maradona, July 1990

San Paolo was the only stadium during the competition where the Argentine National Anthem wasn't jeered, Maradona bowed to the Napoli fans at the end and his country went on to reach the final. However, after the final the Italian Football Federation forced Maradona to take a doping test, which he failed testing positive for cocaine; Napoli and he claimed it was a revenge plot for events at the World Cup. Maradona was banned for 15 months and would never play for the club again. The club still managed to win the Supercoppa Italiana that year, with a record 5–1 victory against Juventus, but it would be their last major trophy for 22 years. In the European Cup however, they went out in the second round.

Decline and rebirth

Though the club finished fourth during the 1991–92 season, Napoli gradually went into decline after that season, both financially and on the field. Players such as Gianfranco Zola, Daniel Fonseca, Ciro Ferrara and Careca had all departed by 1994. Though Napoli did manage to qualify for the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, reaching the third round and in 1996–97, Napoli appeared at the Coppa Italia final, but lost 3–1 to Vicenza. Napoli's league form had dropped lower, and relegation to Serie B came at the end of 1997–98 when they recorded only two wins all season.

The club returned to Serie A after gaining promotion in the 1999–2000 season, though after a closely contested relegation battle, they were relegated immediately back down the following season. They failed to gain promotion following this and slipped further down. By August 2004, Napoli was declared bankrupt with debts estimated up to €70 million. To secure football in the city, film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis refounded the club under the name Napoli Soccer, as they were not allowed to use their old name. FIGC placed Napoli in Serie C1, where they missed out on promotion after losing 2–1 in play-offs to local rivals Avellino.

Despite the fact that Napoli were playing in such a low division, they retained higher average attendances than most of the Serie A clubs, breaking the Serie C attendance record with 51,000 at one game. The following season, they secured promotion to Serie B and De Laurentiis bought back the club's history, restoring its name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli in May 2006. After just one season back in Serie B, they were promoted on the final day, along with fellow sleeping giants Genoa. Napoli finished the season placed eighth in the Serie A, enough to secure a place in the Intertoto Cup third round. That same year, Napoli also defeated five major teams, Milan, Internazionale, Juventus, Fiorentina, and Udinese.

The 2008–09 season saw Napoli qualifying to the UEFA Cup via Intertoto Cup. The team was eliminated in the first round, however, by Portuguese team Benfica. At the domestic level, Napoli made a very impressive start, proposing as one of the main candidates for a Champions League spot; results and performances, however, quickly declined in mid-season, causing Napoli to fall down to 11th place in the league table, which lead to the dismissal of manager Edy Reja in March 2009, with former Italy manager Roberto Donadoni being appointed as his replacement.

Despite reinforcements in the summer transfer window, Napoli began the 2009–10 season with a number of poor results. After a 2–1 loss to Roma in October 2009, Donadoni was relieved of his duties and replaced by former Sampdoria manager Walter Mazzarri. Under Mazzarri, Napoli climbed up the table, finishing in sixth place to qualify for a Europa League spot. Napoli, under Mazzarri's guide and reinforced by players such as Edinson Cavani, spent part of the 2010–11 season in the second place, finishing third and qualifying directly to the group phase of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League.

In the 2011–12 season, Napoli ended in fifth place in the Serie A, but managed to defeat unbeaten champions Juventus in the Stadio Olimpico to win the Coppa Italia for the fourth time in the club's history, 25 years after their last cup win. Star striker Edinson Cavani scored from a penalty kick in the 63rd minute and Marek Hamšík decided the game in the 83rd minute. Napoli also had a remarkable season in the Champions League, finishing its group stage right behind Bayern Munich, stealing the second place away from early favorite Manchester City and progressing to direct elimination rounds. Napoli's only losses in the Champions' League would be on two away games against Bayern Munich (3–2 on 2 November 2011) and Chelsea (4–1 on 14 March 2012), the two teams which eventually reached the final.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 January 2013

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ITA	Morgan De Sanctis
2	DF	ITA	Gianluca Grava (vice-captain)
4	MF	ITA	Marco Donadel
5	DF	URU	Miguel Britos
6	DF	POR	Rolando (on loan from Porto)
7	FW	URU	Edinson Cavani
9	FW	ITA	Emanuele Calaiò (on loan from Siena)
11	DF	ITA	Christian Maggio
13	MF	MAR	Omar El Kaddouri
14	DF	ARG	Hugo Campagnaro
15	GK	ITA	Roberto Colombo
16	DF	ITA	Giandomenico Mesto
17	MF	SVK	Marek Hamšík (vice-captain)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	DF	COL	Juan Zúñiga
19	FW	MKD	Goran Pandev
20	MF	SUI	Blerim Džemaili
22	GK	ITA	Antonio Rosati
24	FW	ITA	Lorenzo Insigne
25	MF	CRO	Josip Radošević
27	DF	COL	Pablo Armero (on loan from Udinese)
28	DF	ITA	Paolo Cannavaro (captain)
33	DF	ITA	Leandro Rinaudo
42	FW	ITA	Roberto Insigne
55	DF	ITA	Alessandro Gamberini
85	MF	SUI	Valon Behrami
88	MF	SUI	Gökhan İnler

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ITA	Luigi Sepe (on loan at Pisa)
—	DF	BRA	Bruno Uvini (on loan at A.C. Siena)
—	DF	ARG	Federico Fernández (on loan at Getafe CF)
—	DF	ARG	Ignacio Fideleff (on loan at Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.)
—	DF	ITA	Andrea Dossena (on loan at Palermo)
—	MF	ITA	Luca Cigarini (on loan at Atalanta)
—	MF	ITA	Jacopo Dezi (on loan at Barletta)
—	MF	URU	Walter Gargano (on loan at Internazionale)
—	MF	ITA	Davide Bariti (on loan at Avellino)
—	MF	ITA	Daniele Donnarumma (on loan at Como)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ITA	Raffaele Maiello (on loan at Crotone)
—	MF	ARG	Mario Santana (on loan at Torino)
—	MF	ITA	Luigi Vitale (on loan at Ternana)
—	MF	ITA	Andrea Mazzarani (on loan at Modena)
—	FW	ARG	Cristian Chávez (on loan at Almirante Brown)
—	FW	ITA	Camillo Ciano (on loan at Crotone)
—	FW	ITA	Alessandro De Vena (on loan at Viareggio)
—	FW	ITA	Nicolao Dumitru (on loan at Cittadella)
—	FW	AUT	Erwin Hoffer (on loan at FC Kaiserslautern)
—	FW	CHI	Eduardo Vargas (on loan at Grêmio)

UEFA List

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
12	GK	ITA	Diamante Crispino
40	DF	ITA	Emanuele Allegra
41	DF	ITA	Daniele Celiento
43	MF	ITA	Giuseppe Palma

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
44	DF	ITA	Giuseppe Nicolao
45	DF	ITA	Francesco Savarise
86	FW	HUN	Soma Novothny

Retired numbers

Main article: Retired numbers in football

• 10 – Diego Armando Maradona, Second Striker, 1984–91

Notable players

Main article: List of S.S.C. Napoli players

For a list of all former and current Napoli players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:S.S.C. Napoli players.

Presidents

Below is the official presidential history of Napoli, from when Giorgio Ascarelli took over at the club in 1926, until the present day.

Name Years Giorgio Ascarelli 1926–27 Gustavo Zinzaro 1927–28 Giovanni Maresca 1928–29 Giorgio Ascarelli 1929–30 Giovanni Maresca Eugenio Coppola 1930–32 Vincenzo Savarese 1932–36 Achille Lauro 1936–40 Gaetano Del Pezzo 1941 Tommaso Leonetti 1942–43 Luigi Piscitelli 1941–43 Annibale Fienga 1943–45 Vincenzo Savarese 1945–46

Name Years Pasquale Russo 1946–48 Egidio Musollino 1948–51 Alfonso Cuomo 1951–52 Achille Lauro 1952–54 Alfonso Cuomo 1954–63 Luigi Scuotto 1963–64 Roberto Fiore 1964–67 Gioacchino Lauro 1967–68 Antonio Corcione 1968–69 Corrado Ferlaino 1969–71 Ettore Sacchi 1971–72 Corrado Ferlaino 1972–83 Marino Brancaccio 1983

Name Years Corrado Ferlaino 1983–93 Ellenio F. Gallo 1993–95 Vincenzo Schiano di Colella (honorary president) 1995–96 Gian Marco Innocenti (honorary president) 1997–98 Federico Scalingi (honorary president) 1999–00 Giorgio Corbelli 2000-02 Salvatore Naldi 2002–04 Aurelio De Laurentiis 2004–

Managers

Napoli have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team. Here is a chronological list of them from 1926 onwards:

Name Nationality Years Antonio Kreutzer 1926–27 Bino Skasa 1927 Technical Commission Rolf Steiger Giovanni Terrile Ferenc Molnar 1927–28 Otto Fischer 1928–29 William Garbutt 1929–35 Károly Csapkay 1935–36 Angelo Mattea 1936–38 Eugen Payer 1938 Paolo Jodice 1938–39 Adolfo Baloncieri 1939–40 Antonio Vojak 1940–43 Giuseppe Innocenti 1943 Raffaele Sansone 1945–46 Attila Sallustro Giovanni Vecchina 1947–48 Arnaldo Sentimenti 1948 Felice Placido Borel Paolo Jodice 1948–49 Domenico Mattioli Luigi de Manes 1949 Vittorio Mosele 1949 Eraldo Monzeglio 1949–56 Amedeo Amadei 1956–59 Annibale Frossi 1959 Amedeo Amadei 1959–61 Amedeo Amadei Renato Cesarini 1961

Name Nationality Years Attila Sallustro 1961 Fioravante Baldi 1961–62 Bruno Pesaola 1962 Bruno Pesaola Eraldo Monzeglio 1962–63 Roberto Lerici 1963–64 Giovanni Molino 1964 Bruno Pesaola 1964–68 Giuseppe Chiappella 1968–69 Egidio di Costanzo 1969 Giuseppe Chiappella 1969–73 Luis Vinicio 1973–76 Alberto del Frati 1976 Bruno Pesaola 1976–77 Rosario Rivellino 1977 Giovanni di Marzio 1977–78 Luis Vinicio 1978–80 Angelo Sormani 1980 Rino Marchesi 1980–82 Massimo Giacomini 1982 Bruno Pesaola 1982–83 Pietro Santi 1983–84 Rino Marchesi 1984–85 Ottavio Bianchi July 1986–June 89 Alberto Bigon 1989–91 Claudio Ranieri July 1991–June 93 Ottavio Bianchi Nov 1992–June 93 Marcello Lippi July 1993–June 94 Vincenzo Guerini July 1994–Oct 94

Name Nationality Years Vujadin Boškov Cané 1994–95 Vujadin Boškov Aldo Sensibile 1995–96 Luigi Simoni 1996–97 Vincenzo Montefusco 1997 Bortolo Mutti July 1997–June 1998 Carlo Mazzone Oct 1997–Nov 1997 Giovanni Galeone 1997–98 Vincenzo Montefusco 1998 Renzo Ulivieri 1998–99 Vincenzo Montefusco 1999 Walter Novellino 1999–00 Zdeněk Zeman July 2000–Nov 2000 Emiliano Mondonico Nov 2000–May 2001 Luigi De Canio July 2001–June 2002 Franco Colomba July 2002–Dec 2002 Sergio Buso 2002 Francesco Scoglio 2002–03 Franco Colomba 2003 Andrea Agostinelli June–Nov 2003 Luigi Simoni Nov 2003–June 2004 Giampiero Ventura July 2004–Jan 2005 Edoardo Reja Jan 2005–March 2009 Roberto Donadoni March–Oct 2009 Walter Mazzarri Oct 2009–

Statistics and records

Giuseppe Bruscolotti holds Napoli's official appearance record, having made 511 over the course of 16 years from 1972 until 1988. Antonio Juliano holds the record for league appearances with 394 over the course of 16 years from 1962 until 1978 . The all-time leading goalscorer for Napoli is Diego Maradona, with 115 league goals scored. In Serie A the only Napoli player to finish the season as the league's topscorer, known in Italy as the capocannoniere, is Diego Maradona in the 1987–88 season with 15 goals.

The biggest ever victory recorded by Napoli was 8–1 against Pro Patria, in the 1955–56 season of Serie A. Napoli's heaviest championship defeat came during the 1927–28 season when eventual champions Torino beat them 11–0.

Below are appearance and goalscoring records pertaining to Napoli players of all time. Still active players in bold:

As of 6 January 2012

	Name	Nationality	Period	Appearances
1	Giuseppe Bruscolotti		1972 - 1988	511
2	Antonio Juliano		1962 - 1978	505
3	Moreno Ferrario		1977 - 1988	396
4	Ciro Ferrara		1984 - 1994	323
5	Bruno Gramaglia		1938 - 1943/ 1949 - 1955	275
6	Carlo Buscaglia		1928 - 1938	273
7	Dino Panzanato		1964 - 1973	262
8	Ottavio Bugatti		1953 - 1961	261
9	Mario Zurlini		1964 - 1974	260
10	Luciano Castellini		1978 - 1985	259
11	Diego Maradona		1984 - 1992	259
12	Paolo Cannavaro		1998 - 1999/ 2006 -	257
13	Luciano Comaschi		1951 - 1960	253
14	Bruno Pesaola		1952 - 1960	253
15	Canè		1962 - 1969/ 1972 - 1975	252
16	Claudio Vinazzani		1976 - 1983	251
17	Giovanni Francini		1987 - 1994	250
18	Luigi Pogliana		1967 - 1977	245
19	Marek Hamšík		2007 -	243
20	Attila Sallustro		1926 - 1937	242
21	Fernando De Napoli		1986 - 1992	241
22	Arnaldo Sentimenti		1934 - 1943/ 1945 - 1948	235
23	Giancarlo Corradini		1988 - 1994	230
23	Mario Pretto		1937- 1949	229
23	Antonio Girardo		1960- 1968	226
24	José Altafini		1965 - 1972	223
25	Careca		1987 - 1993	221

Overall Top Scorers

	Name	Nationality	Period	Goals
1	Diego Maradona		1984 - 1991	115
2	Attila Sallustro		1926 - 1937	107
3	Antonio Vojak		1929 - 1935	103
4	José Altafini		1965 - 1972	97
5	Careca		1987 - 1993	96
6	Edinson Cavani		2010 -	93
7	Giuseppe Savoldi		1975 - 1979	77
8	Luís Vinício		1955 - 1960	70
8	Cané		1962 - 1969/ 1972 - 1975	70
10	Marek Hamšík		2007 -	66
11	Hasse Jeppson		1952 - 1956	52
12	Ezequiel Lavezzi		2007 - 2012	48
13	Amedeo Amadei		1950 - 1956	47
13	Andrea Carnevale		1986 - 1990	47
15	Umberto Busani		1940 - 1948	46
16	Emanuele Calaiò		2005 - 2008/ 2013 -	44
17	Carlo Buscaglia		1928 - 1938	41
17	Claudio Pellegrino		1978 - 1979/ 1980 - 1984	41
17	Giancarlo Vitali		1952 - 1957	41
20	Naim Krieziu		1947 - 1952	40
21	Daniel Fonseca		1992 - 1994	39
22	Antonio Juliano		1962 - 1978	38
23	Bruno Giordano		1985 - 1988	37
24	Beniamino Di Giacomo		1957 - 1961	36
24	Giuseppe Massa		1974 - 1978	36
24	Gianfranco Zola		1989 - 1993	35
27	Giorgio Braglia		1973 - 1976	35
28	Giovanni Venditto		1933 - 1943	35

Colours, badge and nicknames

File:ACNapoliLogo.PNG

An AC Napoli period club logo

As Naples is a coastal city, the colours of the club have always been derived from the blue waters of the Gulf of Naples. Originally while using the name Naples FBC, the colours of the club implemented two shades of blue. Since the 1920s however, a singular blue tone has been used in the form of azure; as thus they share the nickname azzurri with the Italian national side.

One of the nicknames of Napoli is I ciucciarelli which means "the little donkeys" in the local dialect, they were given this name after a particularly poor performance during the 1926–27 season. It was originally meant to be derogatory, as the Neapolitan symbol is a rampant black horse, the club however adopted the donkey as a mascot called 'O Ciuccio, displaying it with pride.

The club badge Napoli are most famous for is a large N placed within a circle. This crest can be traced back to Internazionale Napoli, who used a similar design on their shirts. Since the club officially adopted the N badge as its representative, Napoli have altered it slightly at various times; sometimes it features the club's name around it, sometimes it does not. The main difference between each badge is the shade of blue used. Usually the N is white, although it has occasionally been gold.

Partenopei is a popular nickname for the club and people from the city of Naples in general. It is derived from Greek mythology where the siren Parthenópē tried to enchant Odysseus from his ship to Capri. In the story Odysseus had his men tie him to the ship's mast so he was able to resist the song of the siren; as a result Parthenope, unable to live with the rejection of her love, drowned herself and her body was washed up upon the shore of Naples.

Sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1978–80	Puma	None
1981–82		Snaidero
1981–81	NR
1982–83		Cirio
1983–84		Latte Berna
1984–85	Linea Time	Cirio
1985–88	NR	Buitoni
1985–91		Mars
1991–94	Umbro	Voiello
1994–96	Lotto	Record Cucine
1996–97		Centrale del Latte di Napoli
1997–99	Nike	Polenghi
1999–00		Peroni
2000–03	Diadora
2003–04	Legea	Russo Cicciano
2004–06	Kappa	Manuale d'amore / Sky Captain / Crash – Contatto fisico / Christmas in Love / Mandi
2005–06		Lete
2006–09	Diadora
2009–2011	Macron
2011–		Lete-MSC (Champions League and Europa League Lete only)

Supporters and rivalries

Napoli ultras at Stadio San Paolo

Napoli is the fourth most supported football club in Italy with around 13% of Italian football fans supporting the club. Like other top clubs in the country, Napoli's fanbase goes beyond the Italian border; it has been estimated by the club that there are around 5 to 6 million fans worldwide.

Napoli have several rivalries, the most significant of which is with Juventus. There is also a rivalry with Roma. In terms of location Napoli and Roma are quite close, together they compete in the Derby del Sole ("Derby of the Sun"), a rivalry which was at its peak in the 1980s. There are also strong rivalries with Lazio and Hellas Verona, as well as local Campanian ones with Salernitana and Avellino.

Conversely, the fans of Napoli have a long standing friendship with Genoa, which goes back to 1982, and with Palermo and Catania. On the last day of the 2006–07 season, the club drew 0–0 with Genoa ensuring both were promoted back into Serie A; Genoa ultras could be seen holding up banners saying "Benvenuto fratello napoletano", meaning "Welcome, Neapolitan brother".

SSC Napoli as a company

S.S.C. Napoli S.p.A.

Revenue	€131,476,940 (2010–11)
Operating income	€15,712,096 (2010–11)
Net income	€4,197,829 (2010–11)
Total assets	€110,053,332 (2010–11)
Total equity	€29,305,052 (2010–11)

Since refound in 2004, SSC Napoli had a sustainable management strategy. The club has one of thee largest supporting group in Italy (or fourth, behind Juventus and Milan teams) which was the main source of income, in terms of gate revenue and TV rights. Except the first few seasons, Napoli made an aggregate profit in successive years: in 2004–05 and 2005–06 season the net loss were €7,061,463 and €9,088,780. In 2006–07 Serie B, Napoli made its first profit of €1,416,976 The first Serie A season made new born Napoli had a net profit of €11,911,041 It followed by a net profit of €10,934,520, due to the income from European matches was offset by the increase in cost. In 2009–10 season, Napoli heavily invested on players, made that season had a net profit of just €343,686. In 2010–11 Serie A, Napoli returned to the right track with €4,197,829 net profit. It was due to the new collective TV rights of Serie A, as well as qualified to 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.

Napoli shareholder equity on 30 June 2005 was a negative of €261,466, which the club started from €3 million capital and re-capitalized €3.8 million during 2004–05 Serie C1. On 30 June 2005 the equity was increased to €211,220, as the net loss was backup by a re-capitalisation of €9.3 million + €261,466 for previous net loss. On 30 June 2007 the equity was increased to €1,961,975, due to the net profit and a re-capitalised of €288,780 (to make the share capital back to €500,000). On 30 June 2008 the equity was increased to €13,829,015 with a capital increase of just €1,000. The net income contributed the increase in equity on 30 June 2009, which was €24,763,537. On 30 June 2010 the equity was at €25,107,223.O 30 June 2011 the equity was increased to €29,305,052. Though less than €17 million equity contribution in total from Filmauro, Napoli achieved self-sustainability by good management and its large fans base.

Honours

National titles

Serie A: 2

• Champions: 1986–87; 1989–90

Runners-up (4): 1967-68; 1974-75; 1987-88; 1988-89

Coppa Italia: 4

• Winners: 1961–62; 1975–76; 1986–87; 2011–12

Runners-up (4): 1971-72, 1977-78, 1988-89, 1996-97

Supercoppa Italiana: 1

• Winners: 1990

Runners-up (1): 2012

Serie B: 1

• Champions: 1949–50

Runners-up (1): 2006-07

Serie C1: 1

• Southern Champions: 2005–06

European titles

UEFA Cup: 1

• Winners: 1988–89

Anglo-Italian League Cup: 1

• Winners: 1976

Runners-up (1): 1969-70

Coppa delle Alpi: 1

• Winners: 1966

Rankings

UEFA club coefficient ranking

(As of December 2012), Source: uefa.com website

Rank	Team
43	Rubin Kazan
44	Galatasaray
45	Copenhagen
46	Napoli
47	Standard Liège
48	Lille
49	Anderlecht
50	Fulham

External links

• Official website Template:It icon Template:En icon