SSC Napoli

Napoli
Full nameSocietà Sportiva Calcio Napoli S.p.A.
Nickname(s)Gli Azzurri (The Blues)
I Partenopei (The Parthenopeans)
I Ciucciarelli (The Little Donkeys)
Short nameSSC Napoli
Founded25 August 1926; 98 years ago (25 August 1926), as Associazione Calcio Napoli
6 September 2004; 20 years ago (6 September 2004), as Napoli Soccer
GroundStadio Diego Armando Maradona
Capacity54,725
OwnerFilmauro S.r.l.
PresidentAurelio De Laurentiis
Head coachAntonio Conte
LeagueSerie A
2023–24Serie A, 10th of 20
Websitesscnapoli.it
Current season

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (pronounced [ˈnaːpoli]) is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Naples that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. In its history, Napoli has won three Serie A titles, six Coppa Italia titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and one UEFA Cup.[1]

The club was formed in 1926 as Associazione Calcio Napoli following the merger of US Internazionale Napoli and Naples Foot-Ball Club. Napoli saw relatively little success in its early years, winning their first major trophy in the 1962 Coppa Italia. Napoli then saw increased success in the late 1970s (including their second Coppa Italia in 1976) and especially in the 1980s, after the club acquired Diego Maradona in 1984. During his time in Naples, Maradona helped the team win several trophies, which led to the club retiring his number 10 jersey. During this period, Napoli won two league titles (in 1987 and 1990), the 1987 Coppa Italia, the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana, and their only European trophy with the 1989 UEFA Cup. Following his departure, however, Napoli struggled financially, and endured several relegations and a bankruptcy, prior to being re-founded in 2004 by film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis. Under his leadership, the club has stabilized, which has led to renewed on-field success, winning 2005–06 Serie C1, the 2012, 2014, and 2020 Coppa Italia titles, and the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana, eventually culminating in their third league title in 2023, the first since Maradona's departure.

By attendance, Napoli have the fourth-largest fan base in Italy,[2] and were ranked as the fifth highest-earning football club in Serie A, with $182 million in revenue during the 2017–18 season.[3] In 2018, Forbes estimated the club is the fifth most valuable club in Italy, worth $379 million. Napoli are also one of the associate members of the European Club Association.

Since 1959, the club has played their home games at the Stadio San Paolo, which was renamed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after the Argentine striker's death in 2020. Napoli traditionally wear sky blue shirts, white shorts, and sky blue socks at home and white shirts, white or sky blue shorts, and white or sky blue socks away; this is derived from the shirts of Naples FBC and the shorts of Internazionale Napoli after the clubs merged to form Napoli's predecessor Internaples in 1922. Napoli have rivalries with Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and AC Milan. The club's anthem is "Napoli", one of the major hits of the Neapolitan singer Nino D'Angelo.[4]

  1. ^ "La storia del Calcio Napoli sino ai giorni nostri" (in Italian). Ale Napoli. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Il tifo calcistico in Italia – Settembre 2012" (in Italian). September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Deloitte Football Money League 2014". Deloitte. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  4. ^ ""Napoli" di Nino D'Angelo sarà il nuovo inno: l'annuncio di De Laurentiis". corrieredellosport.it (in Italian). 27 May 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2024.