Pizza and football in Naples

While the cities of Rome and Milan both possess two top football clubs each, Naples, Italy’s third largest municipality, is home to just one major side, S.S.C. Napoli.

With more than 3,000,000 inhabitants living within the city’s bounds and a very limited choice when it comes to deciding which football club to support, Napoli provide an electric atmosphere on most Serie A weekends.

The club was initially founded by two English sailors in 1904 as Naples Football & Cricket Club, and it wasn’t until 1926 that the club took on the Napoli name. Despite a slow start, it wasn’t long until the club found themselves in Italy’s top flight.

The club continued to build, and the club began pushing up the table throughout the 1960s and 70s, cementing their place as a solid top six side. However, following a dip in the early 80s, the club enjoyed their brightest spell towards the end of the decade. With a world-record £6.9 million transfer bid, the club brought in iconic Argentine Diego Maradona from Barcelona, and the club made history in 1987 by doing the double, winning their first ever Serie A title, as well as the Coppa Italia.

Monetary issues throughout the late 90s and early 2000s saw the club declared bankrupt, and were it not for famed Napolitan film producer, Aurelio De Laurentiis, Naples would have faced a future without football.

After battling back from Italy’s third division, Napoli have now re-emerged as one of Italy’s best teams, and a trip to the Stadio San Paolo should be top of the to-do list for any football fan visiting the city. The 60,240 capacity stadium is the third largest in Italy, behind only Milan’s San Siro and Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, and given that they are the only team in Naples, the club attracts large numbers on most match-days.

It might be hard to believe, given that Napoli are unrivalled within the city, but the club actually has a number of rivals scattered throughout the country, largely thanks to their extremely passionate fan-base.

The club has always clashed with teams from the North of Italy, and age-old rivalries with Serie A sides Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio, Roma, Sampdoria, Atalanta, Bologna and Udinese still thrive. Numbers at the Stadio San Paolo have declined in recent years, but the most passionate of fans are sure to turn out when any of those sides are in town.

Napoli’s support are some of the most fierce in the country, and they always do their best to make sure that the away team feel unwelcomed. However, there is very little risk of violence, and those sitting in the home section are certain to be perfectly safe. The tense atmosphere is merely a part of Italian football, and Napoli does it better than any other club.

Italian football is a very different experience to its English counterpart, but one that you will be glad to have experienced nonetheless.

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