Napoli have been playing quite frequently in both Europa League and Champions League in the past few years. However, Il Partenopei is not one of the elite teams in Italian Serie A. Yet, the arrival of the legendary Diego Maradona changed everything and the club eventually gains respect ever since. Their home base, San Paolo, which has just been renamed to Estadio Diego Armando Maradona not long after the Argentine legend’s departure, with more than 50,000 fans is famous for its intimidating atmosphere, which fits for European nights.
Napoli and Maradona are inseparable. He was undoubtedly the key man who helped the team elevating their continental campaign, position and status in domestic competition. There are some other figures who have played crucial role for Napoli’s notable results in Europa League such as Gareca, Alemao, Ciro Ferrara, Lorenzo Insigne, Gonzalo Higuain, Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik and Jorginho. They were all under these two noteworthy figures leading to Napoli’s continental glory, Ottavio Bianchi and Rafael Benitez.
Napoli’s Top Achievements in the Competition
Napoli have one great season in Europe and that was surely with Maradona in it. In 1988/89, they won their first European title, the UEFA Cup, after crushing VfB Stuttgart 5-4 on aggregate. It was one unbelievable ride to the silverware as they previously had to knock out the likes of Juventus and Bayern Munich at the quarter final and semi final. And Maradona was never far in the process, either as a scorer or provider. No wonder that he deserves the nickname El Dios as only he could make Il Partenopei’s wildest ambition come to reality.
Previously, they had one attempt in 1976/77 Cup Winners Cup as they managed to go through the last four but failed after losing to Anderlecht. In 2014/15, Napoli had another shot when Rafael Benitez thought they could rekindle Maradona’s way with Lorenzo Insigne and Co in the team. Yet, they did not succeed as being edged out by Dnipro 1-2 on aggregate.
Iconic Moments
Having the greatest player in history in the squad is definitely a blessing for any team, including Napoli. Their
Iconic Moments
were mostly in 1988/89 season. The final against VFB Stuttgart was certainly the first. Maradona scored an equaliser at the first leg and Gareca’s goal sealed their win in a nice comeback win. At the second leg, it was more thrilling and eventually both sides shared spoils. Maradona turned provider this time with a couple of assists. The second outstanding moment was at the second leg of the quarter final facing their national archrival, Juventus. After suffering 0-2 loss, Maradona led the team made a superb comeback by 3-0 win at home. The Argentine skipper bagged an opener followed by Carnevale’s and Renica’s goal to overturn La Vecchia Signora’s advantage.
Il Partenopei’a most horrible moment in Europa League was the 2015 semi final against Dnipro. Rafael Benitez’s side was the favorite to take on Sevilla at the final but they only mustered a 1-1 draw at home and were humiliatingly beaten 0-1 in Ukraine.
