The finest red wine grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvio is a combination of three grapes: Piedirosso, Sciascinoso and Aglianico. This article seeks to find an equally harmonious combination of three elements to imagine a team composed of players from all three Scudetto winning sides in Naples.
The 1987, 1990 and 2023 teams contained average, good and great players, cult heroes and a deity but, who would be worthy of a starting slot in a combined eleven? The selection criteria has been brutal to ensure that this vintage is entirely focussed on performance in Scudetto winning campaigns. If a player hasn’t left an impact on a Scudetto side, then it’s on the pomace pile.
Goalkeeper: Giuliano Giuliani (1990)
A league champion in 1990, Giuliani marshalled a defence that only conceded 31 goals that year. His organisation, shot stopping ability and over-sized goalkeeping jerseys are something to celebrate but his name is often forgotten, perhaps for reasons which belie an unacceptable prejudice.
Giuliani died of AIDS related illness in 1996. He probably contracted HIV at Diego Maradona’s wedding in 1989 when, according to his ex-wife Raffaella Del Rosario, he committed his only marital indiscretion. Giuliani sadly passed away at the age of 38 with no one from the football world around him. Despite requests, neither Napoli nor the league organised any events to honour him or raise awareness of the illness which took his life.
Right Wing Back: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (2023)
A model captain in 2022/23, Di Lorenzo contributed goals and assists consistently throughout the season including this beautiful long range strike with his weaker left foot against Inter .
The celebrations that followed Napoli’s draw in Udine also revealed Di Lorenzo to be an accomplished leader, taking centre stage with speeches and an off-the-pitch body language which commanded respect in a way that the squad hadn’t seen for some time. His full back game developed significantly, too, his ability to either overlap out wide or cut in as an inverted full back established him as the best all round full back in the league.
Libero: Alessandro Renica (1987 & 1990)
The choice of a back three for this side is a no-brainer since I can call upon the most underrated defensive playmaker in the history of Italian football. Renica was at the club for both league titles of the Maradona era and, if the great Argentinian was not providing entertainment, the French sweeper often did the job by pinging Hollywood passes or scampering forward from the back. He liked a long range freekick, when his Argentine captain let him – a 35 yarder into the bottom corner against Juventus in 1987 being a case in point. HIs partnership with Ciro Ferrara, in which they complimented each other perfectly, should be given more attention by the calcio historians, too.
Centre Back: Ciro Ferrara (1987 & 1990)
Ferrara entered the Napoli team at a very young age, mostly playing at right back before forming a fantastic central defensive partnership with Renica from the 1988/89 season. Ferrara’s ability to mark some of the greatest strikers of all time out of the game was often awe-inspiring, especially considering the strength of the league during this time, as well as Ferrara’s young age. His timing in the tackle was also second-to-none – an ability he passed onto his apprentice, fellow Neapolitan Fabio Cannavaro who was at the club as a youth team player during this period.
Centre Back: Kim Min-Jae (2023)
It is hard to think of another central defender coming to Serie A from abroad who integrated with such ease. By some distance, Kim Min-Jae was the best defender in the league during the 2022/23 season and his world-class standards were on display from almost the beginning. Stadium going Napoli tifosi were struck by Kim’s ability to communicate and marshal the backline from the beginning of his career despite the language and footballing culture barrier. The 2023 winning defence, on paper, is not full of superstars and beyond Kim’s undisputed strength, passing range, pace and marking ability, it was his leadership that made the 18 million Euro fee look absurdly low.
Left Wing Back: Giovanni Francini (1990)
Much as I’m tempted to give Napoli cult hero Mario Rui the nod, Francini makes the team owing to his ability to turn up for the clutch moments in a Scudetto winning season. Francini was electric paced, fearless in his forays into the opposition penalty box and, in 1990, formed an often terrifying partnership with Andrea Carnevale who also liked to cut in from a forward left position. His goal following a Careca backheel, after a superb run into the box, against Bologna in the penultimate game of the 1989/90 season sums up Francini’s contribution to Napoli perfectly.
Central Midfield: Stanislav Lobotka (2023)
There were fewer sights more pleasing in Napoli’s glorious third Scudetto season than Lobotka’s balletic ability to foil a midfield press. The Slovakian, recommended to the club by his compatriot Marek Hamsik, was peerless in his ability to find space to receive the ball and take pressure off his colleagues. There was more to his game than simply soaking up pressure and starting moves, however, he could run with the ball and surprise defences by getting past players – something he did on the first day of the season against Verona with great effect. Having ‘Lobo’ in this team also enables club legend Hamsik, so unlucky to not win a league title with i partenopei, to have a rightful presence.
Central Midfield: Francesco Romano (1987)
Romano is possibly the most controversial choice in this team simply on account of who he is keeping out. ‘Rambo’ Di Napoli won two Scudetti, Alemao could do everything in midfield, Salvatore Bagni often grabbed the team by the scruff of the neck when Maradona couldn’t in 1987 and long-serving Piotr Zielinski was a beautiful conductor between the lines for Spalletti in 2023. A Pirlo-esque deep lying playmaker, Romano often provided the control and calm in Napoli’s first Scudetto winning season. With Di Napoli and Bagni often running forward, Renica taking risks at the back and Maradona enjoying a free role, it is not controversial to say that Napoli’s first Scudetto might not have arrived as early as 1987 without the little heralded midfielder who was born round the corner from Naples in Saviano. 1986/87 was his only truly great season for the club which further emphasises his Scudetto winning quality.
Attacking Midfield: Diego Maradona (1987 & 1990)
It is impossible to include all of the great moments from the 1987 and 1990 campaigns from the man whose name adorns the stadium in Naples. Three moments jump out from memory. His wonderful goal in the first game of the 1986/87 campaign away to Brescia set the tone for the rest of the league. Later, in 1990, when Napoli were lost without him, 2-0 down at half time to Fiorentina, super sub Maradona wrestled the limelight away from Roberto Baggio to spur the team on to win 3-2, the winner set up by the Argentine’s exquisite cross. Finally, his best performance in a Napoli shirt came against Juventus in March 1990 as Napoli’s championship winning form had dropped off. He scored twice and set up the third in a 3-1 win and seemed to be at the centre of every move. Napoli would go on to win every remaining game of the season and be crowned champions for a second time.
Centre Forward: Victor Osimhen (2023)
No player has been so central to Napoli’s fortunes since Maradona. It wasn’t just Osimhen’s goals which won the team Scudetto #3, his professionalism and determination to win was palpable every time he took to the pitch. His ability to terrify defences with his intelligent movement and strength left space for Kvicha Kvaraskhelia to wreak havoc, thus creating the best partnership up front for Napoli since the Maradona and Careca days. Cavani, Higuain and Mertens scored plenty of goals and gave much entertainment to Napoli fans, but none of them could focus those around them enough to win the league: Osimhen was a true leader on the pitch. In a season of iconic goals, his finishes in both league games against Roma showcased his acrobatic skill and strength of mind and body.
Centre Forward: Careca (1990)
Careca pips Kvaratskhelia to this place in the side owing to his greater consistency over the course of a Scudetto winning season. Whilst the Brazilian striker’s league tally of ten goals in 1989/90 might not look impressive, his form in the run-in when an AC Milan side featuring Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard were neck and neck with Napoli was electric. Where van Basten froze, Careca’s ability to enjoy the high pressure moments came true. His partnership with Maradona is something to celebrate both on and off the pitch – Diego’s musical tastes were expanded by lambada tapes made by the Brazilian in Naples and their laid back pre-match warm ups are the stuff of legend.