Napoli Greatest All-Time Team
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| Serie A title 1987 |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Italy
Southern Italy
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
Formed in 1926, Napoli won Serie A twice, and been runners-up six times, the Coppa Italia five times, the Supercoppa Italiana twice, and the 1988-89 UEFA Cup. They are the first Southern Italian club to win scudetto.
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| UEFA Cup 1989 |
GK: Ottavio Bugatti (Italy)
Bugatti played club football for Napoli and Inter; while at Napoli he played himself into the appearance records books at the club, today he is seventh in the clubs all-time appearance records for the league. With Inter he managed to win the Italian Championship twice. At international level, Bugatti represented Italy seven times, and represented the nation at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
GK: Giuseppe Cavanna (Italy)
Born in Vercelli, Cavanna played in the 1920s and 1930s for Pro Vercelli and S.S.C. Napoli. He played 151 matches in Serie A. In the 1934–35 season he had the lowest goals conceded per game average (0.722) for Napoli, a record which stood until Dino Zoff broke it during the 1970–71 season. Cavanna was the reserve goalkeeper for the Italian national team that won the 1934 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
GK: Dino Zoff (Italy)
He captained the WC winning side in 1982 at the age of 40. He held the Serie A appearance record until 2006. He was also a part of the team that won the Euro 1968. He achieved great club success with Juventus, winning 6 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italias, and an UEFA Cup, also reaching two European Champions' Cup finals in 1972-73 and 1982-83 seasons.
RB: Giuseppe Bruscolotti (Italy)
Started with Sorrento playing between Serie B and C, he moved to Napoli in 1972. He is the club appearance record holder. His nickname was "Iron Pole" for his strength and size. He was the captain of Napoli before Diego Maradona took over.
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| Giuseppe Bruscolotti |
From 1929 to 1935, he played for Napoli. He was remember for refusing to give the fascist salute in a game.
SW: Moreno Ferrario (Italy)
Ferrari played for many clubs, but best remembered for his career with Diego Maradona's Napoli. He is the 3rd appearance record holder for the club.
SW: Alessandro Renica (Italy)
Born in France, Renica was a part of Diego Maradona's Napoli. He won two scudettos, two Coppa Italia's and the UEFA Cup. He also played for Sampdoria and Verona.
SW: Ciro Ferrara (Italy)
He was considered one of the best defenders in the world during his prime. However, his career with the Azzurri was limited by the same period with Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti, Pietro Vierchowod, Riccardo Ferri, Giuseppe Bergomi, Gianluca Pessotto, Paolo Maldini, and in latter years, stars like Fabio Cannavaro, and Alessandro Nesta. For club football, he played nearly a decade for Napoli during Duego Maradona's years before moving to Juvnetus. At Juventus, he won 6 scudettis and a single Champions' League.
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| Ciro Ferrara |
Krol was one of the most important defender in Holland's history. Capped 83 times. He helped Oranje to reach the WC Final in both 1974 and 1978. He was a leftback at the World Cup in 1974 and switched to sweeper later in his career. He won three straight European Cups with Ajax in the 1970's. He also played in Italy with Napoli, in France with Cannes and the NASL with Vancouver Whitecaps.
LB: Jeno Vinyei (Hungary/Czechoslovakia)
Hungarian by birth, Vinyei played twice for Czechoslovakia in 1948 under name Eugen Prosovsky. In 1951, he joined Napoli.
LB: Giovanni Francini (Italy)
Francini started with Torino. He managed to reach three consecutive Coppa Italia finals between 1980–1982, also managing a second-place finish in Serie A in 1985. With Napoli from 1987 to 1994, he won the Serie A, the Supercoppa Italiana, and the UEFA Cup. He was capped 8 times due to the presence of Antonio Cabrini and later Pablo Maldini during his prime.
DM: Salvatore Bagni (Italy)
Bagni played for Perugia before joining Napoli. He was a part of the team that won the Scudotte-Coppa Italia 1986-1987. He was capped 41 times between 1981 and 1987. He went to Mexico 1986.
CM: Antonio Juliano (Italy)
He played with Napoli between 1962 and 1978. He won the Italian Cup in 1975-1976 season. He also played for Bologna Capped 18 times. He went to three WC Finals: 1966, 1970 and 1974, but only played one match.
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| Antonio Juliano |
Alemao went to Mexico 1986 and Italia 1990. He also won the Copa America in 1989. For his club career, he played with Diego Maradona at Napoli where they broke up the dominance of Northern Italian clubs.
CM: Fernando De Napoli (Italy)
He was a part of the successful Napoli side that also featured Diego Maradona. He won the scudetto in 1987 and 1990, the Coppa Italia in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1989, and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1990.
LW: Bruno Pesaola (Argentina/Italy)
Born in Argentina, he began his career in the academy of River Plate playing with Alfredo Di Stefano. He went to play for Roma in 1947. He joined Napoli in 1952 and spent 8 seasons there, forming a partnership with Amedeo Amadei and Hasse Jeppson. He was capped once by Italy.
AM: Diego Maradona
He was considered the second best player in history after Pele. He won the World Cup in 1986, scoring the best goal in the history of the World Cup when he scored against England. He also played in the WC Finals in 1982, 1990 and 1994. For club football, he was best remembered for leading Napoli to break the dominance of the Northern Italian clubs in the Serie A. Napoli won two league titles and a UEFA Cup. He was also considered to be Boca Juniors' greatest player.
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| Diego Maradona |
Marek Hamšík made a name at the World Cup in 2010, where Slovakia qualified for their first ever Finals and beat Italy in the First Round. He also helped Slovakia to qualify for their first ever European Championship in 2016. He played for Slovan Bratislava and Brescia before joining Napoli in 2007. At Napoli, he established as one of the best midfielders in Serie A.
SS/FW: Omar Sivori (Argentina/Italy)
Sivori is remembered one of the greatest ever player from Argentina. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1961. After Argentina won the Copa America in 1957, he joined Juventus where he enjoyed 8 successful years. He was credited with the resurgence of the club. With John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti, he formed "the Magical Trio" with the club. In Argentina, he played for River Plate. After Juventus, he joined Napoli.
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| Omar Sivori |
ST: Attila Sallustro (Paraguay/Italy)
Born in Paraguay, he went to Italy when he was young. He played for Napoli from 1926 and 1937. His brother also played for the club at the same time. With Marcello Mihalich, he was the first player from Napoli called up by the national team.
ST: Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
Born in France of an Argentinian player Jorge Higuain, Gonzalo first starred for River Plate in Argentina. He joined Real Madrid in 2006. He became a fan's favourite after scoring the winning goal against Espanyol on his debut season. He would stay with the club until 2013. In 2013, he joined Napoli. In 2015-2016, he broke the Serie A single season scoring record. For the national team, he earned 52 caps. He was brought into the national team after Argentina struggled to qualify for South Africa 2010.
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| Gonzalo Higuain |
Careca supposed to be the starting striker of the star-studded 1982 World Cup team, but he missed the Finals with an injury. Instead, he starred at the 1986 WC Finals in Mexico. He finsished second in scoring with 5 goals. He also played in Italian 1990. For club career, he was remembered for playing with Napoli as a teammate of Diego Maradona.
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| Careca |
Venice started with Botafogo and joined Napoli in 1955. Soon he earned the nickname "O lione"(lion). After a brief stint with Bologne, he joined Vicenza. In 1965-66 season, he was the Serie A top scorer. Because Brazil refused to call up oversea-based players in the 1950's, Vinicio was never capped.
ST: Antonio Vojak (Italy)
Born in modern day Croatia and what was then Austria-Hungary, Vojak started with Lazio, but made a name with Juventus. In 1929, he joined Napoli where he scored over 100 goals. He was capped by Italy once, but using the name Vogliani due ant-slav laws at the time.
ST: Jose Altafini/Mazzola (Piracicaba, Sao Paulo)
In Brazil, he was known as Mazzola because of his resemblance with Italian attacking midfielder Valentino Mazzola. He started to use his real name Jose Altafini after he joined AC Milan in 1958. He is the current 4th top-scorer in Italy's Serie A history.For the national team, he was the original starter on the 1958 World Cup team, but was replaced in the semifinal and the final.
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| Jose Altafini |
Honorable Mention
Arnaldo Sentimenti, Luciano Castellini, Edison Cavani, Umberto Busani, Massimo Crippa, Michele Andreolo, Giuseppe Savoldi, Enrico Colombari, Amedeo Amadei, Bruno Giordano, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Hasse Jeppson, Paolo Cannavaro, Dino Panzanato, Luciano Comaschi, Giancarlo Corradini, Giovanni Venditto, Stelio Nardin, Ottavio Bianchi, Cane, Carlo Buscaglia, Andrea Carnevale, Pierluigi Ronzon, Gianfranco Zola.
Squad Explanation
-- I need to pick two keepers out of this group: Dino Zoff, Arnaldo Sentimenti, Luciano Castellini and Giuseppe Cavanna. Zoff and Cavanna were mentioned frequently by different lists created by all-time Napoli footballers, coaches, officials, etc.
-- Gonzalo Higuain broke the Serie A single season goal record in 2015-2016. He deserved a place on the team.
-- Michele Andreolo was better known for his career with Bologna.
-- Bruno Pesaola got onto the team because he was a left wing.
-- Both Fabio Cannavaro and Gianfranco Zola came from Southern Italy, but they only played a few seasons with Napoli.
-- Jose Altafini and Omar Sivori also did not play long for Napoli, but they formed a team that challenged AC Milan for the title during the 1967-1968 season. I selected the two of them because they represented an era of Napoli's football.
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| UEFA 1989 |
Formation
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