In 1990 when the wall of Berlin was in the process of demolition, Detroit Pistons were on the verge of winning the NBA title for the second successive time, when Sinead O’Connor’s album ‘Nothing Compares to You’ came out with a bang in the USA, an event unnoticed by many happened in Naples. Marco Baroni, the defender, leaped in the air and headed the ball which banged at the back of the net past the diving goalkeeper of Lazio.  This decisive goal put Napoli two points ahead of AC Milan. In the progress, Napoli won the Serie-A title for the second time. 

The joy of winning two titles did not last long as Napoli suffered relegation. Bellini, Napoli’s stadium announcer remembered the earlier days after the club’s title win after 33 years. 

Bellini said, “Milan, Turin, and Rome all have two teams but Naples is the only city to have only one team.” He further added, “So every home game is like a festival in the city.” People enjoy the game wearing sky-blue shirts and white shorts. Even when the club was relegated to the third tier approximately 60000 fans turned up to witness a match against a very weak side.

Bellini lamented that due to the financial crunch, it was difficult for the teams in South Italy to compete against North Italy teams who have big names like AC Milan, Juventus, etc. 

Argentine legend Diego Maradona joined the club, from Barcelona, in 1984. The scenario started changing. Napoli saw a level of success that they did not see earlier. In 1987 the club won its first title under Maradona. It was a proud moment for the city as they were always looked down upon by the northern states. Bellini remembered, “I was a boy of six at that time and stood in the balcony with the flag in hand trying to do something.” Three years later Napoli reclaimed the Serie A title again. After 1990 the performance of Napoli began to drop. Many players left the club. And Maradona left Italy after he was banned for 15 months. 

Following a steady decline, the club was relegated to Serie B. After eight years, Napoli won the crown and found themselves in the second tier. Although they came back to tier A in 2000-01 they again faced relegation. The club was declared bankrupt for the second year in a row and was seen in the third tier of Italian football. Although the club fell to the lowest league in its history since 1920, the fanatical support for the club never suffered. 

With the pace of time, Napoli also rose from ashes like a Phoenix bird. Italian film giant, Aurelio De Laurentiis stepped up to rescue the club and bring back the old glory. He kept his word. Within three years Napoli was back in Serie A. The club gradually established itself as one of the elite clubs in Italy. 

In 16 years since the club has been promoted to Serie A, the fans saw a few best players from Europe in the team. They also saw a rotating cast of elite managers. In spite of this, other than cup success, Napoli was unable to reclaim the shield overcoming the dominance of the northern clubs of Italy.   

The 2022-23 season had different thoughts. The club recruited a few renowned players. Kim Min arrived from Turkey in the summer transforming a formidable defense. Team manager, Spalletti, came with the reputation of producing a good football team. Over 30 years since Maradona lead Napoli to its last Serie A title, Osimhen, and Kvaratskhelia have done the same to end the anguish of the passionate fans.