SSC NapoliSSC Napoli carries a name rooted in legend: supporters are known as the Partenopei, after Parthenope, the siren from whom ancient tradition derived the origins of Naples, while the donkey, il ciuccio, has long served as the club's popular emblem. The side was founded in 1926 as Associazione Calcio Napoli, created by the industrialist Giorgio Ascarelli, who brought together the local clubs Internaples and Naples. Ascarelli died in 1930, and the first stadium used by the club bore his name. Sky blue and white have remained the club's colours ever since, and few Italian sides are so closely identified with their city.
For decades Napoli was a club of great ambition and few trophies. The first major success came in 1962, when the team won the Coppa Italia while playing in Serie B, beating SPAL in the final; no second-tier side had done so before. A second Coppa Italia followed in 1976, but the league title remained out of reach until the arrival of Diego Armando Maradona in 1984. Signed from Barcelona during the presidency of Corrado Ferlaino, the Argentine turned a regional power into a European contender.
The 1986/87 season brought the first scudetto and a domestic double with the Coppa Italia, under coach Ottavio Bianchi. The club's finest European campaign came in 1988/89. On the way to the UEFA Cup final, Napoli eliminated Juventus and Bayern Munich, and then faced VfB Stuttgart. It won the first leg 2–1 at home, and a 3–3 draw in Stuttgart secured a 5–4 aggregate victory, with Maradona, Careca, Alemão and Ciro Ferrara among the key figures. A second scudetto followed in 1989/90 under Albertino Bigon, and the Supercoppa Italiana was added later that year.
The following decades were turbulent. After years of financial trouble, the club went bankrupt in 2004 and restarted in Serie C1 under Aurelio De Laurentiis, returning to Serie A in 2007. Under Walter Mazzarri, Napoli won the Coppa Italia in 2012 and reached the Champions League last 16, beating Chelsea 3–1 at home before losing the tie in extra time in London. Further trophies came with Rafael Benítez (Coppa Italia and Supercoppa in 2014) and Gennaro Gattuso (Coppa Italia in 2020). Players such as Marek Hamšík and Dries Mertens, the club's record goalscorer, became modern icons.
In 2022/23 Napoli won its third league title, 33 years after the previous one, with Luciano Spalletti on the bench and Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia leading the attack. A fourth championship followed in 2024/25 under Antonio Conte. Home matches are played at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the Fuorigrotta district, opened in 1959 as the San Paolo and renamed in December 2020 after the death of the club's greatest star. Murals, shrines and songs dedicated to Maradona still shape the city's landscape and the atmosphere in the stands.
