There's a scene in "Maradona," Asif Kapadia's wonderful documentary about the iconic Argentine player, that essentially paints the perfect picture of Napoli as a cathedral of Italian football. It's actually the opening sequence.
It was the summer of 1984 and moments after his arrival to the city, Maradona entered the Stadio Sao Paolo (which was renamed after the man himself passed in 2020) where more than 75,000 Neapolitans greeted him with overwhelming warmth.
At the time, the city felt the unwanted child of Italy, forced to accept its role as the proverbial "peasant" while the North sneered. Maradona's introduction, therefore, represented the beginning of a new chapter for him and Napoli. This was a revolution for a mainland Southern team, and the people were ready to create history. The noise inside the stadium was overwhelming and Maradona soaked it in, both a protagonist and a witness of history. He may have been born and raised in Lanús, Argentina, but he could sense he was finally home.
Less than three years later, thanks to a gradual rebuilding project, Napoli were finally kings of Italy as they won their first-ever Serie A title in the 1986-87 season. They even became the third Italian team to win the double after beating Atalanta in the Coppa Italia. The 1989-90 season gave them their second league title ... and their last.
Trophies have been scarce since then, and many supporters wondered if Maradona's era was a cruel anomaly as Juventus and the two teams in Milan continued their winning trend. The late 1990s were notably tough as Napoli suffered relegation in 1998; things worsened when they declared bankruptcy in 2004 and were forced to play in the third division.
The door seemed to be closing on this proud franchise. But eventually, something amazing happened as famous movie producer Aurelio De Laurentiis bought the club. The promise was simple: financial stability and a sense of redemption. Fans were apprehensive -- he was from a totally different industry and surely did not understand the intricacies of a blue-collar, resilient fanbase. In the end, ownership began the process of getting the club out of Serie C and the support never disappeared. Not only did supporters continue to stand behind their team during these tough times, their love for Napoli strengthened. In fact, attendance was bigger in those days than for some clubs in Serie A, helping fuel the club's resurgence.
That's the thing about Neapolitans, something Kalidou Koulibaly would often say. The love, and the support, is always there, no matter the challenges. Eventually, the club would crawl its way back to the top flight, step by step, brick by brick. It only took them three years.
Securing top-flight soccer was one target, but the proverbial treasure -- their dream of becoming league champions once again -- was the bigger, almost impossible challenge. In the past 10 years, they have come close as Napoli have finished in second place four times, but alas, the ghosts of Maradona, relegation and financial insecurity continued to pressure Napoli players who wore the shirt.
Well, here we are. It's been 33 years since their last Scudetto and this city, which I deeply admire as it reminds me of New York and its chaotic nature, is alive once again because their club -- saved by a man who loves to make money out of movie magic -- is turning dreams into a reality.
The Napoli of today, managed by the charismatic, eccentric and well-respected Luciano Spalletti, are currently top of the table and they're not just leading Serie A -- they're dominating it. As I write this, the club leads the table with 59 points, fully 15 points ahead of their closest adversaries, Inter Milan. They have only lost once in the league this season (1-0 to Inter on Jan. 4) and quite honestly, as they also prepare for an encounter against Eintracht Frankfurt next week in the round of 16, they could also win the Champions League.
There is no hyperbole here: Napoli are the real deal.
"Much of the success is thanks to their director Cristiano Giuntoli," says my good friend, the king of transfers and Naples-born Fabrizio Romano. "Together with De Laurentiis, they decided to sell many of the legendary players that were not so well-known. ... It was a big risk, but so far it's been excellent and together with Spalletti, they did an incredible job finding the right players for low fees. All these new players are worth three times more than what they paid for. The team is unbelievable."
Echoing the words of Romano and my colleague Gab Marcotti, who wrote about it in October, Napoli's renaissance is an example of smart reloading, budget-saving and smart scouting. Older players, or those on relatively big contracts (Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Fabian Ruiz, Koulibaly), were allowed to leave in exchange for a number of smart acquisitions that were either forgotten, overlooked or even -- in the case of the wonderful Georgia international Khvicha Kvaratskhelia -- essentially ignored by almost every big club in Europe.
