The foundation of the Naples Football Club took place on August 1, 1926 by the Neapolitan industrialist Giorgio Ascarelli, who was the first President. In fact, the birth of Napoli took place through a change of name of the Internaples, a club that was born in 1922 as the result of the merger of two other teams, the Naples Foot-Ball Club (founded in 1906 and the first real historical nucleus of the Naples also through colors) and the Naples International Sports Union.
After the difficult beginnings, however, the situation quickly improved, thanks above all to the contribution of the Italian-Paraguayan Attila Sallustro, the first idol of Neapolitan fans. In 1936, Commander Achille Lauro, a very successful shipowner, joined the company, but he was unable to bring particular benefits to the Neapolitan club immediately. Napoli took part in the National Division 1945-1946, winning the mixed center-south group and regaining the Serie A. Despite the reinforcements of president Achille Lauro, including Bruno Pesaola, Hasse Jeppson and Luís Vinício, Napoli did not go beyond the fourth place in 1952-1953 and 1957-1958 In 1959 the San Paolo stadium was inaugurated.
Back in Serie B in 1961, Napoli was entrusted to Bruno Pesaola, who brought the Azzurri back to the Serie A and also won the first trophy in the history of the club, the Coppa Italia 1961-1962, becoming the only club to win the trophy by not playing in the top division. This success marked Napoli’s debut in Europe, playing the Coppa delle Coppe, in which they reached the quarter-finals. On 25 June 1964 the club took the name of Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, simultaneously becoming a joint stock company. Achille Lauro obtained a significant share of the shares by virtue of the credits claimed and guaranteed his son Gioacchino entry among the shareholders, while Roberto Fiore was elected president. Some of the most representative players of the time were Dino Zoff, Antonio Juliano, Omar Sívori and José Altafini; the best result was second place in 1968.
On January 18, 1969 the company, on the verge of financial distress, passed into the hands of engineer Corrado Ferlaino, who started the longest-running and winning presidency in Neapolitan history. In 1976 the Azzurri Club won the second Coppa Italia beating Verona in the final.
After a missed Scudetto in 1981, with the Dutch Ruud Krol among the protagonists, the turning point came in the summer of 1984: the president Ferlaino on 30 June 1984 defined the most important acquisition in the history of the club, the Argentine Champion Diego Armando Maradona from Barcelona for the record amount of 15 billion lire.
Under the supervision of Ottavio Bianchi and with the addition of footballers such as Bruno Giordano, Salvatore Bagni, Claudio Garella and Alessandro Renica, in 1987 Napoli won their first Scudetto and the third Coppa Italia The club consolidated at the top of Italian football with the insertions of the Brazilians Careca and Alemão; Napoli came second twice in a row (1988 and 1989) and also in 1989 also obtained their first international laurel, the UEFA Cup, beating Stuttgart in the double final. In 1990, with Alberto Bigon as coach, the Neapolitan club won the second championship, which was followed by the victory of the Italian Super Cup. In 1991, with the departure of Maradona, the first important cycle in the history of the Azzurri ended.
In the following years, Napoli obtained good results, a fourth place in 1992 with Claudio Ranieri on the bench and a sixth place in 1994, coach Marcello Lippi. The financial crisis forced the club to deprive itself of its best men. The crisis reached its peak in 1998, with relegation to Serie B after 33 consecutive years in the Serie A. The club returned to Serie A in 1999-2000, only to be relegated after just one year. The entry into the company of Giorgio Corbelli first and then of Salvatore Naldi did not bring benefits to the club. The combination of the serious financial crisis, which has worsened more and more in the last ten years, and the consequent crisis of results, led to the bankruptcy of the club in the summer of 2004 with consequent loss of the sporting title. In the following weeks, the cinematographic entrepreneur Aurelio De Laurentiis took over the sporting title from the bankruptcy trustee of the Naples court for a sum of 30 million euros and enrolled the team, with the name of Napoli Soccer, in the third series championship.
Good Luck for the next future and…….#ForzaNapoliSempre!
Naples Football City 