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Napoli dream of return to glory days
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-22 09:02 ROME: It's almost 20 years since Napoli, with Diego Maradona at the peak of his powers, won the second of their two Serie A titles.
But now there is a feeling that the southerners' regeneration, after years of decline and debt, is not just a fleeting moment. Napoli beat Turin giants Juventus 2-1 at home on Saturday to briefly lead the table. They have lost only once in seven matches this season and that was something of an anomaly in an otherwise impressive beginning - losing 3-2 to Genoa despite their opponents finishing the match with nine men. Had they won that game they would have been top two weeks earlier. Coach Edy Reja is trying not to get carried away but he believes his team deserve to be where they are. "Being top is a great feeling," he said. "For me it's the first time I've ever been top of a table. We showed we're maturing.
"We have to be happy because until now we've played great football, even in Genoa we deserved more. "We're constantly evolving but we won't get big headed. In January we'll start counting, we'll see where we are then." Even so, there is a feeling that Napoli's rebirth could lead to a return to the heady days of the 1980s and early 1990s. Since those glory days, during Maradona's reign at the club, Napoli won the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990 but then went into gradual decline and eventually went out of Serie A. After Maradona's career in Italy ended with a positive test for cocaine - and a subsequent 15-month ban - Napoli then also lost the services of Brazilian forward Careca and Gianfranco Zola, now the West Ham manager. |
