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Napoli dream of return to glory days
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-22 09:02

They were relegated in 1998, winning only two games all season but came back up two seasons later.

However, they were relegated straight away and worse was to follow as Napoli went bankrupt in 2004 with estimated debts of 70 million euros ($92.6 million).

They were sent down to Serie C1 and stayed there two seasons having missed out on promotion at the first attempt in a play-off defeat to Avellino.

Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero (R) is challenged by Napoli's Matteo Contini during their Italian Serie A soccer match at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, October 18, 2008. [Agencies] 

But two successive promotions followed, bringing them back into Serie A last season for the first time since 2001 and they finished eighth, qualifying for the Intertoto Cup.

This season got off to a torrid start with fans rioting at an away trip to AS Roma, resulting in a season-long ban from traveling.

But on the pitch things went much better.

Napoli got a draw at the Italian Cup holders on that opening day of the season, despite being reduced to 10 men and the next week they beat another Champions League team in Fiorentina.

They earned a credible draw at high-flying Udinese, who briefly replaced Napoli at the top of the table on Sunday before Inter Milan took over top spot, and then beat Juve.

Napoli's film producer president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who rescued the team during their darkest days, said he felt their early success this season, and that of other minnows such as Catania and Udinese, was due in no small part to the 'Calciopoli' match-fixing scandal that came to a head in 2006 and saw Juve, AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina all punished.

"Now there is space for everyone, nothing is predictable and the fans can really enjoy themselves with a title race that isn't over after seven matches," he said.

"I'm happy that after 17 years we can show Neapolitans that there's a serious project in front of them."

AFP