S.S.C. Napoli crashed out of Serie A following a disastrous season. It only clinched 14 points out of 34 matches, despite having the services of several experienced Serie A players. Napoli went through four coaches over the course of the season, and hardly took a point in the second half of the season. Given the disastrous form of the team, Claudio Bellucci's ten goals were impressive, while thought top scorer Igor Protti was one of the largest disappointments of the entire series. The lack of defensive skills cost Napoli many points, and more than two goals were conceded on average. This was despite Roberto Ayala's brilliance, which earned him a transfer to A.C. Milan.
| 1997–98 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | Corrado Ferlaino | |||
| Manager | Bortolo Mutti (until 6 October 1997) Carlo Mazzone (until 24 November 1997) Giovanni Galeone (until 9 February 1998) Vincenzo Montefusco | |||
| Stadium | San Paolo | |||
| Serie A | 18th (in 1998-99 Serie B) | |||
| Coppa Italia | Last 16 | |||
| Top goalscorer | Claudio Bellucci (10) | |||
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Only eight years following Napoli's second title, the club seemed to be in terminal decline, with hard work being needed to return to the top domestic league. Given that the club had not been relegated since a bankruptcy in 1964, the relegation was a shock, by the extremely poor season.
Squad edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Transfers edit
| In | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Igor Protti | S.S. Lazio | loan |
| MF | Fabio Rossitto | Udinese | |
| DF | Raffaele Sergio | Udinese | |
| FW | Claudio Bellucci | Venezia | |
| FW | José Luis Calderón | Independiente | |
| DF | Mirko Conte | Piacenza Calcio | |
| MF | Giuseppe Giannini | Sturm Graz | |
| DF | William Prunier | Manchester United | |
| DF | Mauro Facci | Salernitana | |
| Out | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| MF | Beto | Flamengo | |
| FW | Nicola Caccia | Atalanta | |
| MF | Alain Boghossian | Sampdoria | |
| DF | Francesco Colonnese | Inter | |
| DF | André Cruz | A.C. Milan | |
| FW | Alfredo Aglietti | Verona | |
| FW | Dino Fava Passaro | Acireale | |
| MF | Fabio Pecchia | Juventus | |
| DF | Mauro Milanese | Parma F.C. | |
| FW | Caio | Santos | |
Winter edit
| In | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Damir Stojak | Vojvodina | |
| MF | Reynald Pedros | Parma F.C. | |
| MF | Massimiliano Allegri | Padova Calcio | |
| FW | Aljoša Asanović | Derby County | |
| Out | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | José Luis Calderón | Independiente | |
| DF | Mirko Conte | Vicenza Calcio | |
| DF | Mirko Taccola | Lucchese | |
| DF | Alessandro Sbrizzo | Padova Calcio | |
| DF | William Prunier | Hearts | |
| MF | Massimiliano Esposito | Hellas Verona | |
| DF | Marco Zamboni | Chievo Verona | |
| MF | Giuseppe Giannini | U.S. Lecce | |
Competitions edit
Serie A edit
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Vicenza | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 36 | |
| 15 | Brescia (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 63 | −18 | 35 | Relegation to Serie B |
| 16 | Atalanta (R) | 34 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 25 | 48 | −23 | 32 | |
| 17 | Lecce (R) | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 72 | −40 | 26 | |
| 18 | Napoli (R) | 34 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 25 | 76 | −51 | 14 |
Source: 1997–98 Serie A, RSSSF.com, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw. (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).[1]
(R) Relegated
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw. (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).[1]
(R) Relegated
Results by round edit
Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed; = Leader, 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Group stage; = 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying round; = 1998–99 UEFA Cup First round; = Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round; = Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round; = 1998–99 Serie B
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed; = Leader, 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Group stage; = 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying round; = 1998–99 UEFA Cup First round; = Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round; = Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round; = 1998–99 Serie B
Matches edit
| 14 September 1997 2 | Napoli | 2–1 | Empoli | Napoli |
Bellucci  33' Protti 48' |
C. Esposito 77' |
Stadium: San Paolo |
| 05 October 1997 5 | Roma | 6–2 | Napoli | Roma |
| Candela 16' Gautieri 34' Balbo 51, 60, 89' Di Francesco 53' |
Altomare 71' Bellucci 87' (pen.) |
Stadium: Olimpico |
| 02 November 1997 7 | Bologna | 5–1 | Napoli | Bologna |
| R. Baggio 48' (pen.) 90' 90 + 5' (pen.) K. Andersson 55, 90 + 3' |
Goretti 14' |
Stadium: Renato Dall'Ara |
| 09 November 1997 8 | Napoli | 1–2 | Juventus | Napoli |
| Bellucci 55' |
Zidane 38' Fonseca 88' |
Stadium: San Paolo |
| 14 December 1997 12 | Napoli | 0–4 | Parma | Napoli |
| Blomqvist 18' D. Baggio 53' Crespo 65, 73' |
Stadium: San Paolo |
| 21 December 1997 13 | Sampdoria | 6–3 | Napoli | Genova |
| Boghossian 35' Montella 42' (pen.) 61' 90' (pen.) Klinsmann 73' Laigle 76' |
Bellucci 15' Protti 70' Rossitto 78' |
Stadium: Luigi Ferraris |
| 18 January 1998 16 | Napoli | 0–3 | Brescia | Napoli |
| Pirlo 13' Koźmiński 53' Diana 90 + 3' |
Stadium: San Paolo |
| 08 February 1998 19 | Empoli | 5–0 | Napoli | Empoli |
| C. Esposito 24' Cappellini 37' Pane 50' Florijančič 70, 75' |
| 28 February 1998 23 | Inter | 2–0 | Napoli | Milano |
| Zamorano 63' Ronaldo 73' (pen.) |
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza |
| 14 March 1998 25 | Juventus | 2–2 | Napoli | Torino |
| Del Piero 46' Zalayeta 75' |
Turrini 69' Protti 90 + 2' |
Stadium: delle Alpi |
| 22 March 1998 26 | Napoli | 2–4 | Lecce | Napoli |
| Protti 35' (pen.) Altomare 73' |
Casale 2' Palmieri 29' Ayala 75' (o.g.) Atelkin 90 + 3' |
Stadium: San Paolo |
| 29 March 1998 27 | Fiorentina | 4–0 | Napoli | Firenze |
| Batistuta 40, 67' Robbiati 80' Edmundo 86' |
Stadium: Artemio Franchi |
| 05 April 1998 28 | Napoli | 1–2 | Piacenza | Napoli |
| Bellucci 51' |
Scienza 34' Dionigi 84' (pen.) |
Stadium: San Paolo |
Statistics edit
Players statistics edit
References edit
- ^ Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.