Napoli, which receives Frankfurt on Wednesday March 15, with its two-goal lead, is on track to reach the Top-8 of the most prestigious club competition for the first time in its history. The Italian club never ceases to amaze its world.
Naples had whetted its appetite in C1 by finishing at the top of its group last fall ahead of Liverpool, finalist of the last edition and six-time winner of the event.
Almost a decade ago, Diego Maradona’s former club was almost bankrupt, sent back to the limbo of the 3rd division. Far from the Maradona years punctuated by the only two scudetti (1987, 1990) and the only European title (UEFA Cup in 1989) of Napoli. Aurelio Di Laurentiis, the owner and president of the club, took over in 2014 this institution founded in 1926.
The phenomenon Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Returning to the top flight in 2007, the Partenopei have regularly appeared on the podium since then (seven times in the last ten seasons) but have always had to leave the title to the greats of the north (Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan). For this season, he is already quasi-champion of Italy, without rival in Serie A, with an eighteen point lead.
This near-perfect season comes at a time when the club decided to part with its biggest earners, defender Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), captain Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto) and striker Dries Mertens (Galatasaray) to stabilize finances and restore the accounts after the Covid-19 pandemic, and two seasons without C1, after having lost some 130 million euros in the last three seasons.
From then on, one could imagine difficult times after a renewed workforce for Napoli. But at the foot of Vesuvius, coach Luciano Spalletti, 64, made do with it. He who is now the coach who has won the most matches in Serie A (276) over the past 40 years, without ever having lifted the Scudetto.
The Tuscan highlighted South Korean defender Kim Min-jae or Georgian left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Napoli fans even gave him the nickname ‘Kvaradona’ as a tribute to Maradona. Regularly decisive and tireless in his left lane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia now has 13 goals and 15 assists in 28 matches in all competitions. ” Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is unique in his dribbling and ball touch and it’s hard to defend against him said Luciano Spalletti. The latter will still be the fatal weapon of the Italians against Frankfurt, with the powerful Victor Osimhen in attack.
Even with the brilliant Maradona, the Partenopei never reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Naples is about to write an unprecedented page in its history.