1997–98 SSC Napoli season
| 1997–98 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Corrado Ferlaino |
| Manager | Bortolo Mutti Carlo Mazzone Giovanni Galeone Vincenzo Montefusco |
| Serie A | 18th |
| Coppa Italia | Last 16 |
| Top goalscorer | Claudio Bellucci (10) |
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.
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
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Roberto Ayala
Francesco Baldini- Luigi Malafronte
- Mauro Facci
Bertrand Crasson- Raffaele Sergio
- Luigi Panarelli
William Prunier- Guglielmo Stendardo
- Mirko Taccola
- Mirko Conte
- Marco Zamboni
Midfielders
- Raffaele Longo
- Francesco Turrini
- Roberto Goretti
- Massimiliano Esposito
- Giuseppe Giannini
- Fabio Rossitto
- Reynald Pedros
- Gennaro Scarlato
- Massimiliano Allegri
Aljoša Asanović- Angelo Cimadomo
- Luca Altomare
Attackers
Serie A
| 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 |
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
Matches
| 2 | Napoli | 2–1 | Empoli | |
Bellucci  33' Protti 48' |
C. Esposito 77' |
| 5 | Roma | 6–2 | Napoli | |
| Candela 16' Gautieri 34' Balbo 51, 60, 89' Di Francesco 53' |
Altomare 71' Bellucci 87' (pen.) |
| 10 | Napoli | 1–1 | Fiorentina | |
| Turrini 34' |
Firicano 28' |
| 13 | Sampdoria | 6–3 | Napoli | |
| Boghossian 35' Montella 42' (pen.) 61' 90' (pen.) Klinsmann 73' Laigle 76' |
Bellucci 15' Protti 70' Rossitto 78' |
| 19 | Empoli | 5–0 | Napoli | |
| C. Esposito 24' Cappellini 37' Pane 50' Florijančič 70, 75' |
| 26 | Napoli | 2–4 | Lecce | |
| Protti 35' (pen.) Altomare 73' |
Casale 2' Palmieri 29' Ayala 75' (o.g.) Atelkin 90 + 3' |
| 27 | Fiorentina | 4–0 | Napoli | |
| Batistuta 40, 67' Robbiati 80' Edmundo 86' |
Topscorers
References
- ^ 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.