Will Napoli repeat the thundering 3-0 of the past February in Coppa Italia or will they give up all their hopes for a straight qualification to the Champions League group stage? For sure, this is the clash between two teams that can be considered among the most entertaining to watch. The game will be a hard test for Rafa Benitez, who had to defend himself from the critics to his tactical credo, the 4-2-3-1. "Barcelona have played with the same formation and with the same philosophy for years, why should we change ours?" the Spaniard said to Corriere dello Sport. But Rafa will approach this game with more serenity as he will recover his top scorer Gonzalo Higuaín and the defender Raul Albiol after the suspension.
Roma coach Rudi Garcia will have to do without with Daniele De Rossi (suspended for three games after the jab to Juan Jesus) and Francesco Totti, who is still injured. Hefty absences, indeed, but the Frenchman has a valiant replacement for the midfield: Radja Nainggolan. No one can really replace the number ten of the Giallorossi, but Garcia will choose Mattia Destro (22) - who became Roma's best scorer in just a few weeks - for the forward position. Another bogeyman for Napoli will be Miralem Pjanić, who scored the decisive double in the Olimpico's game of last October. Roma hope to repeat Parma's feat: only the team led by Roberto Donadoni managed to beat Napoli in their home stadium this season.
It's a shame that Italian football can't currently live up to the best moments of its history. In the past Roma-Napoli was often a colored and intense game (two branches of ultras were twins for a long time) beyond the value of the league table. And to celebrate this classic match, we have chosen for you some significant Roma – Napoli of the past.
March 19th 1959. The derby of the sun has betrayed his name. Under a heavy rain, Roma, that had lost in Napoli 0-3 the previous November, dreamt their revenge. Roma came from a series of losses and bad results, and the trainer Gunnar Nordhal (yes, the Swedish firefighter) was re-called again on the bench after the quick farewell at the beginning of the season.
Napoli came from the good result of the previous season and his trainer was Amedeo Amadei (the “Fornaretto -little baker- of Frascati”) for a long time a Roman icon. Not only rain falled down for Napoli that day, but 8 balls crossed their goal line. With a hat - trick of Da Costa and 2 goals scored by “Moon-ray” Selmosson, Napoli suffered their worst loss in their history in Serie A. Paradoxically, the men of the match was Bugatti, Napoli’s goalkeeper. His name was Ottavio, that means “eighth” - pretty amazing coincidence given the final score: Roma - Napoli 8-0.
Febraury 20th 1983. This match was like tradition wanted, rich of goals and emotions. It can be considered the match where Roma understood the real possibility of winning their 2nd Scudetto. That same day the chasers of Roma (Hellas Verona and Inter) lost their matches. Bruno Pesaola's Napoli (that risked the relegation to serie B) was one of the few teams that created some serious difficulties to Roma in their home stadium. Ramon Diaz scored the opener for Napoli, and after the temporary tie of Nela, Diaz missed the 1-2. As the unwritten law of football wants, a missed goal often translates into a conceded goal: 2 minutes later Carlo Ancelotti scored the 2-1 for the Giallorossi. From that moment Liedholm's team started a monologue with two goals of the unforgettable Captain Di Bartolomei (at his 200th serie A match) and Roberto Pruzzo (while his wife was at the hospital for severe bleeding). Final score: Roma - Napoli 5-2.
October 26th 1986. This match represented an ideal "relay baton" exchange between Roma (that was the antagonist of the northern football teams in the early 80s) and Napoli that would eventually dominate in the second half of the 80s. The man of the match was Diego Armando Maradona. El Pibe de Oro scored the deciding goal at the beginning of the second half. Over 15.000 fans come from Napoli to celebrate the victory in Rome, after 10 years. With this success Napoli reached the first position in the table. They would have maintained it until the end of the season. It was Napoli's first scudetto. Final score: Roma-Napoli 0-1.
October 25th 1987. A great Napoli, with the Scudetto already on their jerseys, at the beginning of the second half was losing 0-1. A shock. Roma scored with Roberto Pruzzo, at his sunset with the giallorossi colours. It was the last of the 106 goals scored for Roma. Some players of Napoli lost their self-control and, also due to an unlucky refereeing, they were reduced to 9 men (red card for Renica and Careca).
In the 67th minute, from a corner by Maradona, the defender Francini scored the equaliser with a perfect header over several Roma defenders. The San Paolo was about to explode. On monday morning, at the “Bar CIRO” - a small Napoli fans island in the province of Rome - only these words were repeated aloud, breaking the silence of the other clients: ”AVIMM’ NOV’ LIONI! NOV’ LIONI!”. In Neapolitan dialect: “We have 9 lions”. That day the Olimpico resembled the Colosseum for Napoli and their supporters. Final score: Roma - Napoli 1-1
Sunday, March 9 th, 2014
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