1996–97 S.S.C. Napoli season

S.S.C. Napoli continued its steady decline with another lacklustre season. Once more, goalscoring was at a premium, with only 28 goals being scored in the 34 league games. Coach Luigi Simoni was sacked and replaced by youth team coach Vincenzo Montefusco, who led the team to the Coppa Italia final against Vicenza, where Napoli won at home thanks to Fabio Pecchia's goal, but lost 3-0 away from home, and therefore failed to win the trophy. The 13th place in the domestic league was the worst for 14 years, and one year on, Napoli was ultimately relegated.

Napoli

1996–97 season
Manager	Luigi Simoni Vincenzo Montefusco
Serie A	13th
Coppa Italia	Final
Top goalscorer	Alfredo Aglietti (8)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Giuseppe Taglialatela
• Raffaele Di Fusco

Defenders

• Roberto Ayala
• Mauro Milanese
• André Cruz
• Luigi Panarelli
• Francesco Baldini
• Francesco Colonnese
• Bertrand Crasson
• Luigi Malafronte
• Mirko Taccola

Midfielders

• Roberto Bordin
• Alain Boghossian
• Francesco Turrini
• Massimiliano Esposito
• Beto
• Fabio Pecchia
• Raffaele Longo
• Luca Altomare
• Roberto Policano
• Gennaro Scarlato

Attackers

• Caio
• Alfredo Aglietti
• Nicola Caccia
• Arturo Di Napoli

Serie A

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
11	Milan	34	11	10	13	43	45	−2	43
12	Roma	34	10	11	13	46	47	−1	41[lower-alpha 1]
13	Napoli	34	9	14	11	38	45	−7	41
14	Piacenza	34	7	16	11	29	45	−16	37[lower-alpha 2]	Relegation tie-breaker
15	Cagliari (R)	34	9	10	15	45	55	−10	37[lower-alpha 3]	Serie B after tie-breaker

Source: 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.
Notes:

1. Roma finished ahead of Napoli on Goal difference: Roma -1, Napoli -7.
2. CAG: 7 pts; PIA: 5 pts; PER: 4 pts.
3. CAG: 7 pts; PIA: 5 pts; PER: 4 pts.

Position by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Napoli	18	12	11	8	9	14	9	10	5	5	5	5	7	3	6	10	10	8	8	10	9	10	11	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13

Source: Serie A
  = 1997–98 UEFA Cup First round;   = Relegation to 1997–98 Serie B

Matches

1	Parma	3–0	Napoli
	D. Baggio  14' Chiesa  22' Zola  87'

2	Napoli	1–0	Reggiana
	Caccia  4'

3	Napoli	1–1	Piacenza
	Caccia  30'		Luiso  67'

4	Sampdoria	0–1	Napoli
			Beto  73'

5	Napoli	1–1	Udinese
	Pecchia  59'		Bierhoff  76'

6	Milan	3–1	Napoli
	Weah  40, 58' R. Baggio  77'		André Cruz  61'

7	Napoli	3–2	Bologna
	Caccia  42' (pen.) Aglietti  51' André Cruz  61'		Nervo  20' P. Bresciani  74'

8	Juventus	1–1	Napoli
	Zidane  42'		Aglietti  53'

9	Napoli	4–2	Perugia
	Aglietti  29, 59' Beto  46' André Cruz  90'		Kreek  30' Allegri  66'

10	Cagliari	1–1	Napoli
	Muzzi  57'		Pecchia  90'

11	Atalanta	2–2	Napoli
	Morfeo  40' Sgrò  75'		Aglietti  46' Caccia  50'

12	Napoli	1–0	Verona
	Milanese  90'

13	Roma	1–0	Napoli
	Aldair  78'

14	Napoli	1–0	Lazio
	André Cruz  90'

15	Fiorentina	3–0	Napoli
	Colonnese  50' (o.g.) L. Oliveira  54' Robbiati  90'

16	Napoli	1–2	Inter
	Caccia  90'		Branca  43' Djorkaeff  88'

17	Vicenza	2–2	Napoli
	Murgita  12' Otero  32'		Méndez  38' (o.g.) Pecchia  55'

18	Napoli	2–1	Parma
	Pecchia  22' André Cruz  56'		Chiesa  32'

19	Reggiana	1–1	Napoli
	Beiersdorfer  60'		Aglietti  44'

20	Piacenza	1–0	Napoli
	Scienza  34'

21	Napoli	1–1	Sampdoria
	Boghossian  57'		Mihajlović  88'

22	Udinese	2–2	Napoli
	Poggi  9, 77'		Pecchia  26' Helveg  46' (o.g.)

23

Napoli

0–0

Milan

24	Bologna	2–1	Napoli
	K. Andersson  40' Kolyvanov  46' (pen.)		Altomare  45'

25

Napoli

0–0

Juventus

26	Perugia	1–1	Napoli
	Rapaić  60'		Aglietti  23'

27	Napoli	1–1	Cagliari
	Esposito  75' (pen.)		Tovalieri  83'

28	Napoli	0–1	Atalanta
			F. Inzaghi  23'

29	Verona	2–0	Napoli
	Maniero  47' De Vitis  89'

30	Napoli	1–0	Roma
	Caccia  32'

31	Lazio	3–2	Napoli
	Casiraghi  24' Fuser  39, 70'		Ayala  10' Beto  66'

32	Napoli	2–2	Fiorentina
	Aglietti  67' Esposito  83'		L. Oliveira  8, 40'

33	Inter	3–2	Napoli
	Ince  50' Zamorano  66' Djorkaeff  82'		Ince  35' (o.g.) Caccia  90'

34	Napoli	1–0	Vicenza
	Beto  4'

Topscorers

• Alfredo Aglietti 8
• Nicola Caccia 7
• André Cruz 5
• Fabio Pecchia 5
• Beto 4

References

1. 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.

Sources

• RSSSF - Italy 1996/97