In this article, we present to you our pick of the ten greatest-ever male players to ever represent SSC Napoli.
In a country where the top honours have been shared around by the four major clubs in Juventus, Inter, Milan, and Roma, Napoli have managed to win three Serie A titles, six Coppe Italie, two Supercoppe Italiane, and a UEFA Cup in their nearly 100-year history.
For this list, we’ve taken a very specific set of criteria into account:
- Impact
- Longevity
- Statistics
- Trophies
#10 Moreno Ferrario
Napoli’s third-highest appearance maker of all time, Moreno Ferrario joined Napoli from Varese in 1977, played 311 games for them in the Serie A, and made close to 400 appearances in all competitions until 1988. However, he was not a first-team player right away and had to wait until he debuted with the Italy U21 national team to become a regular starter.
At Napoli, Ferrario won one Serie A title and one Coppa Italia in the 1986/87 season before joining Roma in 1988. During his 11-year stay at the Stadio San Paolo (now Stadio Diego Armando Maradona), he appeared in 396 games and scored 11 goals as a defender. 311 of these appearances were in the Italian topflight.
#9 Edinson Cavani
Not many can surpass Edinson Cavani’s legacy in Naples. Having initially joined the club on loan, Cavani’s chemistry with fellow forwards Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamšík earned the trio the name “The Three Tenors” from the legendary singing quartet with the same title.
The Uruguayan played a crucial role in the club winning their first piece of silverware in over 30 years. With five goals, he was also the leading scorer in the 2012 Coppa Italia campaign.
Cavani stayed at Napoli until 2013, scoring 104 goals and providing 14 assists in just 138 games in all competitions before moving to Paris Saint-Germain.
#8 Ciro Ferrara
One of the greatest-ever Napoli legends, Ciro Ferrara played a key role in five of the 11 titles the club won in their entire history.
A club legend with both Napoli and Juve, Ferrara graduated from Napoli’s youth academy before being promoted to the first team. The left-back made close to 250 appearances for the Partenopei in a decade-long stint between 1984 and 1994, during which time he came up with some crucial moments, in particular scoring one of Napoli’s goals in their 1989 UEFA Cup final win.
In addition to the UEFA Cup, Ferrara won at Napoli two Serie A titles (1986/87 and 1989/90), the 1987 Coppa Italia, and the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana before joining Juventus in 1994.
#7 Careca
Another legend who is part of Napoli’s golden era, Careca had an immediate impact when he joined the club back in 1987. The Brazilian possessed an amazing ability of arriving at the right place at the right moment. He also had a lot of speed in his armoury, which he used to significant effect.
Careca is regarded as one of the best Brazilian forwards of all time. He was a member of the infamous “Ma-Gi-Ca” partnership that included Diego Maradona and Bruno Giordano. During his stint in Naples, he scored 95 goals and helped the club to win the Serie A in 1990.
#6 Giuseppe Bruscolotti
One of the best players and the captain of Napoli’s maiden Serie A title-winning team in 1987, Giuseppe Bruscolotti was famous for his physical strength, as admirers dubbed him “Pal e fierr” (“iron pole”).
Bruscolotti arrived in Naples from Sorrento in 1972 and stayed for 16 years, making over 500 appearances across all competitions, 387 of which came in the Serie A. He won five trophies in Naples: one Serie A title, two Coppe Italiane, and one Anglo-Italian League Cup.
Also read: Borussia Dortmund’s top 10 greatest players of all time
#5 Antonio Juliano
One of Napoli’s finest, Antonio Juliano helped bring silverware to both club and country the ’60s and ’70s. He also made the third-most appearances for Napoli—behind Marek Hamšík and Bruscolotti.
Having come up through the ranks from the academy setup to the first team, Juliano stayed at Naples until the end of the 1977/78 season, appearing in 355 Serie A matches and 39 Serie B matches. He also played 72 matches in the Italian Cup and 39 in the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup.
Throughout his time with the club, Juliano helped Napoli win two Coppa Italia titles, one Coppa delle Alpi, and one Anglo-Italian League Cup.
#4 Marek Hamšík
Marek Hamšík is a modern-day Napoli great. During his 12-year stint with the Partenopei, he became a cult hero and a symbol of excellence in the middle of the pitch.
The Slovakian midfielder spent 12 seasons as the backbone of Napoli’s midfield. He also scored more than ten goals in eight of the 12 seasons he played for the club—a great output for someone who played deep in midfield.
Hamšík helped Napoli to two Coppa Italia titles and one Supercoppa Italiana, breaking records for the number of appearances (520) and goals (121) in all competitions along the way. His goal-scoring record was later broken by Dries Mertens.
#3 Dries Mertens
Napoli were left depleted out wide after approving the departure of Ezequiel Lavezzi to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012. To fill that gap, they signed Dries Mertens from PSV Eindhoven in 2013, who became the first signing of their then-manager, Rafael Benítez.
The rest is history. The former Belgium international ended up becoming one of Napoli’s greatest-ever players, making over 300 appearances for the club.
Mertens helped Napoli win the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 2014, repeating the same feat later in the 2019/20 season. In 2022, with 148 goals, Napoli’s all-time top goalscorer left to join Turkish club Galatasaray.
#2 Attila Sallustro
Attila Sallustro joined the club while they were still known as Internapoli and stayed with them for the majority of his career. He played for Napoli for 12 years, forming a strong attack alongside Antonio Vojak and Marcello Mihalich.
In total, Sallustro scored 108 goals for the club in 269 appearances across all competitions. He remains the club’s fifth-highest goalscorer of all time. He also served as their captain between 1933 and 1937.
Being a fan favourite, Sallustro was fondly referred to as “Il Veltro” (“The Greyhound”) and “Il Divino” (“The Divine”). Due to his rich financial background, Sallustro chose not to take wages from the club, as his father believed it was unacceptable to earn a living in such a manner. However, he was rewarded with gifts, including a luxury motor car in the form of a black Fiat Balilla 521.
Sallustro remained in Naples following his retirement until his death in 1983.
#1 Diego Maradona
When he arrived, Diego Maradona inherited a once-great team on the verge of relegation at the end of the 1983/84 season in what was at the time Europe’s fiercest league, and he turned their fortunes around and made them one of the best teams in the land.
During Maradona’s time at the club, Napoli successfully broke the dominance of clubs like Milan, Juventus, Inter, and Roma. No team in the south of the Italian peninsula had ever won a league title, which changed as Maradona arrived in Naples.
Led by the legendary Argentine, Napoli won their first-ever Serie A title in 1986/87. Maradona’s era saw Napoli win two Serie A titles (1986/87 and 1989/90), the 1987 Coppa Italia, the 1989 UEFA Cup, and the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana.
Maradona scored 115 goals for Napoli between 1984 and 1991 and remained the club’s leading goalscorer before Marek Hamšík broke the record in 2017.
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