Juventus – Napoli
Photograph signed by both players.
Part of Napoli’s legend was written one afternoon in November 1986, in the stadium of their great Turin rivals. Between 1981 and 1986, Juventus won the Scudetto four times. But in the summer of 1984, a certain Diego Armando Maradona arrived in Naples. After an unremarkable first season, the Napoli management decided to strengthen the team, so that Maradona would not remain alone in the desert. This was achieved by the following summer, with the arrivals of striker Bruno Giordano, Verona goalkeeper Garella, and the promotion of the young Ciro Ferrara to the first team.
After eight matchdays, both teams were unbeaten, and the meeting between them looked like a decisive turning point. Only five minutes into the second half, a very young Michael Laudrup scored. Platini’s Juventus thought they had done the hard part. But with twenty minutes left in the match, Napoli equalized, and the azzurra avalanche began: two minutes later, a superb volley, followed a few minutes after by a beautifully curled shot. Apotheosis. Naples had not won in Turin for twenty-nine years.
This victory proved decisive, and a few months later, Napoli won the first Scudetto in its history, finishing three points ahead of Juventus.