Throwback Thursday: 5-1 to Juventus, Maradona’s Last Napoli Miracle

The Supercoppa Italiana between the winners of the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia is not necessarily the most beloved and cherished trophy for Italian football fans and clubs nowadays. But when the competition was still young and fresh, it gave life to some epic calcio battles, including what can be arguably considered Diego Maradona’s last miracle in Napoli.  

The third edition of the Supercoppa, played at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples on September 1, 1990, saw title-winner Napoli destroying incumbent cup champions Juventus 5-1, with braces from Andrea Silenzi and Careca, and with Maradona dispensing assists like there was no tomorrow.

There was a bitter air at the San Paolo on that night. A few weeks earlier, in that very stadium, Italy had bid farewell to the World Cup played on home soil, bowing out of the competition after a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Argentina.

It was a game that had seen the Italians splitting into two factions, with many Neapolitans choosing to support Argentina and their own personal god Diego Maradona rather than Italy.

But perhaps the gloomy atmosphere was due to something else, maybe an unconscious feeling that Maradona’s parable in Naples was starting to decline. El Pibe de Oro was commencing his 7^th season with the Azzurri. It would be the last one, as the Argentine would eventually receive a doping ban – which some claim it was specifically set up to ruin him – and leave the Serie A ingloriously.

Nobody could realistically expect what was coming. But it was like there was some sort of a grim presage about it. And so, the Supercoppa 1990 ended up being Maradona’s last masterpiece in Italy, with Napoli putting four past the shocked Bianconeri in the first half already thanks to El Pibe’s fabulous assists.

Juventus were not living their best years, if truth be told. They were winless in Italy since 1985 and would need to wait five more seasons before finally catching a Scudetto again. The Bianconeri were going from one renovation attempt to another – but this was a particularly bold one.

The previous season, Juventus “discovered” Salvatore Schillaci, picking him from Serie B side Messina and receiving 15 goals in 30 league games in return. Schillaci was the Italian unlikely hero during World Cup 1990 and the top scorer of the competition. The Juventus management had made an effort in the summer and paired him with another up-and-coming Italian youngster – his name was Roberto Baggio.

But their most audacious experiment was in the dugout. The then President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo had decided to put on the bench the semi-unknown Luigi Maifredi, after two years of Dino Zoff tenure. Maifredi was coming from a three-year spell in Bologna, during which he brought the Rossoblu back to Serie A and qualified them for the UEFA Cup. He was praised for his dynamic, entertaining football style, but pretty much lacked experience with coaching a “major” club.   

It was a disaster, with Juventus ending 7^th in the Serie A table and failing to qualify for any European Cup for the first time in 28 years. Schillaci turned out to be a “one-season wonder.” Baggio took quite some time before performing at his best – it was no secret that he had left his beloved Fiorentina and joined the Bianconeri reluctantly. Maifredi was relieved of his duties at the end of the season. In retrospect, the Supercoppa slaughter was a grim presage for them, as well.

For Napoli, on the other hand, everything seemed to be going the right way. In May, the Partenopei had conquered – not without controversy – their second Scudetto after besting Milan at the end of a thrilling battle. Then, of course, there was Maradona. And as long as Maradona was in Naples, things could only go well.

What’s more, the Napoli fans were astounded to discover another potential star in the making on that Supercoppa night. 24-year-old striker Andrea Silenzi from Rome had just joined the Partenopei that summer after making a name for himself in Serie B at Reggiana. Along with Diego, he was the star of the night.

Silenzi was the first to make it to the scoresheet as he received the ball from Brazilian international Careca and put it past Stefano Tacconi on nine minutes. The Brazilian sneaked past center backs Dario Bonetti and Julio Cesar like a knife through butter, showing from the very beginning what was going to be the leit motiv of the game.

The second goal was a beautiful one-touch display, with Maradona dancing along the offside line and serving Careca an easy chance to slot the ball home for Napoli’s 2-0.

On 39 minutes, Baggio gave a sample of his stunning free kick abilities as he whipped the ball past the Partenopei’s new goalkeeper Giovanni Galli from outside of the box. But that was just a short break as Juventus’ demolition continued and the score assumed humiliating proportions before referee Carlo Longhi could even blow for half time.

On 43 minutes, El Pibe de Oro released Massimo Crippa on the left flank with a perfectly timed long ball, catching once again the Bianconeri’s defensive line by surprise. Crippa had all the time in the world to enter the area, dribble past Tacconi, and deposit the ball into the back of the net.

Two minutes later, another long ball, this time on the right side of the pitch, forced poor Stefano Tacconi to venture well out of his area in a desperate attempt to intercept it, as his defenders were nowhere to be found. But Silenzi was faster and anticipated him before firing the ball into the untended goal.

At half time, Napoli were leading 4-1 and Silenzi had already scored one third of the total goals he would collect in two seasons in Naples. That’s another thing that nobody – and especially him – could imagine as he run to celebrate under the stands of the San Paolo.

It was almost embarrassing as there were still 45 minutes to play. The second half mostly turned into a time-wasting affair, with both sides trying to run down the clock. Juventus, however, showed that they had still not learned the lesson, as they were caught unprepared once again on 72 minutes when Maradona turned on his magical foot yet another time.

El Pibe put in a lobbed cross from behind the midfield line to serve Careca an easy chance to bag his brace, besting once again Julio Cesar and Stefano Tacconi in the process. It was Napoli’s triumph, and perhaps the last time that Diego Maradona’s star really shone at the San Paolo.

A disappointing season for both sides was about to start, as Italian football left its golden age of the 1980s and entered a decade when the Serie A would still be the most competitive league in the world. But many things were going to change, in Italy and in the game of football itself, and one of them was that Maradona wouldn’t really be part of it anymore.

 

MATCH REPORT

September 1, 1990 – Supecoppa Italiana 1990
NAPOLI-JUVENTUS 5-1

SCORERS: 9′ Silenzi (N), 21′ Careca (N), 39′ Baggio (J), 43′ Crippa (N), 45′ Silenzi (N), 72′ Careca (N)

REFEREE: Mr. Longhi from Roma
NOTES: Yellow card: Ferrara, Corradini (N), Galia, De Marchi (J)