It was the eleventh day of the 1989/90 Serie A championship, the Azzurri faced the tough Salento team
Sunday at 6pm at Maradona Naples hosts the Lecce for the last match of the season. The Azzurri will try to grab ninth place which, in the event of Fiorentina’s victory in the Conference League, would qualify for the third continental competition. The Salento team have only won twice in Naples in their history: in 1998 and 2020, they come from two useful results in a row in Fuorigrotta. In fact, they haven’t lost for 13 years: since the 4-2 in May 2011. Paradoxically, however. the Azzurri have won all their last four away games at Via del Mare. The matches of 2010 were memorable (Cavani’s late goal which blew up the San Paolo) and the match of 5 November 1989 which made the whole of Italy understand that Napoli could have won a second Scudetto, which took place on 29 April 1990.
Amarcord Napoli-Lecce, when Conte made the Azzurri tremble
—
It was the eleventh day of the 1989/90 Serie A championship. The Azzurri faced the tough Lecce of Mazzone. Among the ranks of the Salento players there were important players such as Virdis (relentless at the San Paolo, always scoring), Conte, the 1986 World Champion Pasculli, the former Marino and Carannante and the future Italian Moriero. The men of Bigon they were in full emergency – due to Renica’s absences. Francini, Alemao and Careca – and they immediately went behind after 5 minutes with the usual goal at the San Paolo in Virdis who with a precise diagonal passed Giuliani on the way out. In the 21st minute, however, Maradona got a free kick and was able to take it quickly, mocking the Lecce defenders. The midfielder Fusihaving entered the area, took advantage of the assist from Pibe de Oro to thread Terraneo. The Azzurri overturned the result in the 33rd minute: Maradona inspired the action which was finalized by Carnival with an empty net, after a rebound between Terraneo and the Neapolitan Bigliardi. Everything seemed to be going downhill for the Azzurri, but at the beginning of the second half With you he equalized with a close touch on an assist from Pasculli. In the last part of the match, Napoli poured into attack and in the last minute Maradona enchanted the San Paolo with one of his magic spells: a backheel that cleared Carnival in front of Terraneo and who coolly put the ball in the bottom of the bag for his personal brace, causing the stadium to explode. There were many protests and controversies for an alleged offside position by Carnevale at the moment of Maradona’s heel, but the referee Cornieti of Forlì validated the goal which allowed Napoli to maintain a two-point lead over Inter who won in Verona and increase 4 points ahead of Juve, defeated at San Siro by Milan, who remained 6 points behind the Azzurri, but the Rossoneri later revealed themselves to be the true anti-Napoli, contending for the Scudetto with the Azzurri until the end. In the end, Lecce managed to save themselves thanks to the fifth-last place in the standings with a point advantage over Udinese, the last of the relegated teams in Serie B.
By Domenico D’Ausilio
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
