On 17 May 1989, at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart, the hosts hosted Napoli. It is the second leg of the UEFA Cup final, with the Azzurri having imposed their own law in the first leg, winning 2-1 with goals from Maradona and Careca overturning Gaudino’s initial advantage (father of art given that his son he will then also play with Chievo Verona without leaving any major traces). The return seems more complicated, even if it is immediately downhill: Alemao scores the lead in the eighteenth, so Stuttgart must score two goals to go to extra time and three to win the Cup, due to the away goals being equalised.
Jurgen Klinsmann, who would later go to Inter, scored the equalizer, but Ferrara countered: the 1-2 forced the Germans to score three, while there would be no extra time. So when Careca scores, Napoli can finally explode: 1-3 with half an hour to go is the tombstone. The Germans should make four in a sixth of the double match, very complicated. It must be said that De Napoli scores an own goal, while Schmaler scores the final 3-3. No turnaround for Barcelona against Paris Saint Germain.
Among the not-so-silent protagonists of that edition there is also Renica, as well as Maradona and Careca. Because the defender scored the decisive goal against Juventus in the quarter-finals to go through, just before the penalties. Thus in 1989 Napoli won its first – and so far only – European cup.
