Napoli reach the 1976-77 Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals under Ferlaino

A year after the 1976 Coppa Italia win, Napoli came within one step of a European final before Anderlecht stopped them. Now, with 100 European wins behind them, the club's Champions League campaign is struggling.

by Rosaria CimminoFriday 30 October, 15:14 CET· 2 hours ago

1976-77, il Napoli di Ferlaino arriva in semifinale di Coppa delle Coppe — Grafica Arena Napoli

Napoli's 4-3 win over Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday 20 October was the 100th European victory in the club's history.

The milestone came in a Champions League campaign that has been hard going so far. After three matchdays Napoli are 22nd with 3 points. All of them came from that game, after defeats by Arsenal and Villarreal. Next is Porto at the Dragão on Wednesday 4 November, against a side still without a point.

The Ferlaino years

There was a season long ago when Napoli got a close look at Europe. It belongs to the era of Ferlaino, president from 18 January 1969.

In 1974-75, with Vinício as coach, Napoli finished second in the league. In 1976 they won the Coppa Italia (Italy's cup competition), the second in their history. The first came in 1961-62 under Pesaola, when the team were in Serie B (the second tier).

One step from the final

In 1976-77 Napoli played in the Cup Winners' Cup, the European competition for domestic cup winners, and went all the way to the semi-finals. That is where the run ended. Anderlecht knocked them out.

For this club, a European semi-final could not be taken for granted. Napoli had spent time in Serie B and had been relegated twice in the Lauro years, once for a sporting offence in 1948.

The UEFA Cup came 12 years later, in 1988-89, when Napoli beat Stuttgart in the final with Maradona in the side. He had arrived in Naples on 30 June 1984. But the semi-final against Anderlecht remains a landmark on the European road of Ferlaino's Napoli. It was when the team understood that they could go all the way outside Italy too.

A different yardstick

The measure is different now. Sporting director Giovanni Manna has set the playoffs as the target for this Champions League campaign. With 3 points from three games, the trip to Porto matters more than the fixture list suggests.

A hundred European wins are the club's history. The 101st is on offer in Porto on Wednesday 4 November.