How Napoli's 2022/23 Scudetto compares to Maradona's Serie A winners

One of the best barometers for an interesting domestic division is if the same team does not win it on repeat. It has been the case in France's Ligue 1 with PSG winning eight of the last 10, in Germany's Bundesliga with Bayern Munich winning the last 10, and Manchester City winning four of the last five Premier League titles.

It was also the case for many years in Italy with Juventus winning nine Serie A titles in a row. Things have changed now, though, and Napoli have become the fourth different side to win Serie A in the past four seasons.

Not only is Napoli winning Serie A refreshing for that reason, it is also special because a whole generation (or more) of Napoli fans have never seen their side win the Scudetto. The last triumph came in the 1989/90 season, meaning the Partenopei have ended a 33-year wait for glory.

That team in 1990 was packed with special players, one more so than others, so here is a look at the similarities between that team and the season that they enjoyed, and the current crop of newly-crowned legends.

Most important players in Napoli's 1989/90 and 2022/23 squads

There is one incredibly clear headline maker from Napoli's 89/90 title-winning team. It's Diego Maradona. Having already been the talisman of their first ever Scudetto which came in 1986/87, Maradona was the darling of Naples in 1990 too.

In 28 Serie A appearances, Maradona scored 16 times and also grabbed an impressive 10 assists as the main source of goals and creativity in the team. He was their top scorer, with the Brazilian Careca next with ten, followed by Italians Andrea Carnevale and Massimo Crippa who got eight and four respectively.

Compared to the modern day Napoli squad, there is only one player that can be compared to Maradona, and we are not the first to do it. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was labelled 'Kvaradona' incredibly early in the season and has done a fine job to not let it get on top of him.

The Georgian winger is currently experiencing something of a dry spell but he has got 12 goals and 12 assists so far in Serie A. The way he has burst onto the scene has been thrilling for everyone involved in Italy's top flight and there is an expectation he will stay at Napoli to build on this season.

The other major star of the current team is Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian striker has scored 22 Serie A goals so far and is being heavily linked with a lucrative move to the Premier League or elsewhere.

Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia have been the headline makers, but players such as Kim Min-jae, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka and Piotr Zielinski have produced a level of performance few knew they were capable of.

How do the stats compare between Napoli's 1989/90 and 2022/23 winners?

There is no doubt over which of the two teams have been the most dominant over Serie A on their way to the title. The 1989/90 side was part of an 18-team league so there were just 34 games to play. They narrowly won the title with a two-point margin over AC Milan, finishing the season on 51 points.

The current side has amassed 80/82 points in just 33 games, meaning there is no contest when it comes to points tallies, regardless of the extra games. As for goals, the current side is already on 68 (?) league goals, more than the 57 Maradona's side scored. They are also on track to concede fewer, with 22 goals let in to the 1989/90 squad's 31.

Napoli's 1989/90 Serie A record

Napoli's 2022/23 Serie A record

Read the latest Serie A news here

Napoli's two latest Scudetto winning coaches

The two coaches delivering these triumphs were in different stages of their careers.

Alberto Bigon

Alberto Bigon was the Napoli coach in the 1989/90 season, his first in charge of the Azzurri. He had only been a senior coach since 1986, leading Reggina and Cesena before the move to Napoli.

Maradona's farewell hindered Napoli and that led to Bigot's departure in 1991. Much of his career was still ahead of him as he went on to coach Lecce, Udinese, Ascoli, Sion, Perugia, Olympiacos, Sion again and finally Interblock Ljubljana.

The Scudetto with Napoli was certainly his highlight, though he did win league titles in Switzerland and Greece.

Luciano Spalletti

As for Luciano Spalletti, he is not a manager in the early stages of his career. The Tuscan has been coaching since 1993 when he started a five-year spell with Empoli. He then coached Sampdoria, Venezia, Udinese twice and Ancona before pitching up for his first spell at Roma in 2005. He turned the Giallorossi's fortunes around.

He broke the Serie A record for most consecutive wins with a 2-0 success against Lazio, making it 12 victories in a row. They finished fifth in his first season but Calciopoli meant Roma ended up fourth and made it into the Champions League. Things went downhill towards the end of his time and he resigned in September 2009. He had delivered the Coppa Italia in 2007 and 2008, while also winning the Supercoppa Italiana in 2007.

He then headed to Zenit Saint Petersburg where he won four trophies, before then going back to Roma in January 2016. Despite a public rift between Spalletti and Francesco Totti, he took them from mid-table to second in Serie A. After finishing second again the following season, he left the club and was picked up by Inter. He helped the Nerazzurri qualify for the Champions League twice but was sacked in May 2019.

After two years out, he joined Napoli, his third big Serie A side where there was the potential to get his hands on the Scudetto. He led them to third in 2021/22 but with Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly and Fabian Ruiz all leaving ahead of this season, many feared for the Partenopei and Spalletti.

He has performed wonders with his new-look squad, though, and is finally a Serie A winner 30 years after starting his managerial career.