1997–98 season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
President | Corrado Ferlaino | |||
Manager | Bortolo Mutti (until 6 October 1997) Carlo Mazzone (until 24 November 1997) Giovanni Galeone (until 9 February 1998) Vincenzo Montefusco | |||
Stadium | San Paolo | |||
Serie A | 18th (in 1998-99 Serie B) | |||
Coppa Italia | Last 16 | |||
Top goalscorer | Claudio Bellucci (10) | |||
S.S.C. Napoli crashed out of Serie A following a disastrous season. It only clinched 14 points out of 34 matches, despite having the services of several experienced Serie A players. Napoli went through four coaches over the course of the season, and hardly took a point in the second half of the season. Given the disastrous form of the team, Claudio Bellucci's ten goals were impressive, while thought top scorer Igor Protti was one of the largest disappointments of the entire series. The lack of defensive skills cost Napoli many points, and more than two goals were conceded on average. This was despite Roberto Ayala's brilliance, which earned him a transfer to A.C. Milan.
Only eight years following Napoli's second title, the club seemed to be in terminal decline, with hard work being needed to return to the top domestic league. Given that the club had not been relegated since a bankruptcy in 1964, the relegation was a shock, by the extremely poor season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
In | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Name | from | Type |
FW | Igor Protti | S.S. Lazio | loan |
MF | Fabio Rossitto | Udinese | |
DF | Raffaele Sergio | Udinese | |
FW | Claudio Bellucci | Venezia | |
FW | José Luis Calderón | Independiente | |
DF | Mirko Conte | Piacenza Calcio | |
MF | Giuseppe Giannini | Sturm Graz | |
DF | William Prunier | Manchester United | |
DF | Mauro Facci | Salernitana |
Out | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Name | To | Type |
MF | Beto | Flamengo | |
FW | Nicola Caccia | Atalanta | |
MF | Alain Boghossian | Sampdoria | |
DF | Francesco Colonnese | Inter | |
DF | André Cruz | A.C. Milan | |
FW | Alfredo Aglietti | Verona | |
FW | Dino Fava Passaro | Acireale | |
MF | Fabio Pecchia | Juventus | |
DF | Mauro Milanese | Parma F.C. | |
FW | Caio | Santos |
In | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Name | from | Type |
FW | Damir Stojak | Vojvodina | |
MF | Reynald Pedros | Parma F.C. | |
MF | Massimiliano Allegri | Padova Calcio | |
FW | Aljoša Asanović | Derby County | |
Out | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Name | To | Type |
FW | José Luis Calderón | Independiente | |
DF | Mirko Conte | Vicenza Calcio | |
DF | Mirko Taccola | Lucchese | |
DF | Alessandro Sbrizzo | Padova Calcio | |
DF | William Prunier | Hearts | |
MF | Massimiliano Esposito | Hellas Verona | |
DF | Marco Zamboni | Chievo Verona | |
MF | Giuseppe Giannini | U.S. Lecce | |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | Vicenza | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 36 | |
15 | Brescia (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 63 | −18 | 35 | Relegation to Serie B |
16 | Atalanta (R) | 34 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 25 | 48 | −23 | 32 | |
17 | Lecce (R) | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 72 | −40 | 26 | |
18 | Napoli (R) | 34 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 25 | 76 | −51 | 14 |
14 September 19972 | Napoli | 2–1 | Empoli | Napoli |
Bellucci 33' Protti 48' | C. Esposito 77' | Stadium: San Paolo |
05 October 1997 5 | Roma | 6–2 | Napoli | Roma |
Candela 16' Gautieri 34' Balbo 51, 60, 89' Di Francesco 53' | Altomare 71' Bellucci 87' (pen.) | Stadium: Olimpico |
02 November 19977 | Bologna | 5–1 | Napoli | Bologna |
R. Baggio 48' (pen.)90'90 + 5' (pen.) K. Andersson 55, 90 + 3' | Goretti 14' | Stadium: Renato Dall'Ara |
14 December 199712 | Napoli | 0–4 | Parma | Napoli |
Blomqvist 18' D. Baggio 53' Crespo 65, 73' | Stadium: San Paolo |
21 December 199713 | Sampdoria | 6–3 | Napoli | Genova |
Boghossian 35' Montella 42' (pen.)61'90' (pen.) Klinsmann 73' Laigle 76' | Bellucci 15' Protti 70' Rossitto 78' | Stadium: Luigi Ferraris |
08 February 199819 | Empoli | 5–0 | Napoli | Empoli |
C. Esposito 24' Cappellini 37' Pane 50' Florijančič 70, 75' |
14 March 1998 25 | Juventus | 2–2 | Napoli | Torino |
Del Piero 46' Zalayeta 75' | Turrini 69' Protti 90 + 2' | Stadium: delle Alpi |
22 March 199826 | Napoli | 2–4 | Lecce | Napoli |
Protti 35' (pen.) Altomare 73' | Casale 2' Palmieri 29' Ayala 75' (o.g.) Atelkin 90 + 3' | Stadium: San Paolo |
29 March 199827 | Fiorentina | 4–0 | Napoli | Firenze |
Batistuta 40, 67' Robbiati 80' Edmundo 86' | Stadium: Artemio Franchi |
05 April 199828 | Napoli | 1–2 | Piacenza | Napoli |
Bellucci 51' | Scienza 34' Dionigi 84' (pen.) | Stadium: San Paolo |
The 2000–01 Serie A was the 99th season of top-tier Italian football, the 69th in a round-robin tournament. It was contested by 18 teams, for the 13th consecutive season since 1988–89.
The 1997–98 Serie A saw Juventus win their 25th national title, with Internazionale placing second; both teams qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. Udinese, Roma, Fiorentina, Parma qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup. Lazio qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners Cup courtesy of winning the Coppa Italia. Bologna and Sampdoria qualified for the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Brescia, Atalanta, Lecce and Napoli were relegated to Serie B.
During the 1997–98 Italian football season, Società Sportiva Lazio competed in the Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup.
Associazione Calcio Milan had a poor season in 2000–01, finishing 6th in Serie A with 49 points, and only the scoring touch of Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko saved them from complete humiliation.
During the 2000–01 season Fiorentina competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup.
Associazione Calcio Fiorentina enjoyed its best season in the 1990s on the pitch, but was left wondering what might have been. Leading the domestic Serie A championship a long way into the season, Fiorentina's title charge fell to pieces, as it lost unnecessary points while eventual champions Milan and runners-up Lazio continued winning their matches. In the end, Fiorentina salvaged third place in the league, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in 1999–2000.
The 1998–99 U.C. Sampdoria season ended with the club's relegation to Serie B just eight years after winning the Serie A title in 1990–91. Similarly to Napoli the year prior, the club was no longer a financial power when it came to signing players, while its high-profile signing, Ariel Ortega, did not deliver to the degree Sampdoria had hoped for.
In the 1997–98 season, the Italian football club Inter Milan, managed by Luigi Simoni, won the UEFA Cup and achieved second place in the Serie A league.
AC Milan had a second consecutive disastrous season. Fabio Capello returned as coach, following the dismal second half of the 1996–97 league campaign, but failed to turn the corner, and Milan was a shadow of the team he had left the year before. With Capello's reputation seemingly ruined, he was sacked at the end of the season, with Milan finishing a mere 10th in the league.
Juventus Football Club had one of its most successful seasons in the club's history, winning the domestic league competition and reaching the final of the Champions League. There, Juventus stumbled on Real Madrid by Predrag Mijatović' solitary goal, which ensured Juventus lost the final for the second year running. The progress to the final had been much less smooth than in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 European campaigns, prompting fears among supporters that the side was experiencing a decline. Indeed, on their way to the final in Amsterdam, the Italians had lost three games compared to none the previous season. They had needed to win their matchday six fixture against Manchester United to reach the quarter-final, where Dynamo Kyiv held them to a 1–1 draw in Turin in the first leg.
Udinese Calcio sensationally finished third in Serie A, much due to Oliver Bierhoff being in the form of his life, scoring 27 goals in a league season consisting of just 34 matches. Bierhoff, coach Alberto Zaccheroni and winger Thomas Helveg all left for Milan at the end of the season, ensuring Udinese had much work to do to maintain its level.
Associazione Sportiva Roma was reinvigorated under new coach Zdeněk Zeman, who recently had been coaching arch rivals Lazio. Zeman brought his attacking 4–3–3 with him, resulting in Roma scoring 67 goals, but also conceding 42, an extreme rarity in defensive-minded Italian football. Roma finished fourth, three places above Lazio in the table. That was the first time it had happened in five years, which delighted the Roma board, and Zeman stayed on for a further season. The season also saw the international breakthrough of former youth-team product Francesco Totti, who at 21 was ready for increased responsibility and captaincy, responding with 13 league goals from a position on the left-wing of the attack. Also noticeable was new signing Cafu's offensive skills as a right-wing back, granting him a reputation among the world's top wing backs.
During the 1997-98 season Bologna F.C. competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia.
Associazione Calcio Fiorentina came off second best in a competitive battle for fourth in Serie A. Under Alberto Malesani's leadership, Fiorentina played an attacking 3–5–2 formation, where goal scoring duo Gabriel Batistuta and Luís Oliveira scored an accumulated 36 goals between them. Following the end of the season, Malesani accepted an offer from Parma, thus departing the club after only one season in charge. Sensationally, Giovanni Trapattoni became his successor, remarking that Fiorentina was serious about winning the league.
During the 1997–98 season, the club's eighth in Serie A, Parma Associazione Calcio competed in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League.
Unione Calcio Sampdoria finished ninth in Serie A, despite the absence of club stalwart Roberto Mancini, who had followed coach Sven-Göran Eriksson to Lazio. Former Argentine World Cup-winning coach César Luis Menotti took charge, but failed to match the results of Eriksson, and was replaced by the 1991 championship winning coach Vujadin Boškov, who guided the team to a safe mid-table slot.
Piacenza Calcio recorded their best ever finish in the top echelon of Italian football, finishing 12th in Serie A, but just two points above the relegation zone. This was in spite of key players Pasquale Luiso (Vicenza) and Eusebio Di Francesco (Roma) leaving the club before the season began.
During the 2001–02 Italian football season, Brescia Calcio competed in the Serie A.
During the 1997-98 season Vicenza competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
During the 2000–01 season Brescia Calcio competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia.