31 March 2017
1992: Napoli 2-3 Juventus
After picking up three draws and a victory in their opening four league games of the 1992/93 campaign, Juventus headed to Naples on 4 October ‘92 in need of three points to get their season going in earnest.
Just five minutes in, the Bianconeri were 1-0 up when Roberto Baggio took Andreas Moeller’s pass into his stride before hitting low inside the far post.
Moeller turned scorer in the second half, finding the bottom corner from an acute angle to double the visitors’ lead, before Gianluca Vialli swept home a sublime free-kick on 80 minutes to all but wrap up a famous away win at a ground they’d only triumphed in twice in the previous decade.
However, Napoli had not exactly given up hope of staging a comeback and two late goals by Daniel Fonseca and Gianfranco Zola made for a nervy finale for Juve, who had ultimately done enough earlier on to make sure of bringing the spoils back to Turin.
2000: Napoli 1-2 Juventus
Saturday 30 September 2000 marked Juventus’ maiden Serie A match of the 2000/01 season and those fans to have made the trip south to Naples were treated to a very special away day indeed.
The hosts, backed by a vociferous San Paolo support, piled on the pressure from the first whistle and caused Carlo Ancelotti’s men all kinds of problems.
Edwin van der Saar broke a finger in stretching out to tip Abdelilah Saber’s cross over the bar, and the Dutch keeper was called into action again to block David Sesa’s fierce drive with his feet.
There was little he could do, however, about Roberto Stellone’s first-time strike from point-blank range.
Zinedine Zidane very nearly equalised for the visitors when his free-kick flew through a sea of bodies before striking the post.
A far more competitive Juve came out for the second half and, after Zidane and Filippo Inzaghi both spurned a couple of promising opportunities, Ancelotti brought on Darko Kovacevic to brilliant effect in the 66th minute.
Barely seconds after stepping onto the pitch, the Serbian was rising like a salmon to head Zidane’s searching ball back across goal and in.
Eight minutes later, Juve had completed their comeback: a tame Napoli clearance was intercepted and the ball broke for Alessandro Del Piero, who masterfully turned his marker before hitting an unstoppable effort into the far corner.
This was a goal worthy of winning any game, as Juve held firm to ensure they kicked off the campaign with three hard-fought but richly deserved points.
2015: Napoli 1-3 Juventus
After kicking off 2015 with a home draw against Inter, the Bianconeri entered their next game determined to pick up a first win of the new year.
Napoli, meanwhile, had much cause for motivation of their own, eager to extend their unbeaten streak at home to Juventus since September 2000 and thus boost their credentials for Champions League qualification.
The Partenopei began brightly, Jonathan De Guzman blasting over the bar from a fine position, but the Old Lady had not come to the San Paolo to defend and her attacking qualities soon shone through.
On 29 minutes, Carlos Tevez’ drilled effort into Fernando Llorente’s feet spun up into the air towards Paul Pogba standing on the edge of the area, and the Frenchman could not have caught the ball any better, demonstrating top-drawer technique to direct his volley inside the far post.
Martin Caceres might have extended the visitors’ lead before half-time after breaking into the box from the right, but Rafael Cabral palmed his shot away.
The Uruguayan defender’s time to shine would come later, but not before Miguel Britos struck an equaliser from a corner kick.
Juve had just over 20 minutes to regroup and find a winner, but they would end up scoring twice to put the result beyond all doubt.
First Caceres showed his predatory instincts to sweep home Andrea Pirlo’s free-kick, but Massimiliano Allegri’s men knew they might need another to put the game beyond all doubt, especially after Gonzalo Higuain flashed a shot just wide of Gianluigi Buffon’s far post.
As Napoli pushed for another leveller, the stage was set perfectly for Juventus to hit their hosts on the counter-attack and that they did in the most clinical of fashions when Arturo Vidal rifled into the roof of the net to crown a famous and highly decisive victory in their successful surge to a fourth successive Scudetto title.
