Napoli in colour: stories of Inter’s victories | OneFootball

Big clashes, tough games and important wins. Napoli vs. Inter is a true Serie A classic, a fixture that, throughout its history, has featured unforgettable wins and unexpected heroes. The two sides have met 158 times in the league, with Inter winning 70 of them, including 19 away wins at Napoli.

Naples is a city famous for its art and its talent that it has produced. One of its favourite talents was Pino Daniele, who famously sang Napule è mille culure. Napoli is a thousand colours. Because of its history, its people and its football team. But for Inter, too, Naples has often been the setting for colourful stories, told through the shirts the Nerazzurri have worn over the years.

Of the 19 Inter wins in Naples, four of them came during the 90s. In the first two, Inter wore a white shirt with black-and-blue details. In the 1992/93 season, under coach Osvaldo Bagnoli, Inter won 2-1 with goals from Matthias Sammer and Totò Schillaci, the beloved hero of Italia ’90, then in his first season with the Nerazzurri. Two years later, in Serie A 1994/95, Inter won 3-1 in a match of spectacular goals. Orlandini opened the scoring with a solo move on the left, before Napoli equalised from a Cruz free kick. Just moments after Pagliuca had saved a Rincon penalty. In the second half, Inter sealed the win thanks to a diving header from Nicola Berti and a brilliant solo run by Dennis Bergkamp, finished clinically from the edge of the box.

Two years later, and Inter won again in Naples, this time wearing a striking yellow kit with black trim at the old Stadio San Paolo. On January 12, 1997 the Nerazzurri won 2-1 with goals from Marco Branca and Youri Djorkaeff.

In 1997/98 Inter won in Naples thanks to an unexpected hero. That year, all eyes from fans to opponents to teammates were on Il Fenomeno, Ronaldo. It was his first season at Inter. The game against Napoli came on the sixth matchday of the league and Ronaldo had already scored five in his first five games in Serie A. But that day, it wasn't the Brazilian who won the game for Inter. The breakthrough goal came from Fabio Galante, his second and final league goal for Inter. The Nerazzurri went on to win 2-0, with an own goal from Turrini sealing the win. Gigi Simoni’s men played that day in their white away kit.

After the win in 1997, it took another 23 years for Inter to win away at Napoli again. On January 6, 2020, the Nerazzurri were back to winning at San Paolo, with a 3-1 victory. Lukaku opened the scoring with a brace in the first half, before Milik pulled one back for the Partenopei. The winning goal came from Lautaro Martinez, who beat Meret with a lightning-quick move inside the penalty area. The win also marked a return to success in a new colour for the Nerazzurri, who wore a completely black kit, the third kit for the 2019/20 season.

The following year, the Nerazzurri couldn’t repeat the previous season’s victory, but they still earned a crucial point in the race for their 19th Scudetto. In the 2020/21 clash, Napoli and Inter drew 1-1. After going one goal down, Inter’s equaliser came from Christian Eriksen, who's accuracy was unstoppable.

The last time Inter won at Napoli was in 2023/24, the same year they won their 20th Scudetto and with it their second star. On December 3, 2023, Inter faced Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, securing their first win since the stadium was named in honour of the legendary Argentine. The reigning Serie A champions, Napoli, were a formidable and talented opponent, but the Nerazzurri prevailed with a stellar performance. The first goal came from a magnificent strike from Hakan Calhanoglu that seemed to defy the laws of physics. In the second half, Inter extended their lead to 3-0 final thanks to goals from Nicolò Barella and Marcus Thuram, who celebrated by waving his orange shirt in the air as a tribute to Adriano’s iconic celebration after a decisive goal in a derby against AC Milan. Three goals, three points, and a clear display of strength. The victory marked a crucial turning point in Inter’s winning season.

Last year, the game against Napoli ended 1-1. Federico Dimarco scored for Inter from a fantastic free-kick from the edge of the box. In fact, that was the first free-kick goal scored by a left-footed player at the stadium since it was renamed after Maradona, the undisputed master of such goals.