As SSC Napoli approach their second match of the 2022/23 campaign, Forza Napoli Press looks back at some cool opening round numbers and a little bit of Verona history.
Last Monday, on Ferragosto 2022, Napoli beat Verona 5-2 at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi to begin the 2022/23 Serie A season. The big win marks a new club best 6th consecutive opening round victory and 5 goals scored is now the second most goals scored for Napoli in an opening round fixture. The most goals Napoli ever scored in an opener was during a 6-1 win over Genoa in 2011/12, and since then, gli azzurri have a record of 10 wins, one draw and one loss in the opening round of Serie A.
Looking a bit deeper into away opening fixtures, Napoli are 12-12-15 all time when they begin a Serie A season on the road, with 7 of those 12 wins coming during the De Laurentiis era. Napoli had astonishingly only won five top flight away openers in its prior history. Since ADL took over the club, Napoli have played only four opening matches at home in 16 seasons. Eight of their last nine were on the road; last season’s 2-0 win over Venezia was the lone home match.
Monday’s match marked the second time Napoli played Verona at the Bentegodi in that time span, where the memorable 2017/18 season kicked off with a 3-1 victory. Verona were relegated that season. Prior to that, the only other match the two sides played in to open a Serie A campaign at Verona was in 1984 – the Napoli debut of Diego Armando Maradona. Claudio Garella’s Verona won 3-1 that night and would go on to win the 1984/85 scudetto. That remains the only time Verona beat Napoli in a season opener, and it was at the apex of a rivalry that still stands today.
Verona have hosted the partenopei once in a Serie B opening fixture in 2003/04, a 1-1 draw, while Napoli played host to Verona in a top flight opener twice; a 1-1 draw in 1968 and 40 years prior, in 1928, the last Divisione Nazionale before Serie A as we know it was formed, a 3-0 victory for Napoli.