About stadium

Stadium introduction

Stadio San Paolo first opened in 1959 and was constructed for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Conceived as a multi-purpose sports venue, the stadium is circular in design as it originally needed to accommodate an athletics track surrounding the perimeter of the pitch. At its peak size in 1979 the stadium attracted a record attendance of 112,365 during a match against AC Perugia. Unlikely to ever be beaten, Stadio San Paolo underwent extensive renovation in order to host matches of the 1990 Word Cup which was a tournament which firmly put the city of Naples on the map. Hosting five matches in total including two group matches and three knock-out games, the stadium was famously the only ground where the Argentinian National Anthem wasn’t booed. As Naples was the adopted home city of local icon Diego Maradona, the famous number 10 asked Italian supporters to cheer for him, but the Napoli Ultras responded with a tifosi which read “Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our homeland”. La Albiceleste went on to defeat The Azzuri on penalties in the semi-final at Stadium San Paolo. As a player who has given Stadio San Paolo some of its most spine-tingling moments, the Naples City Council asked the Italian Government for permission to rename the stadium to Diego Maradona. The request was turned down after an Italian law was found to prohibit the naming of public buildings after any person who hasn’t been dead for a minimum of 10 years! Today the capacity of Napoli’s stadium sits at just over 60,000 making it the third largest stadium in Italy behind the San Siro and Stadio Olimpico. Despite not always being full the San Paolo has some of the highest attendances in Europe, and when the club played in Serie C during the 2005/2006 season crowds in excess of 50,000 were not uncommon.

How to get to the Stadium

Stadio San Paolo – Piazzale Vincenzo Tecchio, 80125 Naples, Italy