MARADONA, GIORDANO & CARECA
“You don’t know what you missed,” was spray- painted onto the walls of a Naples cemetery in the summer of 1987.
Street parties were held, pasta shared by strangers, and pretend funerals – complete with death notices and coffins – held for Juventus as Napoli hailed a first Scudetto.
That was what Brazilian forward Careca arrived to from Sao Paulo. The striker landed with pace, power and a reputation as the guy who was always in the right place. Boy, had he come to the right kind of party here.
The 26- year- old star was to be the third point of a new constellation: ‘ Ma- Gi- Ca’. To one side was Bruno Giordano: explosive, two- footed and as reliable as clock hands. To the other was diminutive demigod Diego Maradona, whose arrival from Barcelona in 1984 had sent Naples into a febrile frenzy.
Serie A goals were a valuable currency. Defences were iron- clad, yet Diego posted a league- high 15 goals in 1987- 88, ahead of Careca’s 13 and Giordano on eight. Napoli were still unbeaten by Christmas: Careca and
Giordano were forever free for Maradona’s assists, though both would step aside for one of Diego’s masterclasses. It appeared choreographed, as if the Argentine were his team- mates’ ventriloquist.
Ultimately, Napoli threw the title away just five games from glory. Juventus made the Little Donkeys pay for their hubris with a 3- 1 defeat, then rollercoaster losses to Milan and Fiorentina followed, before an exhausted slump to Sampdoria confirmed Milan’s title. The show was over: Giordano, by then turning 32, departed for Ascoli.
A UEFA Cup and second Scudetto would come in 1989 and 1990, but it was only ever Maradona painted in 30ft murals. Ma- Gi- Ca’s legacy became a Neapolitan footnote; a short and sweet tale of delirium and hangover.
Even Silvio Berlusconi craved a sip of the cocktail. “He wanted Maradona at Milan,” Careca told FFT, “he actually came in for me as well.” Silvio apparently offered a choice of a Lamborghini, Ferrari or Rolls- Royce. For a while, Napoli had all three in their attack.