Top Five: Famous home wins over Napoli

With Napoli in town this weekend, we take a trip down memory lane to look back at five famous Roma wins over the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico.

From curiously dismantling Napoli on home soil in each of the club’s successful Scudetto campaigns to chalking up the Naples outfit en route to Roma’s first Coppa Italia triumph, here’s some inspiration from years gone by ahead of Sunday’s meeting in the capital…

Roma 5-1 Napoli
26 October 1941
Serie A

The opening weekend of the 1941-42 season signalled what was to come for both sides, as Roma dismantled Napoli 5-1.

Luigi Di Pasquale opened the scoring after just 12 minutes, Aristide Coscia doubled Roma’s lead from the spot and Ottorino Dugini pulled one back for the visitors, before legendary striker Amedeo Amadei took charge.

Amadei’s hat-trick saw him hit the first three goals of what would eventually be an 18-goal campaign for the Italian as the Giallorossi romped to their first Italian championship in the club’s history.

It wasn’t quite the same happy ending for Napoli, who were eventually relegated from the top-flight.

Roma 8-0 Napoli
29 March 1959
Coppa Italia

Fourth by Matchday 13, Roma then endured a miserable run that saw them go 11 games without a league win (D5, L6) before Napoli arrived at a sodden Olimpico.

Gunnar Nordahl had just returned to the club as coach and Amadei was in the opposition dugout, this time on the receiving end of what would turn out to be an unadulterated mauling.

Dino Da Costa this time left with the match ball, with Arne Selmosson and Paolo Pestrin both scoring braces after Severino Lojodice had put Roma in front after just six minutes.

Roma would lose just twice more before the end of the season, eventually climbing into sixth - one place above Napoli.

Roma 5-0 Napoli
11 December 1963
Coppa Italia

It appears the Giallorossi have a thing for scoring five times against Napoli at home, having done so on five different occasions throughout their history.

It also appears that Roma strikers are incredibly fond of scoring hat-tricks against the Naples outfit, with Alberto Orlando delivering a treble in a convincing second round victory on this occasion.

Pedro Waldemar Manfredini and Giacomo Losi were Roma’s other two goalscorers, setting the club’s course on their way to lifting the Coppa Italia for the very first time that season.

Roma 6-2 Napoli
5 October 1997
Serie A

Were it not for Giuseppe Taglialatela, this one would have been double figures in Roma’s favour.

Zdenek Zeman’s side were in the mood on this glorious October Sunday and despite missing a host of presentable chances, Roma were still five goals to the good an hour in.

Vincent Candela, Carmine Gautieri and Eusebio Di Francesco were all on target for the hosts but, again, it was a Roma centre-forward that made the headlines.

Having twice beaten the Napoli offside trap to slot beyond Taglialatela, Abel Balbo wrapped up his hat-trick in the 89th minute as he turned home the rebound from his initially saved penalty.

Roma 3-0 Napoli
28 January 2001
Serie A

Having also claimed a 5-2 home victory over Napoli in their title-winning 1982-83 campaign, Roma maintained their record of resounding wins against the Southern Italians as hosts in each of their three seasons the Giallorossi have lifted the Scudetto.

Many of the side from 1997 were still at the club, this time led by Fabio Capello in a rampant display.

There would be no individual hat-trick this time around, but the deadly front three of Gabriel Batistuta, Marco Delvecchio and Francesco Totti were all on the scoresheet.

This Matchday 16 win maintained Roma’s three-point lead over Juventus at the top of the table and they wouldn’t relinquish top spot from there on out.