Napoli's Top-10 All-Time Leading GoalScorers
There was a time when Lega Serie A was a footballing Mecca - a holy grail of sorts for Club football. This was the Serie A of the 90s, but this too was the Serie A conquered by the languid and hypnotizing brilliance of a certain Diego Maradona, who captained Societa Sportiva Napoli at the peak of his powers.
Serie A of the 90s was generous in its fortunes. The likes of Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Sampdoria all tasted glory at the pinnacle of Italian football. But it all started with one of the greatest love stories in Calcio till date–Diego Maradona, SSC Napoli, goals, and the much coveted Scudetto.
Having finished ahead of Juventus in 1986/87 to win its first-ever Scudetto, The Partonepei returned three seasons later to reclaim their status as the best on the Italian peninsula. Three seasons apart, one man, one club, one city, one trophy, it’s no wonder the Napoli No.10 Shirt was retired in honour of the immortal Maradona.
In 1991, the curtains came down on Diego Maradona’s entrancing Napoli career; the talismanic Argentine had scored a total of 115 goals for Gli Azzurri, setting and leaving behind, a record as the Club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Twenty-six years later, December 2017. Club captain Marek Hamsik scored the winning goal in a 3-2 defeat of Sampdoria. It was his 116th goal in a Napoli shirt, and the interpretation was clear; a certain Slovak veteran had surpassed the great wizard of Buenos Aires as Napoli’s all-time scorer.
Yet, as distinguished as Hamsik and Maradona’s goalscoring records for Napoli are, the Partonepei patrons are not alone, and as such, curiosity demands that we take a quick look at Napoli’s top-10 goalscorers of all time.
#1 - Marek Hamsik, 120+ Goals | 2007-Present
Captain. Leader. Legend.
Eleven seasons, four hundred and seventy-eight appearances, that's how long it took Marek Hamsik to earn an all-access backstage pass to one of Diego Maradona's many monuments.
On a satisfying afternoon of football for Maurizio Sarri's Napoli, Brazilian midfielder Allan danced past three Sampdoria players, picked out the diminutive Dries Mertens who rolled the ball brilliantly for Hamsik to tap home from close range, surpassing Diego Maradona's astonishing 115-goal tally for Gli Azzurri.
Since that historic moment in December 2017, The Slovak veteran has slowed down a bit, but his legacy as Serie A stalwart and Napoli's all-time leading goalscorer remains a source of pride and fulfilment as he enters the twilight years of what's been a truly exceptional career.