S.S.C. Napoli crashed out of Serie A following a disastrous season. It only clinched 14 points out of 34 matches, despite having the services of several experienced Serie A players. Napoli went through four coaches over the course of the season, and hardly took a point in the second half of the season. Given the disastrous form of the team, Claudio Bellucci's ten goals were impressive, while thought top scorer Igor Protti was one of the largest disappointments of the entire series. The lack of defensive skills cost Napoli many points, and more than two goals were conceded on average. This was despite Roberto Ayala's brilliance, which earned him a transfer to Milan.
Only eight years following Napoli's second title, the club seemed to be in terminal decline, with hard work being needed to return to the top domestic league. Given that the club had not been relegated since a bankruptcy in 1964, the relegation was a shock, by the extremely poor season.
Squad
Transfers In Pos. Name from Type FW Igor Protti Lazioloan MF Fabio Rossitto Udinese DF Raffaele Sergio Udinese FW Claudio Bellucci Venezia FW José Luis Calderón Independiente DF Mirko Conte Piacenza MF Giuseppe Giannini Sturm Graz DF William Prunier Manchester United DF Mauro Facci Salernitana Out Pos. Name To Type MF Fabio Pecchia Juventus MF Alain Boghossian Sampdoria DF André Cruz A.C. Milan DF Francesco Colonnese AS Romaloan ended DF Mauro Milanese Parma MF Beto Flamengo FW Caio Interloan ended FW Nicola Caccia Atalanta FW Alfredo Aglietti Verona FW Dino Fava Passaro Acireale
Winter In Pos. Name from Type FW Damir Stojak Vojvodina MF Reynald Pedros Parma MF Massimiliano Allegri Padova FW Aljoša Asanović Derby County Out Pos. Name To Type FW José Luis Calderón Independiente DF Mirko Conte Vicenza DF Mirko Taccola Lucchese DF Alessandro Sbrizzo Padova DF William Prunier Hearts MF Massimiliano Esposito Hellas Verona DF Marco Zamboni Chievo MF Giuseppe Giannini Lecce
Competitions Serie A
League table
Results by round
Matches
Statistics Players statistics
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season
References
Sources RSSSF - Italy 1997/98