Tonight, a nation will be split down the middle as Napoli and AC Milan face one another in the quarter finals of the Champions League.
This isn’t just any all-Italian fixture; it is the sporting embodiment of the north-south rivalry that has often threatened to undo the country at its seams.
Napoli come from the impoverished south, while Milan is the home of opportunity and wealth. That’s just one narrow lens put on a divide that dates back to pre-unification and takes in over 300 years of history.
It is such a sharp issue that Lega Nord, a right wing political party, even advocated for the secession of the south.
It wasn’t just in the ballot boxes that this issue was fought in, but the football terraces with the Napoli acting as the vehicle for southern pride against the northern elites of Milan, Inter, and Juventus.
Football fuelled it, like when Napoli played Genoa at home on the final day of the 1982 season. Il Grifone needed a point to avoid relegation at Milan’s expense, and their hosts needed just a draw to secure qualification to the UEFA Cup. A 2-2 draw was played out and Milan were relegated, while the two sets of supporters partied in Naples.
Enter Diego Armando
Things took on a new dimension when Diego Maradona joined Napoli from Barcelona. He elevated an entire team, and helped them win their first league title in 1987.
Suddenly there was a team from the south competing at a time when Juventus were fresh from wining the European Cup. AC Milan then came on the scene and with a squad containing the likes of Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard. They played an aggressive brand of football under Arrigo Sacchi that took them to the top of the world.
Between 1987 and 1990, the Scudetto was passed around between three clubs: AC Milan, Inter, and Napoli.
Things reached its peak in the early 1990s following the rise of Lega Nord. Milan fans once waved a banner that exclaimed ‘Garibaldi infamone’ which declared Garibaldi, who united Italy, a disgrace. They also displayed a banner during a game against Napoli in 1991 that said: “Give us a present: another Pompeii”
Anyone who has seen Asif Kapadia's Diego Maradona documentary will be familiar with other banners that flew when Napoli played northern clubs.
A still from Diego Maradona
Napoli weren’t the only club embroiled in this conflict. Roma fans used to sing ‘I have only one dream/Milan in fames’ when facing AC. Their fans would respond: “Milan in Flames? And where will you work?’
The issue took centre stage during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, when Italy had to travel south to play Argentina in the semi-finals in Naples. This put Maradona against the nation, and the people who worshipped him. With all of this going on, he drew from the north-south divide before kick-off.
“For 364 days a year,” he is quoted in Calcio by John Foot, “you are treated like dirt, and then they ask you to support them.”
A still from Diego Maradona
The God of Naples pitting his people against their country and they responded with a banner saying: “Diego, we love you but at the end of the day we are Italians.”
He retaliated by scoring the winning penalty in a shoot-out that sent Argentina through to their second consecutive World Cup final.
33 years later and the rivalry will be played out on the biggest stage in European football. Just two nights will determine the mood of thousands of people across the country. While the political climate has cooled since the days of Maradona and Sacchi, the football passion remains as vibrant as ever.
Napoli know this better than anyone, AC Milan recently beat them 4-0 in the league at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Tonight, Europe will be the pantheon for one of the oldest rivalries on the continent.
