SSC Napoli Official website - http://www.sscnapoli.it/ Tickets - Naples is a football-mad city, and Napoli regularly attracted 30,000+ crowds during their recent stint in Serie C. Now back in Serie A, tickets are likely to be at a premium this season. Try buying from the club's main outlet, Azzurro Service, on Via Francesco Galeota, just near the stadium. And remember, due to new Italian anti-hooligan laws, on the day of the match you'll need some form of ID matching the name on the ticket in order to gain entry to the stadium. Stadium - The 72,000 capacity Maracana-esque Stadio San Paolo is located in the suburb of Fuorigrotta, three miles west of the city centre. Traffic is chaotic all over the city on matchdays, so don''t even consider taking a cab. Take the train to Mostra station instead - the stadium is right beside it. Ultra Culture - Napoli's fans are so barmy that the entire stadium appears to be full of ultras. The main mob are the Commando Ultra Curva B, although the team receives equally vociferous backing from both ends of the ground. Napoli fans hate, and are hated back by, just about every other club in Italy, bar Genoa.
NAPLES
Overview - With Vesuvius looming large in the background and the beautiful bay stretching for miles all around, this sprawling, football-mad port city is a place of great contrast and unique energy. On matchdays the whole city goes stark-raving bonkers, to the point where you really have to see it to believe it, making Naples one of THE great European football travel destinations. Airports & Transfers - Naples International - four miles north of the city centre, linked by buses which take 20mins and leave every 10mins. Tickets are 2Euros. Taxi's 20Euros. Nightlife - The highest concentration of bars, (including a Yasser Arafat theme bar - no kidding!), in the city centre is to be found around Piazza Bellini, 'though most people tend to buy cheap bottles of beer from little shops instead and then congregate in the streets and piazzas of the centro storico to drink and smoke the night away. Shopping - Via Toledo is the main high street drag. Head down it towards the massive Piazza Plebiscito, then do a right down Via Chiaia. This takes you to the upmarket Chiaia district, where you'll find all the big name designers - most of them on Via Calabritto, close to the bay.
Further reading -
"Time Out" Naples (Time Out Naples)
The Hand of God: The Life of Diego Maradona
Calcio: A History of Italian Football
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