Presently, it feels improbable that the Roma and Napoli devotees were once companions. Over the past four decades, the rapport between the two clubs’ following has been, to state it mildly, strained.
In reality, the Derby del Sole is currently seen as a contest with a high likelihood of confrontations between the two sets of supporters, whose encounters have, at times, led to tragic outcomes.
That wasn’t always the situation in the 1970s and early 1980s, though. Previously, the Giallorossi and the Partenopei fan communities were united by a sanctioned gemellaggio, a “twinning” of sorts between their principal ultra collectives — one so robust that it was reaffirmed each time the two teams met through a formal flag-exchange practice.
Leading up to each match held in Rome, a representative from each supporter base, each bearing a club flag, would convene at the center circle of the Stadio Olimpico. They would greet one another, then collaboratively proceed to acknowledge each curva before ceremonially swapping their flags.
It was a significant event.
Until events unfolded.
The alliance between the Giallorossi and the Azzurri fans was formally terminated on October 25, 1987, concluding a Serie A match between the two teams that ended in a 1-1 draw. Napoli succeeded in negating Roma’s advantage despite competing with two fewer players due to the ejections of Careca and Alessandro Renica.
The reason for the split has typically been linked to Napoli player Salvatore Bagni commemorating his team’s tying goal by gesturing towards the Roma fans with the well-known “umbrella gesture,” the Italian equivalent of a rude hand sign…
However, the reality is somewhat more intricate. Bagni’s actions – for which he has consistently apologized – may have been the final incident, but the once-harmonious relationship between the Roma and Napoli ultras had been gradually deteriorating in the lead-up to that day’s confrontation. The situation escalated beyond control even before the match began.
Before delving into that, though, how did the two clubs’ supporter groups come to be friendly in the first place?
As the 1970s were drawing to a close, there appeared to be a natural affinity between the Napoli and Roma fans. Their teams were the sole contenders capable of disrupting the Serie A dominance of the more affluent, powerful clubs headquartered in northern Italy – Juventus, Inter, Milan.
Roma accomplished this by securing the title in the 1982/83 season. Napoli wasn’t yet a match for them, and their fans genuinely admired the Giallorossi and their ultra factions – who were the established leaders in the realm of Italian supporter groups. It was typical to see smaller groups of Roma fans join their Napoli counterparts in the stands of the San Paolo when the Partenopei played against Lazio – Roma’s fierce rivals.
Circumstances began to shift as Napoli experienced growth during the latter half of the 1980s. The arrival of Diego Maradona, alongside numerous other costly transfers, gradually transformed the underdog Partenopei into a formidable force.
The Neapolitans started to shed their image as humorous, younger siblings to the Romans. They were now genuine competitors and contenders for the Scudetto, just like them. In fact, Napoli were the reigning Serie A champions on the day the twinning dissolved, having clinched the 1986/87 edition of the league.
However, the acquisition of striker Bruno Giordano by Napoli in 1985 truly strained the relationship. Giordano was a Lazio veteran of a decade and had been a Biancocelesti supporter since his youth. The Roma ultras couldn’t accept this. Chants against Giordano became commonplace each time Roma played Napoli, with some Neapolitan fans retaliating by offering the same treatment to the Giallorossi captain Bruno Conti.
On October 25, 1987, the friendship reached its end. It transpired during the customary flag-exchange ceremony, in a manner that leads one to believe that severing the twinning was a deliberate decision on the part of the Roma fan base – or at least, a segment of them.
The two flag bearers met as usual in the center of the field, then proceeded towards the north stands, where the Napoli fans were situated, and were greeted by the Partenopei with enthusiastic “Roma! Roma!” chants.
They subsequently moved to the south stands, the home of the Roma fans, where the flag-exchange ritual was anticipated to occur. The Napoli representative presented his flag, but the Roma individual dramatically declined it as the Giallorossi supporters barraged the Azzurro with whistles and hurled plastic bottles at him.
It was clearly a staged event, and likely the final straw of an underlying tension that had been building over the preceding years. The events on the field only intensified the situation, as that day’s match between Roma and Napoli became incredibly heated, with seven yellow cards and two red cards.
Roma seized the lead shortly after the second half commenced, with their cannoniere Roberto Pruzzo heading the ball into the net from a Bruno Conti corner kick.
In the 50th minute, Napoli’s Brazilian star Careca lost control following a foul by Fulvio Collovati and headbutted the Romanista directly in front of the referee. The only consequence could be an early exit for Napoli’s number seven.
Nine minutes later, Renica had to tug Zbigniew Boniek by the shirt (Giorgio Chiellini-style…) to halt a fast break. However, he had already received a yellow card, and so Napoli were reduced to nine players.
Just three minutes later, though, Maradona took a corner kick from the left and found defender Giovanni Francini in the middle of the box. Francini’s floated header arced high, beyond goalkeeper Franco Tancredi, granting Napoli an unexpected equalizer.
Roma’s final offensive was unrelenting, but the Partenopei’s defense stood firm. At the final whistle, the tension erupted; some minor altercations ensued between the players, and while marching past Roma’s south stands, Bagni made the gesture that secured his place in history – perhaps unjustly – as the individual who ended the Roma-Napoli twinning.
There’s more to the narrative, though, as we’ve seen. The camaraderie between the Giallorossi and the Azzurri supporters was formerly one of the most remarkable, surprising aspects of the complex world of Italian football supporter groups. The dissolution stemmed from a confluence of escalating tensions, misunderstandings, and even divisions within each club’s respective fan bases.
The bond has never fully recovered to this day. As is frequently the case in football, destruction is often easier than creation.
