Patrick de Napoli

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Patrick de Napoli
Personal information
Date of birth (1975-11-17) 17 November 1975 (age 48)
Place of birth Baar, Switzerland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)
Attacking Midfielder/Forward
Youth career
1983–1991 [1] FC Baar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1996 Grasshopper Club Zürich 44 (4)
1996 FC Winterthur 13 (5)
1996–1998 FC Aarau 68 (20)
1998–1999 Grasshopper Club Zürich 39 (14)
2000 Karlsruher SC 12 (1)
2000–2004 FC Aarau 120 (31)
2004–2005 BSC Young Boys 20 (1)
2005–2006 FC Luzern 15 (5)
2006–2007 FC Carl Zeiss Jena 13 (1)
2007 → Chemnitzer FC (loan) 14 (3)
2007
FC Carl Zeiss Jena II
 3 (0)
2007–2009 Zug 94 40 (23)
2009–2011 FC Baar 10 (3)
2011–2012 SC Menzingen 5 (4)
International career
1992–1994 Switzerland under-19 7 (7)
1994–1998 Switzerland under-21 11 (6)
1997–1999 Switzerland 4 (0)
Managerial career
2009–2011 FC Baar (player–manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Patrick de Napoli (born 17 November 1975) is a

attacking midfielder and has played for a variety of clubs in Switzerland and Germany as well as the Switzerland national football team. De Napoli last played for SC Menzingen of the Swiss 3. Liga in April 2012, having also played in the top division for clubs such as Grasshopper Club Zürich, Karlsruher SC and BSC Young Boys and been player–manager of FC Baar. De Napoli has made over four hundred league appearances and scored over one hundred league goals, with almost half of these tallies coming from two spells at FC Aarau
.

He has represented Switzerland at under-19, under-21 and senior levels, playing international football between 1992 and 1999. De Napoli scored seven times for the under-19 side and six times for the under-21s, but he failed to find the net in his four senior appearances, which included FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers.

Club career

Grasshopper Club Zürich

De Napoli has said he has been playing football from the age of six. He played youth football for FC Baar until 1991, when he joined Grasshoppers. Patrick began his senior career with

Real Madrid (twice) and AFC Ajax, coming on as a substitute in all four matches. Midway through the 1995–96 season, de Napoli left Grasshoppers to join FC Winterthur of the Nationalliga B
, the Swiss second division. Ironically, his last season with the club proved to be the one in which he made the most appearances and scored the most goals in his five-year spell with Grasshoppers.

FC Winterthur and FC Aarau

Joining

aggregate loss to Brøndby IF of Denmark in September 1996.[8][9]

Aarau improved on their league position in 1997–98, finishing fourth, but de Napoli had a less successful season. He still managed seven goals in thirty-three games, but could not match the impressive strike rate of the previous campaign. 1997–98 would be de Napoli's last season for FC Aarau, as he departed the club to join FC Zürich, who had finished sixth in Nationalliga A in 1997–98.[10]

FC Zürich, return to Grasshoppers and Karlsruher SC

Joachim Löw managed de Napoli at Karlsruher SC

De Napoli's choice to move to

fractured his thumb soon after joining the club, and missed matches in March 2000.[12] He played twelve of Karlsruher SC's thirty-four league games, scoring once, in a 3–1 loss to Chemnitzer FC on 9 April 2000.[13] However, this wasn't enough to save Karlsruher SC who were relegated at the end of the season, having won just once in de Napoli's twelve appearances. Avoiding dropping down to the German third division, de Napoli returned to Switzerland to rejoin FC Aarau
.

FC Aarau and Young Boys

Olympique Marseille

De Napoli had enjoyed one of the best years of his career with Aarau in 1996–97, and he again experienced a return to form after rejoining the

FC Lausanne not obtaining a license. The 2002–03 Nationalliga A went better for both player and club as FC Aarau preserved their top-flight status and de Napoli netted thirteen times in thirty-two games. De Napoli's goal tally included vital strikes that ultimately kept them up, scoring in a 1–1 draw with BSC Young Boys, a 2–1 away win over FC Zürich and in a 2–1 victory against FC Lugano. He also scored a late winner against SR Delémont and a brace against FC Vaduz in the relegation/promotion group.[14] Patrick scored eight times in thirty games in the 2003–04 Swiss Super League as Aarau scraped to safety once more. His goals included a brace against Zürich in a 3–3 draw on 30 August 2003 and another two goals in a 2–2 draw with FC Basel on October 26.[15] He left Aarau at the end of the season to join BSC Young Boys, who had just finished second in the Swiss Super League
.

Patrick's first season with Young Boys saw him score just once in nineteen games. He made his debut for the club in a 6–1 demolition of

FC Yverdon-Sports on 20 July 2005.[18] He then left for FC Luzern
partway through the campaign in search of first-team football.

2005–2007: Luzern, Carl Zeiss Jena and Chemnitzer FC

De Napoli played for

YF Juventus, FC Winterthur, FC Sion and FC Baulmes as Luzern cruised to the league title. De Napoli scored a penalty against FC Concordia Basel in a 4–2 penalty shootout win in the second round of the Swiss Cup
.

At the end of the 2005–06 season de Napoli moved to the eighth different club and the second German club of his career, FC Carl Zeiss Jena. He only stayed at Carl Zeiss Jena for part of the 2006–07 season as they narrowly avoided relegation. De Napoli scored his first goal for Carl Zeiss Jena in a 1–1 draw with SpVgg Greuther Fürth on 8 November 2006.[19] This proved to be his only goal in thirteen games before moving on loan to Chemnitzer FC. He signed a four-month loan contract, from 1 February 2007 to 30 June,[20] but expressed frustration at being farmed out at a time when the club as a whole were struggling at the foot of the table, and claimed "I'm probably just a scapegoat".[21] However, Carl Zeiss Jena's management had a more positive view of the loan, with sporting director Lutz Lindemann saying "Chemnitz hope for promotion to the Regionalliga. Patrick can prove himself there and offer some help". At Chemnitzer he netted three goals in fourteen games as the club competed in the NOFV-Oberliga, Germany's fifth division. He returned to Carl Zeiss Jena, playing three games for the club's reserve team, Carl Zeiss Jena II. His contract with Carl Zeiss Jena, intended to last until the summer of 2008, was terminated with immediate effect by mutual consent on 29 August 2007.[22] Patrick moved to Zug 94 of the Swiss third division ahead of the 2007–08 season.

2007–present

Making his debut in a 1–0 loss to FC Biel-Bienne on 29 September 2007, De Napoli made eighteen appearances for Zug 94 in 2007–08, scoring nine goals for an impressive strike rate of a goal every other game. These goals included a run of five goals in four consecutive games, with his first goal for Zug coming in a 4–2 win over FC Luzern U21 on 7 October 2007. He followed this record up with another twenty-two appearances in 2008–09, scoring fourteen times. De Napoli netted nine times in his first eight games, scoring twice against both FC Grenchen and FC Basel U-21. He played his last game for Zug 94 in a 5–0 loss to SR Delémont on 26 April 2009.

Patrick rejoined hometown club FC Baar, where he had spent his youth career, in 2009. He adopted the role of player-coach of the team,

sent off for dissent in Baar's 2–1 home defeat to FC Perlen–Buchrain on 30 April 2011.[25] Soon after this, in early June 2011, he resigned as Baar coach to join SC Menzingen of the 3. Liga. De Napoli was replaced by Daniel Stadler.[26]

De Napoli scored in an early appearance for Menzingen, in a 1–1 draw with SC Cham II on 21 August 2011. He also played in a 4–3 to FC Muotathal on 24 September and scored in Menzingen's 4–0 rout over FC Rotkreuz on 22 October. De Napoli scored twice in the space of three minutes in a 3–2 win over Kussnacht FC on 29 October 2011.[27] The forward played his first game after the winter break in a 2–0 win over SC Goldau II on 31 March 2012.[28] De Napoli then started against Menzingen's 4–1 IFV Cup win over FC Gunzwil on 12 April 2012, being substituted late on in the game.[29]

De Napoli retired from football in June 2012, at the end of the 2011–12 season.[30]

Club career statistics

Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals A yellow card A red card
Grasshopper Club Zürich 1991–92 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
1992–93 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
1993–94 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
1994–95 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 1 0 0
1995–96 19 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 23 3 0 0
Total 44 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 49 4 0 0
FC Winterthur 1995–96 13 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 5 0 0
FC Aarau 1996–97 35 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 13 0 0
1997–98 33 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 7 0 0
Total 68 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 20 0 0
Grasshopper Club Zürich 1998–99 28 13 2 1 6 0 0 0 36 14 0 0
1999–00 11 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 14 2 0 1
Total 39 14 2 1 9 1 0 0 50 16 0 1
Karlsruher SC
1999–00
 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1 2 0
FC Aarau
2000–01
 24 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 6 0 0
2001–02 34 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 35 4 0 0
2002–03 32 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 13 0 0
2003–04 30 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 8 0 0
Total 120 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 121 31 0 0
BSC Young Boys 2004–05 19 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 20 1 6 0
2005–06 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Total 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 21 1 0 0
FC Luzern
2005–06
 15 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 5 0 0
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
2006–07
 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 1 2 0
Chemnitzer FC (loan) 2006–07 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 3 0 0
FC Carl Zeiss Jena II
2006–07
 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
FC Zug 94
 2007–08 18 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 9 0 0
2008–09 22 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 14 0 0
Total 40 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 23 0 0
FC Baar 2009–10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010–11 10 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 11 5 0 1
Total 10 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 11 5 0 1
SC Menzingen 2011–12 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 1 0
Career Total 412 112 0 0 14 1 0 0 432 116 11 2

International career

French manager Gilbert Gress, under whom de Napoli won two of his four senior caps

De Napoli played for the

hat-trick in a 9–0 thrashing of Armenia on 8 October 1993.[33]

De Napoli made a total of seven appearances for the under-19s, scoring seven goals.

Sweden in a 2–1 defeat on 20 April 1994.[35]

De Napoli then progressed to Switzerland's under-21 side, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over

1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifier on 1 April 1997. English newspaper The Independent described the Swiss team that night as "inspired by Patrick de Napoli" as he created a number of chances for himself and his teammates.[39] De Napoli scored his fifth goal for the under-21s in his ninth cap, a 4–1 victory against Hungary on 29 April 1997.[40]
He played his last game for the under-21s against England under-21 in a 2–0 win on 24 March 1998, scoring his country's second goal.[41]

The forward made his debut for the senior Switzerland side in the 2–1 loss to Russia on 10 February 1997 in the final of the Lunar New Year Cup, held in Hong Kong.[42] He earned his second senior cap against Hungary in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 20 August 1997. The game ended 1–1. De Napoli played once in 1998, in a 1–1 friendly draw with Yugoslavia and once in 1999, in a 1–0 win over Belarus.[43] De Napoli came on as a substitute in all four of his international games.

Senior international appearances

Cap Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 10 February 1997
Government Stadium, Hong Kong
  Russia L 2–1 1997 Lunar New Year Cup
2 20 August 1997
Népstadion, Budapest
  Hungary D 1–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 6 June 1998 St. Jakob Stadium, Basel  Yugoslavia D 1–1
Friendly
4 27 March 1999
Dynama Stadium, Minsk
  Belarus W 1–0
UEFA Euro 2000 qualification

Personal life

De Napoli is married to Iris and has two children called Aurora and Alessio.[44] Aside from football, Patrick also enjoys tennis and computing. His nickname throughout his career has been "DeNa", which is a combination of the "De" and "Na" from his surname and acts as an abbreviation. After retiring from professional football, de Napoli opened a restaurant in Baar, Switzerland, in March 2011 called "Relax". The restaurant contains a lounge and bar.[45] De Napoli stated that he had "helped colleagues" in the industry during his playing career and it was something he was interested in. He also expressed his relief at finally becoming his own boss, saying that he had tended to have bad relationships with his managers because he is very opinionated.

In June 2012, ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, de Napoli introduced a large screen in the bar to show matches from the competition. Despite describing Switzerland's failure to qualify as "a shame", de Napoli supported Italy in the tournament as he is of Italian descent. He marked each Italy goal by ringing a bell and giving away free beers.[46]

As a young player at Grasshopper Club Zürich, de Napoli graduated from the Sports Business Association in Zürich, after a two-year apprenticeship.[47] He also has a tattoo on his upper left arm.

References

  1. Kicker
    . Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  2. ^ Switzerland 1991/92 RSSSF. Retrieved 22.10.2011.
  3. ^ Switzerland 1992/93 RSSSF. Retrieved 22.10.2011.
  4. ^ Switzerland 1993/94 RSSSF. Retrieved 22.10.2011.
  5. ^ Switzerland 1994/95 RSSSF. Retrieved 22.10.2011.
  6. ^ Switzerland 1995/96 RSSSF. Retrieved 22.10.2011.
  7. ^ Switzerland 1996/97 RSSSF. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  8. ^ Match details/ line up: Brondby IF - FC Aarau (Europa League 1996/1997) WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 27.11.2011.
  9. ^ Match details/ line up: FC Aarau - Brondby IF (Europa League 1996/1997) WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 27.11.2011.
  10. ^ Switzerland 1997/98 RSSSF. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  11. ^ Switzerland 1998/99 RSSSF. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  12. ^ NEWS - Einträge 601 - 700 Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine ka-fans.de. Retrieved 27.11.2011.
  13. ^ Patrick De Napoli > 2. Bundesliga 1999/2000 WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 27.11.2011.
  14. ^ Switzerland 2002/03 RSSSF. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  15. ^ Switzerland 2003/04 RSSSF. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  16. ^ UEFA Champions League 2004/05 – History – Crvena Zvezda-Young Boys UEFA. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  17. ^ Patrick De Napoli > UI-Cup 2005/06 WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 27.11.2011.
  18. ^ Patrick de Napoli: All appearances 2005-2006 (BSC Young Boys) The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  19. ^ Stats Centre: Patrick de Napoli - All goals 2006-2007 (FC Carl Zeiss Jena) The Guardian. Retrieved 23.11.2011.
  20. ^ CFC - Patrick de Napoli profile Archived 2012-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Chemnitzer FC. Retrieved 23.11.2011.
  21. ^ Nach Chemnitz - Jena leiht de Napoli aus RP Online. Retrieved 23.11.2011.
  22. ^ Patrick de Napoli verlässt den FC Carl Zeiss Jena e.V. (in German) FC Carl Zeiss Jenna. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  23. ^ Hochdorf verliert wieder Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Zentralschweizer Fussball. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  24. ^ Erneut an Baar gescheitert Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine (in German) fcmuotathal.ch. Retrieved 1.12.2011.
  25. ^ Perlens Blitzstart führt zum Sieg Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine Zentralschweizer Fussball. Retrieved 1.12.2011.
  26. ^ SC OG und Baar mit neuen Trainern Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine (in German) REGIOfussball.ch. 5.6.2011. Retrieved 27.12.2011.
  27. ^ Menzingen entzaubert Küssnacht! Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine REGIOfussball.ch. 1.11.2011. Retrieved 27.12.2011.
  28. ^ Matchtelegramm: SC Menzingen 2:0 SC Goldau II (in German) SC Menzingen. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  29. ^ Matchtelegramm: SC Menzingen: FC Gunzwil 4-1 (in German) 12 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  30. ^ Eingesetzte Spieler Saison 2012-13 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine (in German) SCMenzigen.ch. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  31. ^ Match Report - Liechtenstein 0:8 Switzerland football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  32. ^ Match Report - Switzerland 8:0 Liechtenstein football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  33. ^ Match Report - Armenia 0:9 Switzerland football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  34. ^ Patrick De Napoli: Career club and competition summary 11v11.com. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  35. ^ Match Report - Switzerland 1:2 Sweden football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  36. ^ Match Report - Iceland 2:4 Switzerland football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  37. ^ Match Report - Switzerland 3:0 Austria football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  38. ^ Match Report - Switzerland 1:1 Finland football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  39. ^ England struggle to contain Switzerland The Independent. Retrieved 25.11.2011.
  40. ^ Match report - Switzerland 4:1 Hungary football.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  41. ^ Football: Sweeper scheme exposed by Swiss The Independent. Retrieved 15.11.2011.
  42. ^ International games 1997 RSSSF. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  43. ^ Belarus vs Switzerland : European Championship 2000 Qualifying Round One Archived 2016-03-30 at the Wayback Machine ScoreShelf. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  44. ^ Patrick de Napoli – Steckbrief Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today (in German) PatrickDeNapoli.ch. Retrieved 23.10.2011.
  45. ^ PATRICK DE NAPOLI, BAARS JÜNGSTER BEIZER - pg. 13(in German) Zug 94. Retrieved 15.11.2011.
  46. ^ Gli ex-calciatori, parte 1: Patrick De Napoli, "Relax" di Baar[permanent dead link] Giornalesete.ch. June 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  47. ^ Patrick de Napoli - Karriere Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today patrickdenapoli.ch.vu. Retrieved 28.11.2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_de_Napoli&oldid=1156248456"