Parma and Fiorentina are no longer powerful, and Lazio and Roma had financial difficulty. So does this term still make sense? What should we call the remaining teams?
I would say there is a huge gap between the northern 3 and the rest. But Roma has a huge fan base so they should always be amoungst the top. Fiorentina will also eventually get back to there old level of success. Lazio are below both Fiorentina and Roma in terms of fans support. And Parma never really had a huge fan base even when they had all those great players. But let's not forget that there could be new clubs to replace the clubs on the wane. Palermo could move into the elite in the coming years. And when Napoli finally get back into Serie A they will be at the top eventually. But right now it's Milan, Juve, Inter and everybody else.
cant dispute theres the big 3 and everybody else. But the notion of fan support equaling success is a bit off. Look at Napoli & Torino now, and heck Palermo has massive support and it took them 30 years to get back to Serie A. Parma and Lazio almost went bankrupt and down to Serie C as Fiorentina did...roma has had their financial problems as well....it all comes down to proper management. So its the big three and a half dozen or so potential giants (based on the right ownership, finances and management).
Napoli will never become a powerhouse in Serie A. Those few years they won the Scudetto and UEFA Cup etc. were a fluke. It was mainly because of one man. Napoli was never a powerhouse before then and won't be afterwards.
What you say is true. But because of Maradona and their success in the late 80's they have made alot of new fans. Just look at their attendances in Serie B. If they get an owner who is dedicated to winning they could rival Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio, etc. They probably will never reach the level of Milan, Inter, and Juve but you could probably count on one hand the amount of clubs in the world who are on this trident's level.
Since when in the last several decades has anyone other than Juve, Milan, and Inter been a "powerhouse" in Serie A anyway? If Napoli's run was a "fluke," that puts us in a category with a good number of other "successful" sides in Serie A history. Are they all "flukes" too? I guess Careca and Giordano were flukes as well. Or the Napoli teams in the 70's that earned more than respectable results. Or maybe any win by someone other than Juve and Milan is to be considered a fluke. Or maybe not having a yellow star on your shirt makes you a fluke by definition. Sounds like someone has a personal issue with Napoli....or just bitter about Renica's "fluke" goal in the 120th minute of the 1989 second leg UEFA Cup semifinal. Here's something to help the discussion out. How about we establish what a "powerhouse" is to begin with? How many "wins" in what timeframe and due to what percentage of the roster contributing. Since apparently having the greatest player ever to play in Serie A on your team is not quite good enough to earn any respect.
I think Inter Milan is not really powerhouse in the last decade. I had nothing against Napoli, but given to the current era of mega clubs and big budget, I seriously doubt a smaller club liked Napoli can regain their glory past in any time soon. Napoli might put up a good team for a good run for a season or two.
So, what does constitute a small club? I always sort of equated small with the size of the city and fan base. If so, Napoli is NOT small. Certainly, Napoli has had very poor management for quite a while. They are now starting fresh with a brand new owner and organization. If these folks are at all competent, they should have the resources at their disposal to achieve success. Juventus can only drool over the attendances Napoli is getting in Serie C1 this season. And they still have a passionate fan base world-wide because of Maradona and because, well, there a lot of Neapolitans out there, as well as other ex-pat Southerners for whom Napoli was THE team. I'd say dismiss them at your peril (Dante ... ).