‘I Never Thought I’d Live to See the Day’ Book

“Me penzavo ca murevo e stu jorno nun o vedev” roughly translates from Neapolitan to, “I never thought I would live to see the day.” Being quite frank with you, I never did think that this day would come. In a league dominated by the more fashionable northern teams, for Napoli to win the league and add to their two existing titles after a 33-year wait seemed like it would forever remain a dream… but sometimes those dreams come true.

I have been infatuated with il Napoli for as long as I have had access to ‘Football Italia’ on the TV. I grew up watching the masters of the game throughout the glory years of Italian football, but always lurking in the background were this proud southern team which once called the great Maradona an employee. When I first found out about Napoli, it had not been plain sailing for the club. However, relegation and bankruptcy were still not enough to defeat them. Furthermore, I think that these events actually contributed to the club’s phoenix-like rise to becoming the best team in the country.

I won’t pretend to be a football historian, there are people out there much better equipped to write the pages of that particular story. With this book, I wanted to express what this win meant (and still means) to the people who inhabit this ancient city with its bustling streets, shrines, pizza, coffee and calcio.

When it comes to football, there really is no place on Earth which lives and breathes it like Napoli. When the match is on, the city becomes just a little bit quieter, the streets and car horns seem to take a break. For two hours, the city holds its breath and waits for their heroes to perform. And in the 2022-2023 season, perform they did.

I asked all of my favourite photographers, both local and visiting, to document the scenes in the streets in the days leading up to, during and after the win. I told them not to take too long trying to get the ‘perfect shot’ but instead, take snapshots in the moment to try and capture the palpable energy of the city in the midst of victory. I think that the resulting images perfectly reflect the electric atmosphere and the uniquely Neapolitan way that they celebrated achieving the impossible. All of the contributors will forever have my gratitude for being there and capturing everything so brilliantly during such a momentous period in the history of Napoli. Documenting the city at its best for a generation is something I am incredibly proud of.

I also wanted this book to give something back to the greatest city on Earth which is is why we partnered with La Fondazione di Comunità San Gennaro. The Foundation does extremely important work in the city, including educational projects, conservation efforts and generally creating positive change for the lives of the people of Napoli. For every book that we send out into the world, we will make a donation to the Foundation and we will continue to support this incredible cause.

Napoli has given me so much and has asked for nothing in return. What drives this beautiful city is the people, their passion, generosity, kindness and sense of fun and witnessing this is something I appreciate tremendously. This book is my way of expressing my gratitude to my favourite city, population and football team. It seems that I have indeed lived to see the day and I cannot thank Napoli enough for this experience.

FORZA NAPOLI SEMPRE.

Iain Trickett

Each book is printed with the name of a player or coach that has played for or coached the team between the second and third scudetto. Making each book entirely unique.

50 pages.

Printed in the UK.