Patrick de Napoli

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 Grasshopper Club Zürich in the Swiss Super League in the 1991–92 season, making his debut in a 2–1 win over FC Servette on 1 March 1992 at the age of sixteen. Grasshoppers finished in third place in the league that season. In the 1992–93 season, de Napoli only made two league appearances as Grasshoppers finished ninth in the regular season and were sucked into a promotion-relegation group. The club also reached the final of the Swiss Cup, but were beaten 4–1 by FC Lugano. 1993–94 proved to be more successful for both de Napoli and Grasshoppers as the club finished second in the Swiss Super League, just one point behind winners Servette FC, with de Napoli making seven league appearances. Grasshoppers again reached the final of the Swiss Cup and this time defeated FC Schaffhausen 4–0. De Napoli improved again in 1994–1995, making thirteen appearances and scoring one goal, the first of his senior career. Grasshoppers came close to doing a league and cup double, winning the Swiss Super League and reaching the cup final for the third consecutive tournament. However, they were beaten 4–2 by FC Sion. 1995–96 saw Patrick make nineteen appearances in his last season with Grasshopper Club, scoring three times. Grasshoppers again won the league title but were eliminated in…

De Napoli played for the under-19 and under-21 teams before progressing to the senior side. He made his debut for the under-19 side in an 8–0 win over Liechtenstein under-19s on 7 October 1992, scoring Switzerland's fifth goal. De Napoli went on to score in the return fixture against Liechtenstein, another 8–0 win, on 28 October 1992. However, he had to wait five months before his next international goal, against Turkey on 4 May 1993, as Switzerland lost 2–1. De Napoli enjoyed arguably the finest moment of his under-19 career when he scored a hat-trick in a 9–0 thrashing of Armenia on 8 October 1993. De Napoli made a total of seven appearances for the under-19s, scoring seven goals. He scored his last goal at under-19 level in his last match for the under-19s, against Sweden in a 2–1 defeat on 20 April 1994. De Napoli then progressed to Switzerland's under-21 side, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over Iceland on 15 November 1994. De Napoli scored his first goals for the under-21s against Iceland, scoring twice in a 4–2 win on 15 August 1995. In 1996, he scored against Austria in a 3–0 win on 26 March, and against Finland in a 1–1 draw on 5 October. De Napoli also played against England in a 0–0 draw in a 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. De Napoli scored his fifth…

De Napoli is married to Iris and has two children called Aurora and Alessio. 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. 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. As a young player at Grasshopper Club Zürich, de Napoli graduated from the Sports Business Association in Zürich, after a two-year apprenticeship. He also has a tattoo on his upper left arm.