Napoli come back in UEFA!

Marek Hamsik Napoli gave the Intertoto trophy and a place in the Uefa Cup by beating Panionios 2-0 on aggregate. They go for the Uefa Cup second qualifying round after 14 years out of this tournament.

Edy Reja of men can boast a 1-0 lead in the first leg in Athens and the Stadio San Paolo holds 55000 fans for this R3 Intertoto Cup tie. Leandro Rinaudo was suspended, so Matteo Contini and gravel joined Paolo Cannavaro in defence. Napoli dominated the midfield in the first half, but could not find the breakthrough as Marek Hamsik effort whistled wide and Mariano Bogliacino not convert Cannavaro help.

There was genuine alarm in 28 minutes, as Lampre Choutos - a former Inter player - Thump vertical point blank range when he was quickest to react to a loose ball. Kresic rushed to close the counterattack Christian Maggio and again to deny the Bogliacino acrobatic attempt.

Bogliacino skimmed wood 20 meters, although Choutos was a constant danger. Therefore, it is quite a relief for supporters of Napoli when Choutos was stretchered with a shoulder injury after an awkward fall. Bogliacino, who had scored the winner in Athens, also developed a suspected ankle sprain.

The San Paolo eruption in 64 minutes, Hamsik grabbed a crucial goal to break the deadlock. Substitute Inacio Pia cross from the left was shot down by German Denis for the Slovakian to crush from close range.

Denis made his debut in San Paolo, but is already a hero to fans, who cheered his every move. The Argentine was transported down before he could go clear goal, while Michele Pazienza Pià and threatened a second. Goalkeeper Gennaro Iezzo also received their fair share of spotlight in the afternoon with a crucial save Kontis. The Azzurri won 1-0 in the night, 2-0 overall, to reach the Uefa Cup second qualifying round, which will be played on August 14 and 28. There are two other legs round after the September 18-October 2 in order to qualify for the group phase.

Napoli 1-0 Panionios (2-0 on agg)

Goals: Hamsik 64 (N)

Napoli: Iezzo; gravel, Cannavaro, Contini; Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik (Pazienza 75), Vitale; Bogliacino (Pià 58), Denis (De Zerbi 88)

Panionios: Kresic; Maniatis, Langkamp, Majstrovic, Koutsopoulos (Kapetanos 80); Tzavellas, Kumortzi, Nikolau, Kilian; Choutos (Dalura 55), D'ACol (Kontis 72)