Fernando De Napoli was born on 15 March 1964 in Chiusano di San Domenico, a commune in the province of Avellino. After a season at Rimini, where he played under Arrigo Sacchi, he moved to US Avellino, where he made his Serie A debut in 1983. It was while wearing the jerseys of Napoli and AC Milan that he reached the pinnacle of his career, winning four Scudetto titles, the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, the Supercoppa Italiana and the Champions League. He made his National Team debut at 22 years of age on 11 May 1986, when Italy played China in a friendly in Naples. Having immediately become a regular starter, he was named in Enzo Bearzot's squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In 1987, he scored his first and only goal for the Azzurri, with this coming against Argentina. Following this, he played under Azeglio Vicini, taking part in the 1988 European Championship in West Germany, where the Azzurri got to the semi-finals, and the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where the Azzurri came third. He is the only footballer from Avellino to have played in a World Cup with the National Team.