Snap shot: Napoli and Benfica's 2008 thriller

David Suazo, a man who needed no introduction to Serie A, lit the touchpaper when Napoli and Benfica met in the UEFA Cup first round in 2008. Yet within three minutes of his opener, Napoli had turned the game on its head, going on to win the first leg 3-2. The pendulum swung again in Lisbon a fortnight later, though, as Nuno Gomes's 84th-minute strike sealed a 4-3 aggregate triumph for the hosts.

1 Manuele Blasi
A product of the Roma youth system, combative and versatile midfielder Blasi made his name at Perugia but also represented the likes of Parma, Juventus, Fiorentina and Napoli as well as collecting eight caps for Italy. In 2015 he moved to India and helped Chennaiyin FC – coached by Marco Materazzi – win the Indian Super League.

2 Luigi Vitale
Full-back Vitale joined Napoli in Serie C1 from neighbours Avellino in 2004/05 before he had even turned 17. He had to wait until the 2008/09 campaign – after a loan spell at Lanciano – to become a regular with the Partenopei. In the first leg of the Benfica tie he scored his first and one of just two goals in European competition; his sole Serie A strike came against Fiorentina the following January. He currently plays for Salernitana in Serie B.

Luisão a decade (and a bit) on©Getty Images

3 Luisão
Some Benfica fans wondered what they had bought in 2003 as the towering Brazil centre-back – 44 caps – initially struggled to settle in Portugal. He contemplated returning to his homeland after his first season but decided to stay and, 13 years on, is still there. Now Benfica's longest-serving captain, Luisão has accrued a trophy every 12 months in Lisbon but is no longer an absolute fixture in the side. Younger brother Alex Silva also appeared for Brazil.

4 David Suazo
A Honduran striker who spent over a decade in Serie A at Cagliari and Inter, he was on loan at Benfica from the Nerazzurri in 2008/09. Known as 'La Pantera' (the Panther), Suazo was famed for his speed and came from a family of footballers – brother Nicolás and cousins Maynor Suazo and Hendry Thomas were all internationals. Suazo returned to Italy after a single campaign in Lisbon, featuring for Genoa and Catania before retiring. Now 36, he is a youth coach at Cagliari.

5 Fabiano Santacroce
Born in Brazil to an Italian father and Brazilian mother, Santacroce came to Italy when he was two. Also an actor as a teenager, he caught the eye at Brescia where he earned himself an Italy Under-21 debut. In January 2008 he transferred to Napoli, following in the footsteps of current Napoli captain Marek Hamšík, who had made the same switch six month earlier. His Naples sojourn, beset by injury, lasted four seasons and today he plays for Ternana in Serie B.

6 Ángel Di María
The winger was 20 and labouring to make an impact in his second term with Benfica when this game took place; by summer 2010 he was a Real Madrid player. Di María was man of the match in Madrid's 2014 UEFA Champions League final triumph against Atlético at his old stomping ground, the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica. It was his last act for Real as he promptly departed for Manchester United before moving onto Paris Saint-Germain, where he remains. He won the treble in his first season in France.

Other snap shots

• Maradona's Napoli reign supreme, 1989
• When Benfica beat Mourinho's Porto
• When Celtic got the better of Barcelona
• Barcelona sink Arsenal's 'Invicibles'
• When Valencia got the better of Barça
• When Paris beat Barcelona's dream team
• Trezeguet sets up Juve for Madrid win
• When Monaco stunned mighty Madrid
• Barcelona silence Madrid at the Bernabéu
• Ronaldo's Old Trafford standing ovation
• Liverpool's Istanbul heroes