Saturday April 29, Naples could afford its third title in the Italian Championship, more than three decades after the first two of the great Maradona era (1987, 1990).
Sunday April 23, Naples beat Juventus Turin on their ground in added time (1-0), during the shock of the 31st day of the Italian championship, to offer themselves a first opportunity to win the scudetto, next weekend. After the defeat of the Laziali on Saturday against Torino (1-0), Naples increases its lead at the top of Serie A to seventeen points with seven days remaining. A few hours after this victory, nearly 10,000 supporters had gone to the airport to welcome the players. Banners, flags and songs were on display when the team arrived in the middle of the night at Naples-Capodichino airport.
The title has rarely eluded the powerful northern teams
The third scudetto of the club, more than three decades after the first two of the Maradona era, three years after his arrival from Barcelona (1987, 1990), can be mathematically acquired from the next day if Napoli beat Salernitana on Saturday April 29 at home and Lazio failing to win against Inter on Sunday at the San Siro.
In 1987, Maradona carried Napoli on his shoulders, and allowed the Gli Azzurri to become the first club from southern Italy to win the scudetto. ” A league title in Naples is worth ten of Juventus “, had confided Maradona after this first coronation formalized during the penultimate day. In 1990, the Argentinian finished third top scorer in the championship with 16 goals and the title was acquired on the last day, thanks to a success against Lazio (1-0). Maradona left Naples through the back door in 1992 and today the Napoli stadium bears his name.
With the expected new coronation of Naples, the “ Mezzogiorno is delighted to see the return to the poor south of Italy of a league title which has rarely escaped the powerful teams of the north. For two decades, the Scudetto has been monopolized by the three richest clubs in the country: Juventus Turin, Inter Milan and AC Milan. The north-south divide remains strong in Italy, perceptible in almost all of the official socio-economic indicators: income, employment, access to health, education or culture. GDP per capita is about double in Lombardy or Emilia-Romagna compared to Calabria, Campania or Puglia.
Consecration for Victor Oshimen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
In the history of the Italian Championship, the only titles that have escaped the north are those arrived in the capital (three for AS Rome, two for Lazio), that of Cagliari by Gigi Riva in 1970 and the two of Napoli .
Coach Luciano Spalletti should become, at 64, the oldest coach to win a Scudetto, beating the record set in 2020 by Maurizio Sarri, winner at 61 with Juventus.
Naples is preparing to celebrate the event, even if for some, the club, passed in 2004 in the hands of the film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis, now resembles the big cars of Serie A in terms of financial means. Nigerian Victor Oshimen and Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will go down in history as the great craftsmen of the title this season. Napoli had so far failed in second place four times in the previous ten seasons.