On the other side of Naples, at the stadium now named for
Maradona, tributes to the club’s most emblematic player were everywhere: his
image on banners, flags and scarves, his No. 10 on the back of shirts.
As Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti put it after the
Partenopei sealed their first league title since Maradona led the club to the
1987 and 1990 championships, the late Argentina standout’s legacy made a
difference.
“These fans have seen big coaches come and go. They saw
Diego Armando Maradona play and perhaps his (impact) is also felt in this
success,” Spalletti said.
Unlike the Maradona years, however, this Napoli title wasn’t
about a single player but rather a well-run unit that often overwhelmed
opponents with standouts in every department: league scoring leader Victor
Osimhen at center forward, league assist leader Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at left
wing, passing expert Stanislav Lobotka in central midfield and physical
presence Kim Min-jae at center back — not to mention their veteran coach.
Napoli clinched the trophy with a 1-1 draw at Udinese on
Thursday.
Osimhen equalized for Napoli early in the second half by
redirecting in a rebound after Sandi Lovric had put Udinese ahead early on.
“I’m happy for all Napoli fans worldwide,” Osimhen said. “No
one deserves the scudetto more than Neapolitans — more than us.
“I don’t care who scored, I just wanted to get the
scudetto.”
Napoli moved an insurmountable 16 points ahead of
second-place Lazio with five rounds still to play.
Besides the 11,000 Napoli fans inside and 5,000 more outside
the stadium in Udine in northern Italy, a capacity crowd of more than 50,000
watched the match on jumbo screens at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in
Naples.
“Napoli, this is for you,” Spalletti said. ”There are people
here who will be able to get through difficult moments in their lives because
they remember this moment. These people deserve all the joy.”
In Udine, celebrating fans invaded the field at the final
whistle, while in Naples there were fireworks and delirium.
“You always told me, ‘We want to win,’ and now we’ve won.
We’ve won all together,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis told the crowd
at the Naples stadium before he embraced Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi.
De Laurentiis took over the club in 2004 when Napoli was
declared bankrupt, restarting in the third division.
“This is the coronation of a dream that’s been going on for
33 years,” De Laurentiis added. “It’s been a long process.”
It’s the first time a club south of Italy’s traditional
soccer capitals of Milan and Turin has won the league since Roma claimed the
title in 2001.
Napoli matched the record of clinching with five rounds to
spare, shared with Torino (in 1947-48), Fiorentina (1955-56), Inter Milan
(2006-07) and Juventus (2018-19).
In the 52nd minute, Osimhen slotted in a rebound off a shot
from Kvaratskhelia following a corner kick.
During his goal celebration, Osimhen broke his face mask and
the Nigeria forward had to play without it for a few minutes while it was
repaired by Napoli staff members on the sideline.
It was Osimhen’s 22nd goal in the league this season and the
46th of his Serie A career, matching former AC Milan standout and current
Liberia President George Weah as the top African scorers in Italy.
Afterward, Osimhen — who has acknowledged that he would like
to play in the Premier League one day — would not commit to remaining with
Napoli.
“I want to enjoy this moment for the rest of my life. Then
after the season my other dreams can come,” Osimhen said. “But for now it’s not
a time to talk about my other dreams. I wanted to win this. ... For me this is
just a moment.”
Napoli had a brief lapse during the first half during which
Lovric found space within the area for a quick control and angled shot inside
the far post in the 13th.
Napoli has dominated all season and didn’t lose in the
league until getting beat by Inter in January. A 5-1 victory over Juventus nine
days later left no doubt that this was the Partenopei’s year.
Napoli, though, wasn’t even considered a title contender
before the season because of the departures of former captain Lorenzo Insigne,
club record scorer Dries Mertens and defensive stalwart Kalidou Koulibaly.
But Osimhen has developed into the most dangerous striker in
the league, and dribbling wizard Kvaratskhelia has done far more than just
replace Insigne on the left wing as one of the biggest revelations in Europe
this season.
The title also gives Spalletti the one honor he has coveted
most after previously managing Roma and Inter and winning two Russian league
championships with Zenit St. Petersburg.
Spalletti’s innovative style first showed promise at Udinese
nearly two decades ago when he led the provincial club to a fourth-place finish
and a spot in the Champions League. Udinese coach Andrea Sottil played under
Spalletti at Udinese.
“The fans deserve it,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo
said, his hair colored in Napoli blue from the locker room celebration. “It
felt like we were playing in Naples today.” -AP
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