(Football news) Napoli created history as they won their third Serie A title, and subsequently their first in 33 years after a hard fought 1-1 draw against Udinese as the Naples side took an unassailable lead in the Serie A standings. The result meant that it ended the city’s long wait for the Scudetto since the great Diego Maradona led them to two Scudetto titles in 1986-87 and 1989-90.
A goal by Victor Osimhen secured Napoli the title with five games remaining in the season. Napoli are currently on 80 points as they secured their position at the top of the table after Lazio, who also have five games remaining are 16 points adrift of Napoli. Visiting supporters at the Stadio Friuli held banners of the late Maradona as the Naples fans eagerly anticipated the long-coveted Scudetto.
Udinese wanted to spoil the party as Sandi Lovric scored and really dampened the spirits of Napoli fans in the 13th minute, his shot found the top-right corner of the box. In the 53rd minute, Serie A top scorer Osimhen sent the travelling Napoli fans into ecstasy after wild celebrations sparked when the Nigerian international fired in the equaliser from a rebound. As the final whistle blew, all the travelling Napoli supporters rushed onto the pitch to celebrate this historic occasion alongside the players
With the 11,000 travelling Napoli fans inside and 5,000 more fans outside the stadium in Udine and a capacity crowd of more than 50,000 watched the match on jumbo screens at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples. The travelling Napoli fans invaded the field at the final whistle, while there was a mini parade of fireworks in Naples.
It’s the first time a club south of Italy has won the league since Roma claimed the title in 2001. Napoli have gone on to match the record of clinching the title with five games to spare as Torino did in (1947-48), followed by Fiorentina (1955-56), Inter Milan (2006-07) and Juventus (2018-19).
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“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.”
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