Napoli: The Scudetto Story

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The Scudetto — the “little shield” that symbolizes the Italian Serie A  — is in hand at last for Napoli! Despite the outflow of key players in the summer including club captain Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Coach Luciano Spalletti was able to “produce a rabbit out of a hat.”

Luciano Spalletti was retained as a head coach to guide a relatively new-look Napoli squad. The squad and the coach had undoubtedly shown promise, but few predicted Napoli would experience an outright dominant domestic campaign in the season to follow. Who would have expected a youngster from Georgia – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and a South Korean defender – Kim Min-Jae to instantly fit into the culture of the Neapolitans? Even in the world of imagination, to have believed these players would possess the ability to fill the giant standing void left by the departure of  Insigne and Koulibaly appeared a shot too far to call. Yet, the despair of 33 years of fighting was wiped out.

Really, “It’s been a journey,” and in this piece, we are taking you through this journey.

1990 and the last scudetto

In Naples, Marco Baroni was leaping into the Italian spring air to head a ball past a diving goalkeeper to put Napoli one goal ahead against Lazio. The defender’s powerful header was the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory and those three points assured Napoli’s position atop Serie A, two points ahead of AC Milan who also won that day.

In doing so, Baroni clinched the club’s second-ever Italian league title, cementing its golden era into Napoli folklore – an era spearheaded by the great Diego Maradona. Diego! Diego!! Diego!!! The name echoed through the city of Naples after the Argentine secured Napoli’s second scudetto in 6 years. It was a dream beyond the wildest imagination of a club sited in one of Italy’s most desolate cities.

The emergence of a savior from the ashes

Naples rose from the ashes. Spearheaded by the most unlikely of saviors – De Laurentiis in 2004. When the club was at its most vulnerable financially, in stepped the Italian film giant De Laurentiis to rescue the club with the aim of establishing stability and a return to former glories.

Making huge promises of assured success, De Laurentiis – courtesy of his no-nonsense approach to management – brought Napoli back into the Italian top flight within his first three years and into European competitions in the second year back in Serie A. Aurelio De Laurentiis’s reign as Napoli’s president has been characterized by promise, and this 2022/23 winning season is his promise delivered. Summing up the 2022/23 title-winning under Spalletti in three words “This is special.”

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