How Napoli conquered Italian Football after 33 long years

Gli Azzurri won their first Serie A title in decades as they drew with Udinese at Dacia Arena to spark ecstatic celebrations back in Naples.

Napoli became the first European top-five league side to win the title on Thursday in the 2022-23 season, as they drew with Udinese 1-1 away, which was enough for the Partenopei to secure the Scudetto with five matches to spare. Victor Osimhen smashed in a 52nd-minute equalizer after Sandi Lovric had given Udinese a shock lead. Having waited for 33 years, Napoli eventually embraced their third Serie A championship with 80 points after 33 rounds, 16 points ahead of second-placed Lazio. The last time the southern city won the championship of the top flight came in 1990, led by the late Diego Maradona who was also led towards their maiden title in 1987.

At the start of the season, it would have been difficult to imagine Gli Azzurri becoming champions ahead of heavyweights such as Juventus and the two Milan clubs not to mention AS Roma. During a close season of discontent, fans grumbled as key players like captain Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli's all-time top scorer Dries Mertens, Arkadiusz Milik, Fabian Ruiz, and Kalidou Koulibaly all left for pastures new. But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.

More than 10,000 Napoli fans visited Dacia Arena on Thursday, while over 50,000 watched the game through the screens at the home stadium Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Boosted by the electric atmosphere, Napoli were aggressive from the start, but they found themselves on the back foot in the 13th minute as Sandi Lovric unleashed a curler that flew into the corner. The away side finally unlocked the defense in the 52nd minute when Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen equalized with a follow-up. After the final whistle, the stadium burst into cheers and the fans poured onto the pitch to celebrate with the players.

Spalletti and his squad will receive an emotional welcome when they return to Naples, where the partying is set to continue until at least their next home fixture against Fiorentina on Sunday evening. "Seeing Neapolitans happy is enough to give you a sense of that joy they are feeling," Spalletti told DAZN on the verge of tears. "These people will look to this moment when life gets hard. They have every right to celebrate like this. You feel a bit more relaxed knowing that you've given them this moment of happiness."

From ashes to glory after three decades

Napoli's previous two titles came in the days of Argentina legend Maradona - whom their stadium is now named after - in 1987 and 1990. Following those glory days the club fell into financial decline, relegation and bankruptcy; playing in Serie C as recently as 2006. They have won the Coppa Italia three times in the past 11 seasons but it is the Scudetto the Napoli fans craved.

They now have a new cast of superstars, with Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen scoring 21 goals in 26 league games and Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia contributing 12 goals and 10 assists. At 64 boss Luciano Spalletti, who twice won the Coppa Italia with Roma, becomes the oldest manager to win Serie only AS Roma waited longer between two Serie A titles, 41 years from 1942 to 1983.

Napoli managed to win the league with five games remaining, a joint record in Italy's top league. His team had the chance to lift the title with six games to spare last weekend but could only draw with local rivals Salernitana. But with a 16-point advantage over second-placed Lazio their third Serie A title is now confirmed.

The shining stars of Naples

While Napoli's last two Serie A triumphs were focused around Maradona's greatness, this season's triumph can be attributed to a solid all-round squad guided by a shrewd manager. Kim Min-Jae arrived from Fenerbahce to replace Koulibaly as the lynchpin at the back while Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa's loan move from Fulham was made permanent as he completed a three-man midfield alongside Stanislav Lobotka and Piotr Zielinski.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was a relatively unknown quantity when he arrived in Italy but he has scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in 28 Serie A appearances to guide Napoli to the title while earning the nickname 'Kvaradona'. With his vision and playmaking abilities, he formed a deadly duo with Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen who flourished this season to lead Serie A with 22 goals, becoming one of the hottest prospects in the transfer market.