Thirty-three years.
It took thirty-three long years for the tifosi of Napoli, before seeing their team always raise a new Scudetto.
Many were those who had never seen their team finish at the top of Serie A and well it is now done.
And the least we can say is that there was no photo.
Sixteen points separate them from Lazio after the 1-1 draw obtained on the lawn of Udinese on Thursday evening which looked more like a victory.
Eighty points in thirty-three days (as a sign) and Naples puts an end to the hegemony of the clubs of northern Italy.
Since the victory of AS Roma in 2001, no club from the south had been crowned champion.
To discover
Serie A standings
Serie A fixtures and results
However, last summer after the departure of certain executives, we did not give very much of the skin of Napoli.
If on the field the players responded present, one of these strong men is undoubtedly the one who resided in the technical area of the Neapolitan bench.
The remarkable work of Luciano Spalletti is to be noted because he made Napoli an Italian champion team and a quarter-finalist in the Champions League in just two years of work.
And what's more, promised a bright future.
With this title of Italian champion, Luciano Spalletti finally keeps the promise made to his children.
“I remember when I talked about coaching Napoli with my family, my two grown children, it was like they were in the crowd after a Maradona goal.
But they told me:
"Dad, in Napoli you can't, it might not work, or you have to win."
This
is a promise kept.
Always calm, stoic, even during the goals scored by his team, the quiet strength of Napoli knew how to get the best out of his workforce, which is however not the strongest in the country.
A summer transfer window that changed everything
Napoli was able to repopulate its workforce in a good way after the departures of Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly, Dries Mertens and Fabian Ruiz last summer.
To replace them, the club called on players not necessarily known to the general public but devilishly effective in both surfaces.
The first, most obvious Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian nugget that Europe discovered.
At 22, the left winger of Napoli has become the darling of supporters and a player that the whole of Europe is tearing up.
Arrived for only 10 million euros from the Georgian club Dinamo Butani, he saw his rating soar after a season with 12 goals and 10 assists in 26 Serie A games. And as a symbol, for his 77th season in the elite of Italian football, it
Further down the field, the Korean central defender Min-Jae Kim, who few also knew before his arrival in Naples, revealed himself as boss.
He too is one of the revelations of the Italian championship but not only, since in one year he has become a benchmark for his position at European level.
Landed from Fenerbahçe against 20 million euros, Min-Jae Kim has already made his value speak.
He has been one of the strong men of Naples throughout this year, one of the cornerstones of this team since he is the third player in the squad with the most minutes in Serie A (2,815).
Only goalkeeper Alex Meret and captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo have played more than him.
Hardly surprising when you consider that he started all 32 of his team's 33 games in Italy.
The last summer transfer window also allowed the final signing of the one who became the boss of the midfield, the former Marseille Franck Zambo-Anguissa.
Even if the Cameroonian was already there, on loan from Fulham, his signing certainly freed him who has never in his past experiences displayed such a level.
Sweeping away discussions of potential competition with Tanguy Ndombélé, who arrived on loan from Tottenham last summer and still had a good season.
The leaders have also decided to solidify the attack with the arrivals of Giovanni Simeone and Giacomo Raspadori to replace Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen.
Victor Osimhen, the “break-out season”
In American sports we often speak of "break-out season" when we talk about a player who has experienced the season of the explosion.
This is precisely the case for the Nigerian this year, who even if he was not discovered by the majority of followers, was able to show the greatness of his talent, which we did not always suspect.
His involvement went beyond just scoring goals, which certainly cost Napoli their Champions League quarter-final elimination against AC Milan.
Injured in the first leg and certainly not 100% in the return, his teammates were orphaned in the finish but also in the game. Without Osimhen's injury, the Gli Azzurri could have hoped to be still in the race to lift the cup at big ears.
It must be said that the third transalpine city has a 24-year-old nugget that attracts attention, including those of PSG.
For good reason, with 22 goals in 27 Serie A games, Osimhen made everyone agree and especially those who did not understand why Naples had recruited him for just over 80 million euros from LOSC in 2020. its wake, Napoli were the best attack in the Champions League (26 goals, until their elimination) and still remain the best attack in Italy, with the most goals per game (2.1) and shots on target (5.7).
Complete center forward and killer in front of goal, the Italian champion may have in his ranks, the most complete player in his position at European level, with Erling Haaland or Harry Kane.
