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SSC Napoli have won the Scudetto for the first time since 1990, thanks to Victor Osimhen’s second-half goal in a 1-1 draw at Udinese on Thursday night.
They were six minutes away from clinching the title on Sunday, but drew with Salernitana, giving Lazio a mathematical chance to catch the runaway leaders. That opportunity has now passed, with Napoli leading by 16 points with only five games remaining in the season.
Sandi Lovri’s clinical finish from inside the penalty area on 13 minutes stunned Luciano Spalletti’s side, who struggled to create chances at the other end, despite Osimhen’s first-half headers.
However, when the Nigerian striker pounced 12 minutes after halftime, calmly side-footing in a rebound, it sparked wild celebrations among the thousands of traveling Napoli fans.
“I’m happy for all Napoli fans worldwide,” Osimhen said. “No one deserves it more than Neapolitans — more than us.” I didn’t care who scored; all I wanted was to win the Scudetto.”
“I want to remember this for the rest of my life.” “My other dreams can come after the season,” Osimhen continued. “But now is not the time to discuss my other dreams.” “I really wanted to win this.”
“Napoli, this is for you,” coach Spalletti said. “There are people here who will be able to overcome adversity in their lives because they remember this moment.”
These people are deserving of all the happiness.”
SSC Napoli are the Italian Champions
This is the first league title a team from outside Italy’s traditional soccer capitals, Milan and Turin, has won since Roma in 2001.
More than 50,000 fans gathered at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples. The game was broadcasted on large screens. “Today must be the right day,” fan Raffaele Manfredonia said. Kevin, another supporter who declined to give his surname, predicted the Scudetto party would be “chaos, mayhem.”
We’re not going to sleep, and we’re not going to work.” But then, with a chuckle, he added, “I’m joking.”
“You always said to me, ‘We want to win,’ and now we have.”
“We’ve won as a team,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis told the crowd before hugging Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi.
When S.S.C. Napoli declared bankruptcy in 2004, De Laurentiis took over the club and relaunched it 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.”
