SSC Napoli messed up winning the Italian championship early and having their planned title party in town. Coach Luciano Spalletti’s team couldn’t get past a 1-1 (0-0) draw against US Salernitana on Sunday. In arithmetic, Napoli could not have been relegated from first place if they had beaten the outsider – despite the small setback, nobody has any doubts about winning the title this season.
When Mathías Olivera made it 1-0 in the 62nd minute, the celebration seemed to be taking its course. In the 84th minute, however, visiting striker Boulaye Dia shocked the home side with an equalizer. Everything was prepared for a unique football party at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Chaser Lazio Rom lost 3-1 at Inter Milan early Sunday afternoon.
Thousands of fans have already gathered in the city in various places, with blue-white smoke from Bengal fires rising everywhere. Practically all the houses of this chaotic and crazy city were decorated with flags and banners. Up to a million fans including tourists were expected in the city, for safety reasons large parts of the center were closed to traffic. Around 2,500 police and law enforcement officers were on duty to prevent riots and incidents.
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Since the era of Diego Maradona and the two championship titles in 1987 and 1990, Napoli have been waiting for their third Serie A win – now the club and the Tifosi have to wait a few more days. With six games to go, Napoli are 18 points clear of Lazio and 20 over Juventus, who travel to Bologna on Sunday night. In the away game at Udinese Calcio next Thursday, Napoli can make amends for the little blunder – if the pursuers don’t make a mistake beforehand and make the SSC champions in front of the TV set.
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