Napoli Wins First Italian Serie a Title Since Diego Maradona Era

Napoli, the team of Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona, has won the Italian Serie A title for the first time in 33 years.

While the team from Naples lived in the shadow of Italian giants like AC Milan and Juventus, it rose to global acclaim when none other than "god" himself, Maradona, played for the squad.

Since then, it has always been known as "Maradona's team." However, Napoli won the prestigious league title for the first time since the legendary Maradona era.

The title win came Thursday after the club had a 1-1 draw against Udinese at the Dacia Arena, Udine. The opposing team was leading 1-0 until Victor Osimhen tied it in the early minutes of the second half.

The Nigerian has been the club's top scorer this season, proving that his club was no longer living in Maradona's shadow by winning the league.

According to CNN, following the draw and confirmation of the title win, Naples exploded in celebration as fans took to the streets with red flares and fireworks to celebrate their club's historic victory.

Napoli's Italian Serie A Championship Victory Means Much More to the City of Naples

The last time Napoli won the Italian Serie A Championship was in 1990 when their star player was the Argentinian Diego Maradona. Since then, the team has struggled to take the title from other Italian giants like Juventus and AC Milan.

It was the end of a 33-year drought, and the victory meant much more to the city than the outsiders might think. After Maradona left, the club struggled, but ESPN reported that Neapolitans still believed in Napoli.

The team had a history of jinxes as it had a tendency to choke, or something terrible would happen as it was poised to win the title. The coming of Maradona somehow stopped it for a while, as they truly believed the "god" was at their side.

However, the jinxes continued as soon as he left. This year was supposed to only be a transition year after several star players left for greener pastures in other leagues.

But Napoli still prevailed with their Nigerian top scorer and team of plucky underdogs. That is probably why this third championship title for the team was very special.

Diego Maradona and Napoli

When Napoli signed Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona, it was quite a story. Juventus wanted him, and their offer would have broken world records at that time.

However, FC Barcelona asked an extra £500,000 for the deal to go through, and Juventus was not able to make it. Instead, the people of Naples banded together to sign the Argentinian as they collected money in the streets so their team could sign the "god."

According to GOAL, Maradona was so touched by the effort that he signed with the team. Before he arrived, no southern Italian team had ever won the Italian Serie A title, also known as the Scudetto.

It was largely considered a "second division" team playing in the Serie A. The arrival of the "god" changed it, winning the Scudetto twice in 1987 and 1990. It was clear from the start this was a one-man team built around Diego Maradona.

However, while his time with Napoli was legendary, it also had plenty of lows, with the Argentinian star often going AWOL as he got addicted to drugs.

He was soon benched, though more controversies followed as he was tied to one of Naples' most notorious mafia families, leading to a police investigation.

Nevertheless, Naples still embraced him as their own, and the city mourned his death. They even named the team's new home stadium the Diego Maradona Stadium.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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