Hundreds of people gathered before a tiny screen in a bar in the Chiaia neighborhood, in the heart of Naples, were already celebrating the third scudetto of the city club, the first in 33 years. The chants recalled Diego Armando Maradona, the hero who guided them to their first two titles, in 1987 and 1990. They lit blue flares, the color that has dyed all the streets for weeks, with banners, flags or hanging eleven shirts holder who is on his way to go down in history in the gulf.
Until a goal from Boulaye Dia in the 84th minute made silence in Naples. The city was ready to celebrate a long-awaited league championship after Inter did their homework and beat second-placed Lazio 3-1 at the San Siro. The partenopeos only depended on themselves, and Salernitana did not seem like a difficult opponent to beat. But the carambola that was going to allow them to become the first Italian club to win Serie A six days after it ended was not achieved. In the end, Napoli played at home, at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, named after the death of the Argentine star, drawing 1-1 despite going ahead with a goal from Uruguayan Mathias Olivera in minute 63.
“I still can’t believe it. It was done, it seemed that the difficult thing was for Lazio to lose â€, lamented Angelo, who returned to his house with the flags rolled up. “It’s okay, it’s a matter of days and we’ll celebrate anyway,” said Mirka, her face painted with blue hearts, while her friends kept honking the horns that can be bought in every corner of the city.
The Italian championship is still decided, but will have to wait a few days to settle. It could be closed already this week if Napoli beat Udinese away on Thursday night, but also if Lazio fail to beat Sassuolo at home on Wednesday. If not, everything would be postponed to next Sunday, against Fiorentina. “It’s a shame,” lamented Genny, 30, with her curls dyed blue. If they won this Sunday it was almost the same date as Maradona’s last championship. “It was a beautiful coincidence, but it could not have been.”
The cold water shower was caused at home despite the fact that, in reality, the game at San Siro that all Neapolitan televisions had tuned in was much more uncertain. The paradox is that they had all their hopes pinned on Inter, one of the Neapolitans’ arch-enemies, along with Juventus and Milan, the biggest teams from the north of the country that have divided up the Italian league in recent years. “Forza Inter!†a man with dyed blue hair yelled a few minutes after the game started. The Lazio coach, Maurizio Sarri, former Napoli coach, had already warned that they would not make it easy for them, and a goal from the Roman team in the first half had made Napoli suffer until the end. In the end, both play the disputed European positions. But Simone Inzaghi’s men did their part and managed to come back with two goals from Lautaro MartÃnez and one from Gosens.
“It is the first time in my life that I support Inter, but we have no choice if we want the city to explode this afternoon,†said a 17-year-old Mattia excited, while watching the game on one of the screens that have been placed in all the bars of the city. Never in Chiaia had an Inter victory been celebrated like this. In Quartieri Spagnoli they were much more funeral, placing coffins in the colors of Juventus, the most hated club.
After the match, it began to rain timidly in the city of Buenos Aires. Some did not want to wait and the firecrackers they had bought began to explode. On the central avenues, closed to traffic to avoid crowds, they paraded between flares and motorcycle horns. Many tifosi had come from all parts of Italy, including Switzerland, to go home with their heads down. “We are not sad. It’s a matter of days. Forza Napoli!” Said a young redhead coming out of a bar. In the cemetery of Naples, three decades ago, a poster dedicated to the dead woke up that said: “what you have missedâ€. Now there is a new one, which is already warning: “Sorry for any inconvenience.”
