Napoli wins the Serie A title after 33 years

After 33 years since Diego Maradona led them to the Scudetto in 1990, Napoli won the Serie A title on Thursday with five games to spare.

It was unlikely at the beginning of the season that Napoli would be able to unseat giants like Juventus and the two Milan teams or even AS Roma and win the league title.

The departures of key players including captain Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli’s all-time leading scorer Dries Mertens, Arkadiusz Milik, Fabian Ruiz, and Kalidou Koulibaly caused unhappiness among fans as the season came to an end.

Nonetheless, after an outstanding transfer window and under Luciano Spalletti’s leadership, Napoli dominated the title chase.

They have a 16-point lead over Lazio, who is now in second position.

Spalletti, an Italian manager, led the team to success following a short offseason makeover by abandoning tried-and-true strategies and allowing outstanding players to shine.

Napoli’s prior two Serie A titles were largely due to the talents of Maradona, but this year’s title was won by a balanced team led by a savvy coach.

Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, who had been on loan from Fulham, made the move permanent so that he could play in a three-man midfield with Stanislav Lobotka and Piotr Zielinski. Kim Min-Jae joined from Fenerbahce to take Koulibaly’s place as the defensive anchor.