Maradona revisited as Napoli savour top spot
>> MILAN: Fond memories of Diego Maradona’s enduring spell in Italy’s top flight have resurfaced as Napoli savour their place at the top of Serie A after 25 years ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Bologna.
The year was 1990 and Maradona, who had helped Napoli to their first league title three years earlier, was in his pomp as Napoli strode towards their second and last ‘scudetto’.
Unbeknown to fans, it would be the last time Napoli sat top of the Italian league table for 25 years — a wait that ended Monday when Gonzalo Higuain struck twice in a 2-1 win over 10-man title rivals Inter Milan.
Napoli sit top with a lead of one point on Inter, two on Fiorentina, four on Roma and seven on resurgent champions Juventus. As most of their rivals may have noticed already, Napoli’s return has not been by chance.
After some early wobbles, Maurizio Sarri’s men arguably boast the most potent attacking game in the league and, along with Inter (nine goals) have Serie A’s stingiest defence.
The Azzurri sit firmly among the favourites to end Juventus’s four-year reign, but 25 years after Maradona’s Napoli reign was ended by a positive test for cocaine in the wake of the 1990 World Cup.
Asked about Napoli’s title hopes, Higuain said: “Dreaming isn’t forbidden. But we will continue to take it game by game.”
Napoli’s return has added spice to an already intriguing battle for Serie A supremacy.
Inter will go top today with a home win against Genoa, although Roberto Mancini’s men will have taken note of the visitors’ renaissance following the recent appointment of former Parma handler Roberto Donadoni.
Fiorentina’s title charge has slipped in the past fortnight with La Viola drawing their past two outings, at home to Empoli and away to Sassuolo, but Paulo Sousa’s men are only two points adrift ahead of the visit of Udinese.
Elsewhere, AC Milan will look to follow their 4-1 drubbing of Sampdoria with a similarly impressive score away to Carpi in tomorrow’s late game.
In-form striker M’Baye Niang hit a brace for the Rossoneri and was on target again for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side when they beat Serie B side Crotone 3-1 in extra-time in the Italian Cup.
Winless Verona, meanwhile, welcome Empoli a week after dropping to rock bottom and days after appointing Luigi Del Neri as the replacement to sacked Andrea Mandorlini.
Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Frosinone left Verona with a mere six points out of a possible total of 42.