Serie A returns a week from now and one club goes into 2023 with optimism that it could be about to match the achievement inspired by its greatest son.
It was in 1987, and again in 1990, that Napoli were crowned Italian champions, spearheaded by arguably the greatest player to ever play the game.
For the late Diego Armando Maradona was more than just a footballer. He was an idol, a living legend and a true adopted son of the city of Naples.
As impressive as his sporting achievements with Napoli were, his effect on the city stretched further than the boundaries of the San Paolo Stadium, now named in his honour.
Pulling strings and scoring goals, the little Argentinian magician gave the south something to rejoice about and made them rediscover their pride. He became a symbol of liberation and inspired them to change the way they saw themselves.
It was a love affair which continued for seven seasons in all, with Maradona giving Napoli the most successful period in their history. They won the Coppa Italia in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1989 and a second – and still their most recent – Scudetto in 1990.
Thirty-five years after that first triumph, his legacy lives on through murals and posters around the city.
The question now is, can the class of 2022/23 emulate the dream he made a reality and help the club to become champions of Italy for a third time?
Well, let me not tempt fate, nor get ahead of myself.
Less than half the season has passed and there is a long way to go.
Yet based on the Serie A 2022 highlights to date, Neapolitans can be forgiven for daring to dream.
In fact, Napoli are just the second team in Serie A history – after Juventus – to win at least 13 of their opening 15 league games of a campaign.
Last month, before the break for the World Cup, they had been a breath of fresh air and this SBOTOP writer even suggested they had been the team of the season right across Europe so far.
They made it 11 league wins in a row in their last outing before Qatar as they saw off Udinese in a far more convincing manner than the scoreline suggested.
Now, in their first outing of 2023, they travel to last season’s runners-up, Inter Milan.
That the SBOTOP Serie A 2022 betting odds back Inter shows why Napoli are still not title favourites with many this term.
However, another good result in the San Siro may dispel even more of the doubters.
Remember, this is a team which has an eight-point lead, something few would have expected after a disappointing end to last season which culminated in the departures of cult defender Kalidou Koulibaly and beloved forward Dries Mertens, hot on the heels of an emotional farewell for Lorenzo Insigne.
Manager Luciano Spalletti has somehow ensured that disappointment and, in some cases, disenchantment has been replaced by optimism.
The Italian has integrated remaining players and new signings into a free-flowing, ultra-attacking system which has seen them defeat Lazio, reigning champions Milan, Roma and Atalanta in high-profile games, playing a scintillating brand of football which has made not just Italy, but Europe, sit up and take notice.
While many eyes are on the Partenopei’s quest to end a more than three-decade wait for a third Scudetto, there is intrigue in many other areas when the league resumes.
Can Milan mount a challenge to defend their crown and, what of Rafa Leao – for many their inspiration last season – with a contract extension seemingly at a standstill and amid rumours linking the talented Portuguese with Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris St Germain?
Can Juventus, finally showing some consistency for the first time since Max Allegri’s return in the summer of 2021, actually come from the back to become title contenders themselves?
Can Lazio and Inter, perhaps with Romelu Lukaku clear of injuries, embark on a run to boost their top-four credentials and perhaps more?
Certainly, their clash with Napoli, scheduled for January 13, could answer that question.
And what of Sampdoria?
The Serie A champions in 1991 – the year after Napoli – have been in the top flight for a decade but have just one league win all season and are sat with Hellas Verona and Cremonese firmly entrenched in the bottom three.
Dejan Stankovic will hope to turn things around after replacing Marco Giampaolo, while Cremonese have stuck with Massimiliano Alvini, despite not winning a single game.
It’s already a big six-point gap between that bottom three and the rest, as Monza, Lecce and Salernitana started to turn the early tide.
At top and bottom then, there is much to play for when the most wide open major league in Europe resumes on January 4, a day when, fittingly, Serie A will remember former AC Milan and Bologna boss Sinisa Mihajlovic, who recently died at the age of 53 following a long battle with leukaemia. He will always be remembered fondly.
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