SERIE A
Osimhen’s Naples paints the town blue for first Scudetto since Maradona era
The face of a young Diego Armando Maradona gazes down from a mural in Naples’ Miracles Square, watching the city gear up for a celebration it hasn’t enjoyed since the Argentine soccer star was at his peak more than 30 years ago.
Miracles for Neapolitans, who grew up in a city steeped in mysticism and superstition, are happening on the pitch, as their team cruise towards a third Serie A triumph and prepares for their first ever quarter-final in the Champions League.
“This comes from the soul of Maradona. It is him, watching us from above,” said Raffaele Cardamone, a 51-year-old truck driver, indicating the newly completed mural portraying the stocky soccer genius, who died in 2020.
“It is the hand of God,” he added, referring to the famous goal Maradona that scored with his hand in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, which helped Argentina knock out England.
Maradona was also the driving force behind the Napoli team at that time, helping the city win its first league title in 1987 and its second just three years later in 1990.
With 11 games left to play, the southern Italian side have a 19-point lead over second-placed Lazio and their title dream could become reality as early as the second half of April, more than a month ahead of their final league fixture.
Neapolitans are already celebrating the third Scudetto — literally “shield” — as the Italian league title is known, seeing it as revenge on the wealthy northern cities of Turin and Milan, whose teams Juventus, Inter and AC Milan have dominated Serie A for the past three decades.
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Locals have dropped their traditional “scaramanzia”, an array of rituals rooted in popular culture to keep away bad luck, which normally include not claiming victory before having secured it.
The city’s craftsmen have created figurines of the city’s new heroes. Cardboard silhouettes of the players line the city’s Spanish Quarters, as vespas weave through the narrow lanes and blue flags flutter in front of the shops.
Posters show Maradona in heaven, handing over the Scudetto to Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen and Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — the two main stars of the current team.
Residents have launched fundraising initiatives to finance a Scudetto party that they say will last for days and aim to paint the city’s walls and streets in the club’s blue hue.
“The euphoria is impossible to contain,” said Antonio Sarracino, 55, who keeps a collection tin for donations inside his shop.
Neapolitans hope sporting glory can be a boost to a city where poverty remains widespread, but where life is improving on the back of growth in tourism, with research institute Demoskopika estimating a 13% increase in arrivals this year compared to 2022.
“The first two league wins came in a different era. There wasn’t much tourism. There were massive local celebrations but they did not go beyond Naples,” said Ernesto Monte, 59, looking at the sea from a bar near the central Plebiscito square.
Novelist and poet Erri De Luca recalls that Maradona, who remains the city’s biggest hero and had the stadium named after him, joined the team just a few years after the 1980 earthquake in the nearby Irpinia area, which killed 2,700.
“That was a city still shaking off the dust of the earthquake. It had Camorra mafia wars on the streets and in the prison. Tourists only came here to head straight to the islands and the coast. Today Naples is an attraction,” he said.
The probable league victory might not be the only triumph for Napoli this year, with many fans hopeful that the team could make it to the Champions League final for the first time ever. They play Italian rivals AC Milan in the quarter-finals.
Pietro De Chiara, 26, last week helped paint a large Scudetto symbol on an openair stairway called Heaven Alley, in the bustling Spanish Quarter.
“After the Scudetto, we will have the Champions League, and we will finish painting the steps,” he told Reuters.
-Reuters
The man in charge of assigning Serie A and B referees, Gianluca Rocchi, has suspended himself from the role with immediate effect while under investigation for sports fraud by Milan’s Public Prosecutor’s Office.
VAR supervisor Andrea Gervasoni has taken similar action for the same reasons, and the investigation is looking into incidents during last season’s Serie A campaign.
“This choice, painful, difficult but shared with my family, is intended to allow the legal proceedings to run their course properly, from which I am sure I will come out unscathed and stronger than before,” Rocchi’s statement to Italy’s referees’ association (AIA) said.
According to Italian media reports, Rocchi is accused of interfering with VAR protocols along with selecting referees preferable to Inter Milan.
“We are learning everything from the media, so we are stunned by the declarations,” Inter President Giuseppe Marotta told Sky Sports before his side’s game at Torino on Sunday.
“We do not have referees that we favour or are unfavourable towards, we are confident that we acted entirely fairly, which should reassure everyone.
“We are safe in the knowledge that Inter are not involved in this situation and will not be involved in the future.”
The news has sparked fears in Italy of another crisis, similar to the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal which saw Juventus stripped of the 2004-05 Serie A title and relegated to Serie B, with AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina also involved.
-Reuters
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Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has opened up on the breakdown of his relationship with SSC Napoli, revealing how a controversial social media post, racial abuse and strained transfer dealings ultimately ended his time in Naples.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Osimhen described the turning point as a TikTok video posted by Napoli in September 2023 that appeared to mock him for missing a penalty.
“After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something broke forever,” he said.
The video showed Osimhen appealing for a penalty with a squeaky, sped-up voice dubbed over the footage, followed by the clip of his missed spot kick. Although the post was quickly deleted after his representatives labelled it offensive and reportedly considered legal action, the damage, according to the striker, had already been done.
Osimhen said the incident triggered a wave of toxic online reactions, including racist insults directed at him. He also recounted how some supporters confronted him at his residence, demanding explanations over the controversy.
For the 2023 African Footballer of the Year, the episode marked a decisive rupture in trust.
“I’m not a puppet,” he said, describing a period in which he felt humiliated and sidelined despite his contributions to the club.
Beyond the social media row, Osimhen suggested that tensions over his future compounded the fallout. He indicated that there had been an understanding with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis regarding a potential departure in a future transfer window, but he felt the club did not honour that understanding.
“They treated me like a dog,” he said, adding that decisions were being made about his career without what he considered basic respect.
By late summer 2024, relations had deteriorated sharply. Reports indicated that Napoli excluded him from their Serie A squad list amid transfer uncertainty. The impasse eventually led to a season-long loan move to Galatasaray, bringing the standoff to a temporary close.
Osimhen was instrumental in Napoli’s historic 2022–23 Serie A title triumph, finishing as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals and becoming one of the defining figures of that championship campaign.
His departure, therefore, marked a dramatic reversal — from talismanic hero to sidelined star.
Now rebuilding his career in Turkey, Osimhen said his decision to speak publicly was driven by a desire to reclaim his narrative.
He explained that he had remained silent for months out of respect for Napoli supporters, but felt compelled to address the circumstances that led to his exit.
The episode underscores how a combination of social media missteps, fan reaction and unresolved transfer negotiations can unravel even the most successful partnerships in modern football.
For Osimhen, a relationship that once delivered a Scudetto ended not with celebration, but with controversy.
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Croatia captain Luka Modric, who left Real Madrid after 13 years at the LaLiga club, has completed his move to AC Milan on a one-year deal with an option to extend until June 2027, the Serie A side said on Monday.
The midfielder’s arrival was confirmed by newly-appointed Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri earlier this month.
“Very happy to be here to start a new chapter in my career,” said Modric, who turns 40 in September, in an Instagram video shared by Milan.
Milan said Modric will wear the number 14 shirt, which he previously wore during his four years at English side Tottenham Hotspur to honour Dutch great Johan Cruyff.
“It’s an immense honour for them to compare me to (Cruyff)… I wore the no. 14 at Tottenham in honour of him, and because the no. 10 wasn’t available,” Modric had said after winning the Ballon d’Or award in 2018.
Modric, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, announced in May that he would leave Real after the Club World Cup. He has made 597 appearances for the Spanish club, winning 28 trophies including four LaLiga and six Champions League titles.
He played his last game for Real on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 loss to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
“It’s a bitter end… he’s a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He’ll be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today,” Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said after the match.
Modric, considered Croatia’s greatest player of all time, has represented the country a record 188 times, scoring 28 goals. He won the Golden Ball at World Cup 2018, where he led Croatia to the final for the first time.
He won the Ballon d’Or in December that year, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prestigious annual award since 2007.
Modric’s arrival reinforces a Milan midfield that also features Youssouf Fofana, Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Samuele Ricci joining from Torino earlier this month.
Milan, who failed to qualify for a European competition after finishing eighth in the Italian top-flight league last season, begin their Serie A campaign against newly-promoted Cremonese on August 23.
-Reuters
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