Napoli celebrates the Italian championship in Udine. There is a lot of celebration going on at home. A man dies from gunshot wounds.
After 33 years of waiting, the southern Italians made the winning of their third “Scudetto” perfect on Thursday evening (May 4th, 2023) and crowned a splendid season. The big celebration of the championship began for the Napoli footballers in Udine with a rush of fans who had traveled with them – at home in Naples the Tifosi had long since started a long night of partying on the streets and squares.
A large police force was to ensure that the celebrations remained peaceful. Nevertheless, incidents were soon registered: the Ansa news agency reported on a 26-year-old who died in hospital as a result of gunshot wounds. Three other people are being treated for gunshot wounds.
Public Viewing in Neapel
The police were investigating the circumstances and were initially unable to provide any information. Three other fans required treatment because they injured their hands from pyrotechnics. In Udine, after a crowd caused by the square storm, eight fans received medical attention, the prefect said.
60,000 fans had watched the crucial guest game at Udinese together on screens in the stadium named after Maradona, after which it was off to the city centre. From all corners of the city, fans let off firework rockets into the sky, similar to midnight on New Year’s Eve. In the Piazza del Plebiscito near the port, supporters crowded, sang and celebrated, waved flags and burned flares.
Title one after Maradona
In Udine, some were overwhelmed by the emotions: the really cool coach Luciano Spalletti cried in an interview when he remembered his deceased brother at the moment of triumph. Looking at the live pictures from Naples, where tens of thousands of fans were celebrating, the coach spoke of the “greatest satisfaction”.
The 1-1 draw at Udinese Calcio made the early triumph in Serie A perfect, with five games to go the SSC lead over second-placed Lazio Roma is 16 points. “This championship is well deserved”, summed up captain Giovanni di Lorenzo with blue shimmering hair. In the changing room, the European champion, like many of his teammates, couldn’t escape the can of hair dye spray. “We can hardly wait for the celebration.”
It was already in full swing at home in the port city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius – no wonder, since the fans had to wait a long time for their third Serie A title after 1987 and 1990. The two successes fell into the Napoli era of world star Diego Armando Maradona.