At least one Napoli player is looking forward to the club’s possible title celebrations on Thursday in a town far, far from home.
Alex Meret, the team’s goalkeeper, is from the northeastern
Italian city of Udine, where Napoli can secure the title by getting at least a
draw against Udinese. That chance comes four days after the southern club
failed to clinch the Serie A championship in front of its own fans on Sunday
after being held to a 1-1 draw by Salernitana at the Stadio Diego Armando
Maradona.
The let down put a damper on celebrations that had already
started after second-place Lazio lost at Inter Milan earlier in the day.
“We’re definitely disappointed because we wanted to
celebrate at home with the incredible atmosphere created by our fans,” Meret
said. “But we’re already focused on the match in Udine. ... My family is there
and they will come watch so it’ll be a wonderful feeling.”
Napoli is attempting to win the Italian league for the first
time since Diego Maradona led the team to its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and
1990. The team has an 18-point lead and could even clinch the title a day
earlier if Lazio fails to beat Sassuolo.
All that is proving to be something of a logistical
nightmare for the club and the city.
City officials in Naples, unable to predict when the title
celebrations will start, are considering imposing a traffic ban in the center
from Wednesday, before the start of Lazio’s match. The city did the same thing
on Sunday.
There are also security concerns regarding the team’s flight
back to Naples from Udine. More than 10,000 fans greeted the team at the
airport after its win at Juventus nine days ago and that would likely be
increased exponentially if Napoli wins the title.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said the team could
land early Friday morning or in the afternoon. The team could also be rerouted
to a different airport.
Plans are also being put in place to show the match on giant
screens at the stadium in Naples.
“We are having eight giant screens installed to put two in
front of each stand to allow Neapolitans to watch the match like that,” De
Laurentiis said. “There are organizational problems and we don’t have much time
so we’re asking for a symbolic price of 5 euros ($5.50) and if there’s money
left it will be given to charity.
“Moreover, the celebrations that we had prepared will happen
on Sunday at the home match against Fiorentina.” -AP