NAPLES, Italy, May 7 (AP) — Naples fans joyfully chanted “It’s us, it’s us, we are the champions of Italy” as the southern team celebrated winning the league title at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli ended its 33-year wait for the scudetto on Thursday with a 1-1 draw at Udinese. Sunday’s match against Fiorentina was its first game at home since clinching the title.
The Fiorentina players gave the Napoli team a guard of honor when it walked out ahead of kickoff.
The pre-match choreography at one end of the stadium depicted a giant Italy flag and the number three to signify Napoli’s third Italian championship — and the first since Diego Maradona led the team to two titles in 1987 and 1990.
More celebrations — directed by Italian film director Paolo Sorrentino — are planned after the final whistle.
Fans were singing and chanting in and around the stadium hours before kickoff, while the team bus was accompanied from the hotel by flag-waving supporters on scooters as it went through streets lined by more cheering fans.
Simeone’s father — Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone — was among those present.
There were people standing around the field with giant blue balloons, each with a banner hanging off it representing a player and their number.
