Early this year, somewhat out of nowhere, a "Diego double" had a nice ring to it in my mind as Napoli powered towards a first Serie A title since Maradona three decades ago.
Napoli have been on the fringes of my football bucket list mostly due to the dated, bowl shaped stadium with a running track (nobody likes those) that often looks half full on TV. This year was different, their swashbuckling young team had taken Europe by storm, powering into the Champions League latter stages and building an insurmountable lead at the top of the Italian top flight. All of a sudden the stadium, and the story looked a lot more appealing - packed to the rafters every week with the notoriously passionate locals about to explode with a party for the ages.
The "double" part comes from my trip to Buenos Aires last year and witnessing how Diego Maradona is worshipped literally like a God. Naples was apparently just the same. Napoli's only two league titles delivered by the great Argentinian in '87 and '90 at the peak of his brilliance.
As i've experienced before, Italian football is no longer easy to acquire tickets for, especially in this situation where Napoli are on the brink of greatness. I decided to use the tour company Homefans again, with the guarantee of getting in and the comfort of a local host. The home game against Salernitana - at the time of my booking in early February - was seven games from the end of the season and highly unlikely to be a title clincher. I shouldn't have any problems.
I booked a five night stay at a central hotel as there was plenty of other things in the surrounding area I'd like to see - and onward flights to Manchester to visit family and friends.
On the day I left Los Angeles, three days before the game, I got an email from Homefans to say there was a problem - they couldn't get tickets. Napoli were on the brink of glory and could actually clinch the title this weekend. A win against Salernitana and a draw or defeat for Lazio away at Inter Milan the next day would see them crowned champions. There was now attempts to have the two games played at the same time so that Napoli could clinch infront of their own fans. There was also talk of the Major of Naples restricting tickets to local residents only. Even though I had provided Homefans with a passport style photograph and information to obtain a "Fidelty Card" (membership) over a month ago, it was now highly unlikely they could get me in.
I was furious. Then I calmed down. There wasn't much I could do about it now, I was going. I could still enjoy a city in celebration, the amazing sights close by and maybe, just maybe there was a chance of getting in to the game. I also thought if I was a Napoli fan, would I want some tourist bagging tickets over them? Probably not. I just had to go with the flow.
I arrived late on Thursday night and even through the dark of the taxi ride to my hotel I could see the city was decked out in blue and white everything hanging from and connecting buildings in the narrow streets. Naples was ready to party, they just weren't sure exactly when.
Due to the usual jet lag, day one (Friday) began with a short stroll down to the port and a lovely sunrise behind Mount Vesuvius.
This looked like it would be the only guaranteed sunny day of the trip so I took the opportunity to take in the nearby famous coastal towns of Sorrento and Positano.
Both of these towns are easily accessible by regular ferries although I think I got caught up in the arrival of a giant cruise ship so the ferry terminals were extremely busy. I found Sorrento to be a peaceful, picturesque place, full of their famous lemoncello (and lemon everything to be honest). I got a few interesting looks from passers-by as I enjoyed a beer at 10:30am in the main square but the length of time I'd be up, it was at least early afternoon for me.
I then got ripped off in a taxi to Positano. I won't tell you how much it was as it's embarrassing. My fault, should have checked with him first.
I expected a lot from Positano and from a beauty standpoint it didn't disappoint. However from a crowded perspective, it was horrendous.
They say don't visit the Amfali Coast in the summer time and I'd maybe stretch that out to spring too but plenty of people seemed to be revelling in the scene. It depends what your tolerance for American tourists is like. Mine is low and got lower when I heard one ask for a Pepperoni pizza.
I'll tell you I've never seen so many young women in pretty dresses posing for a picture with the stunning backdrop. It's an influencers dream. The tight crowded streets make walking at a snails pace somewhat of an achievement but I'm glad I saw it.
That evening back in Naples, I headed to the oldest active opera house in the world, Teatro San Carlo, opened in 1737. Just for a bit of culture really, taking in a piano concerto by Filippo Gorini. A truly majestic place.
Later that night back at the hotel I got an unexpected email from Homefans to say they had managed to snag me a ticket to the big match. I had been badgering them a little bit asking what happened to my Fidelty Card and could I have it so I could attempt to get a ticket myself. I think they got tired of my moaning and came up with the goods. I was delighted. The downside was I was on my own, no host but that's nothing I couldn't handle. The game had now officially been moved to Sunday, played after the Inter Lazio game had ended. This gave me Saturday to explore the city and soak up the atmosphere.
Pretty much every single street in Naples looked like this. They had been a little presumptuous and had a lot of flags printed with the number 3 (for titles) and the word "campione" on. This title was not in any doubt but I suspect these things were being displayed weeks ago.
I started with a very arduous climb up to Castel Sant' Elmo. It was so early it wasn't open yet but that has never stopped me. I managed to stroll in and take a few photos from the top.
On to the tiny streets of the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish quarter) and the iconic Diego mural. This whole area, other than the patented clothes hanging from the houses is a shrine to Maradona, literally, candles are involved.
I then strolled through the Old Town, taking in the Duomo and a few other historical buildings.
Back towards my hotel and the famous art deco Metro station, Toledo.
It was time for some famous Neapolitan pizza. There are hundreds of Pizzeria's in Naples, they invented it after all. You'll find many lists online of the best ones, there's the famous one where Julia Robert's ate in Eat Pray Love which apparently involvings queuing for hours - not into that. There's other ones that appear on all the lists that also seemed like they involved a long wait so I opted for one off the beaten track a little bit, Pizzeria Da Attilia. I went for "the special" which included ricotta stuffed star shaped edges. Phenomenal.
I'd had a long day and Naples was possibly the most crowded city I had ever visited. There was an electric atmosphere in the air but it was exhausting. The locals had decided this was the weekend they would be crowned champions. Thursday night in Udinese (their next game) just wouldn't have the same vibe. I spent the rest of the day relaxing with a huge day ahead.
Kick off time was 3pm with Inter vs Lazio at 12:30pm in Milan. If second placed Lazio failed to win, which it seemed the whole of Naples was just expecting at this point, Napoli would be champions with a win.
I found a back street pizza place for lunch near the Museo Metro stop and stood outside with a beer and watched the crowds, still seven miles from the stadium but the flares were burning and the horns were blaring already. My plan was to take a simple train ride to the stadium around 1pm.
As I arrived on the packed platform almost everyone was on their phone checking the Lazio score. It was 0-0. A train approached, packed to capacity and the fans onboard intentionally blocked most of the doors from opening so nobody could get on. A lot of Italian hand gestures went up, a lot of pushing and shoving went on and very few people were successful.
I watched the train pull away, with no idea when the next one would be and if I would ever even get on one. I wandered back onto the street and attempted to get a taxi. It wasn't happening. Back to the train with the intention of just pushing my way on - I don't speak Italian and I'll never see these people again.
And that's exactly how it played out. After another failed attempt I was determined to get on the next one. It arrived a few minutes later and I strategically placed myself exactly where I now knew the doors opened with just one man in front of me. That man was probably in his 60s and when the door opened he was greeted with much younger men who were determined to keep him and us off. They shoved him so hard he would have fallen straight back if there wasn't a crowd to catch him. I then got behind him literally with my head down like a rugby scrum and just heaved him and I on. I think a few behind us made it too.
As I arrived outside Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Lazio had taken a 1-0 lead in Milan. The streets were packed, everyone seemed to have a large flag, air horn, flare or all three.
I made my way around to the "Curva B" to where my entrance was. Suddenly a huge roar went up, the horns got louder, the flares brighter. Inter had equalised with 12 minutes to go. The mood went up another notch - if that was possible.
It was time to enter the stadium. One of the reasons tickets in Italy are so tough is because your ID has to match the name printed on the ticket. You can't just buy on the secondary market or from touts outside. Thankfully everything was in place for me and after a bit of a hold up where one fella looking at my ticket and passport wasn't entirely convinced for some reason, his two fellow security that he asked for a second opinion from, nodded and waved me through.
As I found my seat on the second row behind the goal close to the corner flag it was then I realised that the huge crowds outside weren't actually going to the game, the stadium was already full, an hour before kick off. They were outside just to be there and to soak it up and for the mass celebrations afterwards.
The noise inside the Maradona was electric. I've never witnessed a scene like that an hour before a game but I appreciate they exist in some places. This felt like a giant party, one that the city of Naples had been waiting a very long time for and they were ready for the climax.
Shortly after finding my seat, a huge roar went up. Inter had scored again, it was 2-1. Shortly after that another one, 3-1. People frantically checked their phones to make sure it was true. I saw some people shaking their heads, looking emotional refusing to believe it. It was indeed true, Lazio had lost and with seven games to go in the Serie A season, Napoli just needed three more points to secure the title.
As the game began, one of the most entertaining features for me was watching the handful of guys standing at the front of the Curva. They looked like leaders of the Ultras or at least vital foot soldiers. They had bigger flags than everyone else and spent most of the game communicating via phone with fans on the top tier as the unveiled banner after banner draped over the front of the tier. This process involved literally hundreds of fans to ensure the whole banner covered the Curva perfectly and was positioned precisely.
At one point everyone turned to watch a huge fist fight on the front row of the top tier. From what I could make out it was due to one of the banners not being completely straight. One fella in particular seemed to be taking most of the flak for it and receiving most of the blows.
The Curva B and the Curva A at the other end are apparently rival fan groups. The A are supposedly the traditionally more intimidating/violent with the B the more chilled. It didnt seem like that from where I was sat but after the game I did walk past a huge group of Curva A dressed entirely in black. If you look close enough on this video below you can see clusters of them down that end.
As for the game itself, I could barely see anything from my vantage point, it felt like there was slope and I was actually under the pitch somewhat but like most places I go, I'm not really there for the physical action on the pitch, I'm there for the overall experience, the crowd scenes, the noise. For parts of this game I was toying with it being slightly better than La Bombonera. Both completely different. Boca Juniors is a place you walk into and you've never seen anything like it in your life, it's just a footballing pinnacle pure and simple. But something about the energy, the occasion and the history in Napoli was pulling me towards it being the best experience. As the game dragged on at 0-0 I thought I'd wait to see what happened before making that final assessment.
Napoli completely dominated. I know this partly from being there and partly from watching highlights afterwards. They had a number of chances that were either brilliantly saved by Salernitana's Mexican number one, Guillermo Ochoa or should have been buried. They just needed one, give me just one so I can witness the scenes.
It arrived in the 62nd minute, a flash header from a corner from the Uruguayan left back Mathias Olivera.
The Maradona erupted. This was their moment, the one they had waited 33 years for.
Football doesn't work like that though does it? You don't get to choose which day your team become champions. You don't get to move kick off times and dates around to suit yourself, to maximise the moment. Your Major doesn't get to choose who gets to see it.
In the 84th minute, the Senegal international striker Boulaye Dia curled in an absolute beauty to level the score for the visitors.
You could hear a pin drop for a few seconds. There were no away fans allowed in on this day, which didn't make sense to me because they left the away section empty when they could have filled it with more Napoli, you know real ones, not tourists like me.
I imagine that moment when the ball hit the back of the net was similar to that moment you hear about in the 1950 World Cup when Brazil were expected to win the final at home to Uruguay and they lost.
The noise levels rose again for the final ten or so minutes but it ended 1-1. Napoli would not be champions today. They probably would be on Thursday but not today. The fans maintained most of their energy, fireworks went off outside the stadium which I suspect were meant for a victory and they thought, fuck it let's just let them off anyway, we can always buy some more.
I wasn't too disappointed. I had still witnessed something incredible. The noise and colour inside that stadium was something I haven't experienced many times. There was part of me that was relieved. The sheer weight of people and the overcrowded streets of the last few days had started to get to me a little bit. If they had won that game the city would have exploded and I felt like I'd seen just enough jubilation.
On exiting the stadium it was absolute chaos. I don't think I've ever experienced so many people moving in four different directions. Most times you come out of a football ground people are moving in one, maybe two directions. This was just one giant traffic jam at a snails pace.
As I got to the Metro station there was a huge crowd outside and nobody going in. Police vans and armed guards stood at the entrances. Italian arms gestured wildly in their direction but they weren't budging. It dawned on me that there had probably been a plan to try and limit people rushing back into the city. A city already full to capcacity with expectant party goers and now they had 60,000 fans about to join them.
After a while standing around waiting for something to happen I decided it wasn't going to. They had closed the stations and even if they magically opened it would probably take forever to get on a train. I noticed hundreds of people starting to walk. I pulled out my iPhone maps and saw it was two and a half miles back to the centre and thought why not, I'll join them.
It was nice to breathe and have a bit of space even though at one point they closed a tunnel to cars and fans were letting off flares in it and the air was thick with pyro.
About half way back I came across a pizza place and decided to break the walk up with a bite to eat. It turned out to be the best pizza I had on the whole trip and I had six in four days. I even told the owner on the way out it was the best I'd ever had in my life. He was gracious and polite but didn't seem surprised. €5 too!
If you're ever in Naples, this is the holy grail.
I made my way back to my hotel as the rain started to drizzle and the sun set. I was actually glad I made that walk because I saw a part of the city I wouldn't have otherwise seen. The roads were wider, the shops fancier and the buildings more ornate and diverse.
It was time to reflect on an unbelievable day and rest for one more day in Naples.
The following day I went on an organised tour to Pompeii and Vesuvius, both a short drive from Naples. It was wet day and the first hour of my two hour tour around the historic ruins of Pompeii was in the pissing rain.
It was hard to take in the magnitude of what happened in this small town but one of the most interesting facts I learned was the people of Pompeii never actually knew Vesuvius was a volcano. They thought it was a regular mountain and even at the point it erupted and killed thousands of them, the general consensus was that it was God punishing them with fire.
The drive up Mount Vesuvius was very pretty over the port of Naples until it suddenly got very foggy and the visibility was next to zero. The bus dropped us off and we walked about a mile or two to the crater. You'll just have to take my word for it that that's where I was.
Final summary: it's true what they say about Neapolitans. They are another level of Italian. Very passionate, hard working, I don't think I saw many smile, they certainly don't give a fuck where they are walking, driving or who they get in the way of. They love their football team hard and they worship Diego Maradona.
Napoli got the extra points they needed four days later in Udinese, clinched the title and have on their hands two or three of Europe's most sought after players in Oshiman, Kvaratskhelia and Min-Jae Kim. The stadium was magnificent although I think I caught it at a unique moment in time, I think you could go there on another day and it be underwhelming. It was ultimately no Bombonera, that momentary thought was a lapse in judgment but it was an incredible experience and the amount of stuff to see in Naples and the surrounding area makes it a hugely enticing place for football lovers and non football lovers alike.