Thanks to Inter’s sudden decline, Napoli are back in the driver’s seat for the Scudetto, and their victory would break a few Serie A records, both team-wise and concerning Antonio Conte. They have a three-point lead with four matches to go. They’ll face only relegation strugglers next: Lecce, Genoa, Parma, and Cagliari.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport relays, it’d be the first time that a club that finished 10th takes home the title the following year in the current format. It had happened when the Italian championship had 18 sides, as Milan did it in 1999.
If Conte led Napoli to glory, he’d be the first coach to lift the Scudetto with three different teams. He had managed with Juventus and Inter. It’d be his fifth on the bench and would become the third-winningest gaffer all-time behind Giovanni Trapattoni (seven) and Massimiliano Allegri (six), tied with Fabio Capello, who had two stripped due to Calciopoli, and Marcello Lippi.
The boss is eyeing his 10th personal Scudetto since he has won 5 as a player. It’d mean that he has succeeded once every 3 seasons, given his nearly 30-year career on the pitch and in the dugout combined.
The Partenopei have had some brilliant seasons in their recent history, but they have never collected so many points in 34 matches. Moreover, after some turbulence, there’s a lot more confidence that the manager will stay.
It’s not done yet because they haven’t been spotless against the minnows, but they are peaking at the right time, unlike Inter. It’d be one for the ages and further add to the coach’s already impressive lore.
