Napoli ends decades-long wait for trophy
Source: Agencies |
May 22, 2012, Tuesday
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NAPOLI won its first major title since the Diego Maradona era, denied Serie A champion Juventus the double and handed its captain Alessandro Del Piero an unhappy end to 19 seasons at the club by beating the Turin side 2-0 in the Italian Cup final on Sunday.
Edinson Cavani broke the deadlock with a penalty just after the hour and Marek Hamsik finished off a counter-attack as Napoli claimed its first trophy since the Maradona-inspired team won Serie A in 1989/90.
Juventus had substitute Fabio Quagliarella sent off in the 89th minute for a full-blooded elbow in the face of Salvatore Aronica after only 17 minutes on the pitch.
"This was a club that didn't exist," said Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, a film-maker who bought the club after it was declared bankrupt in 2004 and led it from Serie C back to the top flight.
"In a few years we've brought something home, above all the knowledge that Napoli exists, lives and can be the world champion of the sport."
Elsewhere, Montpellier won the French league title for the first time after beating Auxerre 2-1 away in a chaotic match which saw the players twice leave the field after crowd disturbances.
John Utaka scored in each half as Montpellier finished three points ahead of rival Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG piled on the pressure by winning 2-1 at Lorient with the game at relegated Auxerre lagging behind after the match had been interrupted for the first time, just two minutes into the second half.
Montpellier fans were then left with an agonizing wait with the score at 1-1 as referee Said Ennjimi took the players off for a second time when Auxerre fans threw flares onto the field.
Edinson Cavani broke the deadlock with a penalty just after the hour and Marek Hamsik finished off a counter-attack as Napoli claimed its first trophy since the Maradona-inspired team won Serie A in 1989/90.
Juventus had substitute Fabio Quagliarella sent off in the 89th minute for a full-blooded elbow in the face of Salvatore Aronica after only 17 minutes on the pitch.
"This was a club that didn't exist," said Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, a film-maker who bought the club after it was declared bankrupt in 2004 and led it from Serie C back to the top flight.
"In a few years we've brought something home, above all the knowledge that Napoli exists, lives and can be the world champion of the sport."
Elsewhere, Montpellier won the French league title for the first time after beating Auxerre 2-1 away in a chaotic match which saw the players twice leave the field after crowd disturbances.
John Utaka scored in each half as Montpellier finished three points ahead of rival Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG piled on the pressure by winning 2-1 at Lorient with the game at relegated Auxerre lagging behind after the match had been interrupted for the first time, just two minutes into the second half.
Montpellier fans were then left with an agonizing wait with the score at 1-1 as referee Said Ennjimi took the players off for a second time when Auxerre fans threw flares onto the field.
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