Napoli

Buoyant Napoli face ultimate test in title push that dare not speak its name | Jonathan Liew

11-Feb-2022 19:00:34 | The Guardian

Perennial runners-up face leaders Inter on Saturday as quest to win Serie A for the first time without Maradona gathers pace

Last Sunday, amid jubilant scenes at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, Napoli scored a 100th-minute goal to seal a 2-0 win over Venezia, cutting Internazionale’s lead in Serie A to a single point. The following morning, tickets for their next game – a potential title showdown at home to Inter – went on general sale.

Almost immediately, Napoli’s ticket website began to gasp under the sheer volume of traffic. Disgruntled fans complained to the club after spending hours refreshing and rebooting the page, sitting in virtual queues of about 15,000. The stadium box office was a similar story, as restive queues stretched out of the club shop – although, this being Naples, the word “queue” demands a certain imaginative latitude on the reader’s part – and on to the street. The head of Napoli’s official ticket platform fiercely rejected suggestions of a technical problem, instead blaming fans for attempting to purchase tickets despite not possessing the required documentation.