The southern Italian city of Naples exploded into what was shaping up to be a long night of celebrations on Thursday as local team Napoli secured their first Serie A soccer title in more than three decades, sweeping away years of disappointment. The late Maradona is also still revered, celebrated on fans' t-shirts, banners or tattoos, and on a giant mural in Naples' Miracles Square that has become a major attraction in the countdown to the Scudetto.
But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
'I think that the only thing that we lacked was to convert the chances. We were good in the high press. After going behind, we generated 20 chances and six or seven were very clear.'
It was a remarkable achievement for 42-year-old Gattuso, who took over Napoli in December with the team in disarray after the players had rebelled against a week-long training camp imposed on them by De Laurentiis.
Three own goals were scored as Napoli's spectacularly inconsistent season continued with a 4-2 defeat at Empoli on Thursday.
Napoli will not allow questions about coach Rafael Benitez's future at a news conference on Thursday amid widespread expectations the Spaniard is poised to replace the sacked Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
Hundreds of blue and white Napoli scarves were tied to railings outside the stadium, and flowers, childrens' pictures, church candles and even a bottle of wine were laid out along the pavement in a rapidly expanding, makeshift shrine.
According to a report in as.com, speaking at a Madrid fans' meeting on Saturday, De Bla said: "Carlo Ancelotti is a phenomenon. We're eternally grateful to him. For me, up to three days ago he was the best coach in the world, as was Jose Mourinho a couple of years ago and as of next week it will be Rafa Bentez."
Gonzalo Higuain burst into life by scoring a hat-trick in the final half hour, his first league goals of the season, to help Rafael Benitez's erratic Napoli thrash Verona 6-2 in Serie A on Sunday.
Senad Lulic scored a late goal to give Lazio a 1-0 win at Napoli which sent them into the Coppa Italia final and added to Rafael Benitez's problems on Wednesday.
Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain scored early with an acrobatic volley, his fifth goal in three league games, to set them on the way to a convincing 2-0 win over sluggish AS Roma in Serie A on Saturday.
Mesut Ozil guided Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Napoli while a late Cesc Fabregas header gave Barcelona a laboured 1-0 win at 10-man Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Indian-origin British filmmaker Asif Kapadia says he lived with the idea of making a documentary on Diego Maradona for 25 years, since the 1990s when he was a film student and read a book on the legendary footballer.
Under-fire Rafa Benitez said Real Madrid needed to be more consistent and also accused his players of easing off in games ahead of Sunday's La Liga clash with his former club Valencia. The Spaniard is the most successful coach in Valencia's history. He led them to La Liga titles in 2002 and 2004, when he also won the UEFA Cup, and is sure of a warm welcome when he walks out at the Mestalla.
Napoli's Manolo Gabbiadini netted a precious second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 away draw at Lazio in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Napoli went down 3-1 at home to RB Leipzig, Arsenal and AC Milan enjoyed comfortable away wins, and Borussia Dortmund's Michy Batshuayi scored twice to secure a 3-2 victory in Europa League last 32, first leg action
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane warned that it was still all to play for in their Champions League last-16 clash against Napoli after the holders strolled to a 3-1 win in the first leg on Wednesday.
Juventus raced into a 2-0 halftime lead after Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was sent off in the 25th minute. The visitors then had Pjanic dismissed and Napoli's Jose Callejon pulled one back before Insigne let the Turin side off the hook.
Napoli maintained their two-point advantage at the top of Series with a 2-0 victory at Lazio on Wednesday in a game suspended due to racist chanting as Juventus beat Genoa 1-0 to break a club record for consecutive league wins in a single season.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Two goals from in-form Gervinho, including the winner two minutes from time, gave AS Roma a thrilling 3-2 victory in their Italian Cup semi-final first leg against Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Juventus reached the halfway point of the Serie A season with a commanding five-point lead over Roma after thrashing Verona for the second time in four days on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Defender Miguel Britos was sent off for head-butting an opponent as Napoli lost 3-1 at champions Juventus on Saturday, all but ending their hopes of Champions League football next season.
Lazio survived a storming Napoli fight back, including a missed penalty, as they won 4-2 on Sunday to finish third in Serie A and qualify for the Champions League playoff round after both teams finished with 10 men.
'I understood that if I dedicated myself solely to coaching, I could get much better at it'
Napoli rediscovered their scoring touch as they brushed aside Inter Milan 3-0 on Friday, sending their opponents' new coach Stefano Pioli back to the drawing-board.
Gonzalo Higuain netted twice, the first a superb individual effort, to give Napoli a 4-2 win at Lazio while Fiorentina beat Hellas Verona 4-3 in a Serie A scoring spree on Monday.
Napoli put a foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a perfectly crafted 4-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday as Marek Hamsik scored twice in an Italian masterclass to bring cheer to beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez.
Ten-man Premier League leaders Leicester City lost at title-chasing Arsenal, while La Liga pacesetters Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo and Juventus took over from Napoli at the top of Serie A by edging their rivals.
Following this stunning turn-around of fortunes for Barcelona, here is a flashback of some of the best come-from-behind wins recorded in Europe's premier club competition.
The victory saw the unfashionable Madrid club tighten their grip on the coveted fourth spot in the table by moving on to 58 points after 36 games, three points clear of nearest challengers Sevilla, who lost to Leganes on Friday.
Following Bayern Munich's brilliant 7-4 (on aggregate) win over FC Porto in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, here's a look at a few memorable come-from-behind victories in Europe's premier football competition.
Merseyside Police is reportedly investigating racist abuse received by Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli on Twitter after he tweeted 'Man Utd...LOL' after the crushing 5-3 defeat met by Manchester United at the hands of Leicester on Sunday.
When Italy's cash-strapped soccer clubs meet on Monday to prepare for a new deal on broadcast rights, their deliberations will be coloured by the unhappy knowledge that Italian football is in a dismal state and viewers are switching off.
Andy Murray clinched the Vienna Open title on Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory over David Ferrer, one of the Briton's main rivals in the battle to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.
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