Naples woke up with a hangover, but few will regret their sore heads. The Scudetto celebrations went on until night became morning, and the festivities will continue all the way through to Monday’s open-top bus parade and beyond. This triumph will be savoured.
The scale of the achievement is still sinking in for many. For all the tricolour banners and Scudetto shields bearing the number four that were strung up around town well before Scott McTominay’s bicycle kick helped sink Cagliari, this title was never a given.
Long before he scored a goal that will be written into Neapolitan folklore, though, McTominay had been seen as Napoli’s key figure, their ‘Scudetto Man’.
From the moment he set foot on Campanian ground last summer, the Scotland midfielder grabbed this team by the horns and steered them towards this unlikely triumph.
McTominay’s impact was universally recognised and lauded in the newspapers scattered across coffee-stained bars on Saturday morning after he scooped the Serie A player of the season award in his debut campaign.
The Italian media was unanimous in its judgement when it came to seasonal player ratings that McTominay was the star man.
Scott McTominay’s bicycle kick set Napoli on their way to the Serie A title
McTominay proudly shows off the Scudetto trophy on Friday night
Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, the two biggest sports papers in the country, gave the Scot a 10/10 score. He was the only one to achieve perfection.
The latter described him as the ‘Prime Minister of Naples’ and the ‘secret of their success.’
‘He is one man, but he seems like two,’ they wrote. ‘McT is the Scudetto Man, the best…he is destined to become the icon of this triumph.’
Gazzetta celebrated the 28-year-old as ‘charismatic, physically devastating and tactically crucial’ in their review.
‘His shirts are sold out and there is a horde of nicknames: McDomini, McTotally, McFratm. Now for the first time in his career, finally and deservedly, he is McChampion,’ they wrote.
One report predicted a surge of newborn Neapolitans being named Scott in hospitals across Campania. That is not beyond the realms of possibility in a city besotted with its football club and where its heroes are treated with unique levels of adulation.
‘It’s no coincidence that it was his goal that sealed the Scudetto in the final game,’ Sky wrote. ‘He is second only to Lukaku for goals, but three of his 14 were penalties.’ The round-up was signed off with a single word: ‘Braveheart.’
McTominay also caught the attention of calcio royalty, with Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta among the pundits to highlight his contribution — while revealing that he keeps an eye on Scotland matches.
‘He was crucial,’ Costacurta said. ‘He didn’t play this role at United, although he does with Scotland, where he is freer to get forward. He was chosen because here it isn’t as physical as in England and Conte’s gamble paid off, as they almost always do.’
For all the praise being showered on his compatriot, Billy Gilmour’s contribution was appreciated too.
The former Brighton man made his 13th start of the season in the crucial final win over Cagliari, and his influence has grown as the year has gone on.
Initially thought of as a deputy to playmaker Stanislav Lobotka, Gilmour proved he had more strings to his bow when an injury crisis compelled Conte to play him to the right of the Slovakian in a three-man midfield for a 1-1 draw with Inter in March.
Before then, Gilmour had played 20 minutes of Serie A football in three months. But from that point onward, he featured in every match and started regularly as Conte began to appreciate his value and versatility.
Billy Gilmour played a key role as Napoli secured the win that claimed the title
Napoli players celebrate after their 2-0 win over Cagliari at the Maradona Stadium
Gilmour received 7.5/10 ratings from Gazzetta and Corriere dello Sport, the former describing him as a player who ‘dances on his toes, eats up kilometres and makes complicated situations look simple’ and the latter complimenting him for ‘wearing his 23 years like a veteran.’
It may have been an understated debut season for Gilmour compared to his compatriot, but it has by no means been a disappointing one.
For both, the influence of Conte has been crucial. The former Chelsea and Tottenham manager was the architect of Napoli’s success as he claimed his fifth Scudetto as a coach and became the first manager to win it with three different clubs following his successes with Inter and Juventus.
He was raised onto the shoulders of the players when he came onto the pitch after the game, a beaming grin on the face of a man who has seen it all before but lives for these moments.
‘This was the most unexpected and difficult Scudetto, the most stimulating challenge after a 10th place finish and redoing everything,’ Conte said.
Conte is a winner. He was appointed in the wake of Napoli’s disastrous title defence last year, not to carefully rebuild piece by piece, but to immediately make this team competitive again.
Few expected that would mean an immediate Scudetto, especially amid competition from an Inter side that has reached another Champions League final, and the effort of guiding a stretched and tiring squad over the finish line took its toll.
Conte said ahead of the final day that he had ‘gone beyond my limits’ this season and rumours about a summer departure after just one season have been persistent.
Goalscorers Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay embrace at full-time
Antonio Conte celebrates with the Scudetto after Napoli’s win over Cagliari
Underneath the cacophony of roars tumbling from the Stadio Maradona stands on Friday, that low drone of uncertainty remained.
‘Now we will enjoy it all,’ Conte responded when asked about his future.
‘I have a great relationship with the president (Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis). We’ve had the chance to get to know each other. Now we will celebrate together. We are both winners, in different ways, but that is what we are.’
The players are devoted to Conte, too. A group of them, including a newly blue-haired Gilmour, even raided the press conference room as the manager faced the media, soaking the coach before getting him to dance. De Laurentiis is doing what he can to convince Conte to stay but has not given any guarantees.
‘Never say never,’ he said. ‘I would like to see him at work in the Champions League too.’
For McTominay, Gilmour and the rest, that is the next big challenge. Whether they will be able to count on the guidance of the man who made this dream come true, however, remains a mystery.
