33 years after Maradona, who is just as worshiped in Naples as San Gennaro, the Azzurri gave their second Scudetto (they had already won another league title in 1987 and the UEFA Cup in 1989), the city again exploded with joy.
Napoli, under Italian coach Luciano Spalletti, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen, won Serie A with overwhelming authority in the 2022/2023 season. However, the disappointing campaign that followed, in which the team finished 10th, was a bitter pill for Fuorigrotta.
The rebuild came with Antonio Conte on the couch and an unexpected player on the field: Scott McTominay. The Scotsman (although born in Lancaster, England) left Manchester United last summer, a club where he had been from the age of five to the age of 28.
Napoli paid 30.5 million euros (£ 25.6 million) for the services of the midfielder. The payment was made on the same day that another Scottish player in South -Italy arrived to strengthen midfield: Billy Gilmour, from Brighton.
However, his signing almost did not happen, because Napoli almost signed Marco Brescianini for their midfield. But the then Frosinon player ended up in an unexpected turn of events in Atalanta on loan with an option to buy.
Serie A April player of the month
McFratm, which can be translated into the Napolitan dialect as McBro or McBother, is his favorite nickname. He is also known as a Mcterminator, MacGyver or Apriibottiglie (bottle opener), because he is usually responsible for scoring the first goal of the Azzurri.
His popularity has grown with every competition and he was recently mentioned in April Serie A player of the month. Napoli won three games at the time and one signed and McTominay scored five goals in those four games.
His arrival in Naples was a real revolution. On the day of his presentation, after obtaining the medical tests, he explicitly asked to be brought to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
McTominay was very happy to be able to get on the same pitch as the greatest player of all time and to play in a stadium that bears his name. While he was staring at admiration at the statue of the “10” in the stadium corridors, he set himself the challenge of being part of the history of the club.
11 goals and four assists
Napoli has an extraordinary season and with two games to go, they lead the table with 78 points, one more than Inter Milan, who are in second place. Napoli has a trip to Parma and another to Cagliari, while the Nerazzurri stands opposite Lazio in the San Siro and visits Como.
The most important architect of Napoli's fight for their fourth Scudetto is Scott McTominay. The SCOT has 11 goals and four assists in the Serie A (plus a goal in the Italian cup), making it the top score of the competition.
With these figures, MCFRATM is the first midfielder in the Aurelio de Laurentiis era that surpasses 10 goals in one season since Marek Hamsik. The Slovak scored 12 goals in 2009-2010 and 11 in 2012-2013, figures that the Scot can surpass in the two remaining games. It can be three if Inter and Napoli are the same on points, because they have to play a Serrengio (a one -off match to decide the title), probably at the Giuseppe Meazza.
On the last day of competition, which ended on a bittersweet note for Napoli after Genoa had drawn the game (2-2) and the team of Conte lost two important points in the title race, Mctominay was again in the spotlight. He played an active role in both goals and assisted Lukaku for the 1-0 and Raspadori for the 2-1.
“McTominayMania”
In addition to his versions on the field, Mctominay has become a real idol in Naples. In the church of San Nicola Al Nilo, located in Spaccanapoli, in the historic center of the city, there is a chapel with his image.
In the Secondigliano district there has long been a hamburger restaurant called McFratm. However, since the club's arrival at the club, the establishment has become viral.
Moreover, there are birthday cakes with his image on it and his memes with his face circulating around the city, such as the new pope.
As if that wasn't enough to win the hearts of Napolitans, a statement he made to athletics about tomatoes from Campania throughout the city.
“Oh my god, the tomatoes. I never eaten them when I lived in the UK, they were red water. Here the tomatoes really taste like tomatoes. Now I eat them like a snack. I eat all the fruit and vegetables. Everything is so fresh, it's fantastic,” he said.
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