Naples can't contain itself as it anticipates glorious victory

Title fever reached frenzied proportions in Naples on Sunday, just ahead of the match that could bring Napoli the coveted Serie A championship for the third time in its history.

As second-place Lazio lost to Inter Milan in the day's early kick-off, Napoli fans went wild, setting off a fresh wave of enthusiastic cheering, blaring horns and cries of joy as the city's blue-tinged Scudetto delirium reached new heights.

"It's the first time in history but today we rooted for Inter! Now we're going to win and we'll make some noise!" shouted 14-year-old Napoli fan Sofia Sperduto following the Inter-Lazio match, her hair dyed in the team's blue.

The Scudetto could go back to Naples for the first time in 33 years later Sunday if Napoli beat Salernitana in a match due to begin at 1300 GMT at the Stadio Maradona, named after the city's idol Diego Maradona who brought the club glory and its two previous championships in 1987 and 1990.

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Football

Napoli fans have been obsessed for months by the real possibility of wresting the Scudetto from the hands of the big clubs in Italy's rich north and bringing it back to their unruly Southern city -- battered and beset with problems but passionately devoted to its team.

On Sunday, after all the nerve-racking waiting, and with Inter Milan's 3-1 win over Lazio, it was finally -- finally! -- within reach.

"It's ours! Now let's show the world who Napoli is," enthused Francesco Corriero, 17, a blue N painted on his face.

Naples' streets were filled with blue-clad fans -- some with blue hair, blue crowns or Maradona wigs -- singing, chanting and parading with flags, blue flares and toy horns, as incessant honking from mopeds and cars added to the joyful tumult.

Shopkeeper Carla Campanile, 43, who wore a white and blue striped joker's hat with bells, said that Napoli had "already won".

"It is a very strong emotion, also because it comes shortly after Maradona's death," Campanile said. "He's our god, he protects us, and it's thanks to him that we win."

Hours ahead of the game, thousands of stadium-bound fans queued to board the packed metros, while at Naples' central train station, a line went out the door at the club's official boutique as fans waited to buy T-shirts and other gear.

Near the stadium, a huge banner proclaiming "Champions of Italy" hung from an apartment building while fans were already chanting that they were number one.

The city centre was closed to traffic, and more than 5,000 police officers had been deployed to maintain security, according to local newspaper Il Mattino.

Meanwhile, national park authorities at Mount Vesuvius, which looms over Naples, said on Friday they were taking security precautions after being warned celebrating fans were planning to set off tri-colour flares in the volcano's crater.