33 years after Maradona, who is as revered in Naples as San Gennaro, gave the Azzurri their second Scudetto (they had already won another league title in 1987 and the UEFA Cup in 1989), the city was once again exploding 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 bench and an unexpected player on the pitch: 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 until the age of 28.
Napoli paid 30.5 million euros (£25.6m) for the midfielder's services. The payment was made on the same day that another Scottish player arrived in southern Italy to reinforce the midfield: Billy Gilmour, from Brighton.
However, his signing almost didn't happen, as Napoli were close to signing Marco Brescianini for their midfield. But the then Frosinone player, in an unexpected turn of events, ended up at Atalanta on loan with an option to buy.
Serie A April Player of the Month
McFratm, which in the Neapolitan dialect could be translated as McBro or McBrother, is his favourite nickname. He's also known as McTerminator, MacGyver or Apribottiglie (Bottle Opener), as he's usually responsible for scoring the Azzurri's first goal.
His popularity has grown with every game and he was recently named Serie A Player of the Month in April. Napoli have won three games and drawn one in that time, and McTominay has scored five goals in those four games.
His arrival in Naples was a real revolution. On the day of his presentation, after passing the medical tests, he expressly asked to be taken to the Diego Armando Maradona stadium.
McTominay was thrilled to be able to step on the same pitch as the greatest player of all time and to play in a stadium that bears his name. As he gazed in admiration at the statue of the "10" in the stadium corridors, he set himself the challenge of becoming part of the club's history.
11 goals and four assists
Napoli are having 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 have a trip to Parma and another to Cagliari, while the Nerazzurri face Lazio at the San Siro and visit Como.
The main architect of Napoli's fight for their fourth Scudetto is Scott McTominay. The Scot has 11 goals and four assists in Serie A (plus a goal in the Italian Cup), making him the league's top scoring midfielder.
With these figures, McFratm is the first midfielder in the Aurelio De Laurentiis era to surpass 10 goals in a single 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 could be three if Inter and Napoli are level on points, as they will have to play a spareggio (a one-off match to decide the title), probably at the Giuseppe Meazza.
On the last matchday, which ended on a bittersweet note for Napoli after Genoa drew the game (2-2) and Conte's team lost two important points in the title race, McTominay was once again in the spotlight. He played an active role in both goals, assisting Lukaku for the 1-0 and Raspadori for the 2-1.
"McTominaymania"
In addition to his performances on the pitch, McTominay has become a real idol in Naples. In the church of San Nicola al Nilo, located in Spaccanapoli, in the historic centre of the city, there is a chapel with his effigy.
In the Secondigliano neighbourhood, there has long been a burger restaurant called McFratm. However, since McTominay's arrival at the club, the establishment has gone viral.
In addition, there are birthday cakes with his image on them and memes have been circulating around the city with his face, like the new pope.
As if that wasn't enough to win the hearts of Neapolitans, a statement he made to The Athletic about tomatoes from Campania won over the whole city.
"Oh my God, the tomatoes. I'd never eaten them when I lived in the UK, they were red water. Here the tomatoes really taste like tomatoes. Now I eat them as a snack. I eat all the vegetables and fruit. Everything is so fresh, it's fantastic," he said.