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Rafael Benitez claims that he predicted that Napoli would win the Serie A title.
Rafael Benitez has revealed that he was one of the early believers in Napoli, claiming he told Napoli's manager Luciano Spaletti that his team would win the Scudetto.
The Spanish manager previously held Spaletti's role at Napoli for two seasons (2013/14 and 2014/15) before he left the role for Real Madrid, the club where his journey as a manager began.
Benitez on the Scudetto
In a conversation with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 62-year-old revealed he told his colleague, Spaletti, that Napoli would clinch the Serie A title.
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Although Benitez's prediction was not borne out of clairvoyance but rather the progress Napoli had already shown as they were unbeaten and already five points clear at the top of the table at the time, his speculations were not welcomed by Napoli's boss, who he says did not want to talk about it for superstitious reasons.
“We met here, in this same hotel in Liverpool," Napoli said in the interview, per Football Italia.
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"Napoli were coming from a very long positive run, they were unbeaten between Italy and the Champions League, but they were only five points ahead of Atalanta and six ahead of Milan.
“I told Luciano that he would bring the Scudetto back to Napoli. He didn’t want to hear it, also for a matter of superstition, but I felt even then that it would be the right year.”
Napoli runaway leaders
Since Benitez made his prediction, Napoli have taken the five-point lead and multiplied it by three. They currently lead their closest rival, Inter, by 15 points.
Napoli are also the most dominant team in the European top five leagues, as they are the only team to have crossed the 60-point mark.
Spaletti might not have wanted to entertain the conversation of his team being champions when Benitez suggested it while his team were only five points ahead, but with his team being the first in Seria A history since a win counted as three points to establish a 15-point lead, it would take an unprecedented turn of events for Napoli to fail to win the league.
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