Frosinone key as Roma, Napoli eye second
>> ROME: It is a picturesque town 100 km south of Rome and notorious for high levels of pollution, but little Frosinone play the Serie A kingmakers today when Roma battle Napoli for runners-up spot and a sure Champions League place.
Despite Juventus securing a recordequalling fifth successive crown last month, there is still plenty at stake in Italy’s top flight with Champions League and Europa League places up for grabs on the final weekend of action.
Frosinone have already been relegated along with Verona to Serie B, and for the sceptics there is arguably one more reason to believe they won’t rise to the occasion at Napoli’s San Paolo stadium today.
Frosinone coach Roberto Stellone once played for Napoli and on Thursday admitted: “I will always support Napoli. What an atmosphere at the San Paolo!”
Yet Napoli, sitting second with a two-point lead on Roma in third, are already firmly in the driving seat and heading towards an estimated €30m jackpot generated by qualifying directly to the competition’s group stages.
If Maurizio Sarri’s men needed extra motivation ahead of an expected sell-out at the imposing San Paolo, they need look no further than Gonzalo Higuain.
The Argentine striker is only two goals short of equalling AC Milan and Sweden striker Gunnar Nordahl’s 1950 record of 35 goals in a 20-team, three-points-for-awin season.
A hat-trick would see Higuain make history, and help soothe the pain of coming so close to a first scudetto since the heyday of Diego Maradona in 1990.