17 March 2023 , 12:14
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Jamie Carragher has urged Napoli to win the Champions League after a remarkable quarter-final draw unfolded on Friday.
Napoli will face Italian rivals AC Milan after reaching the last eight of the competition for the first time in their history. If victorious, Luciano Spalletti's side - who sit 18 points clear at the top of Serie A - will face one of Inter Milan and Benfica in the semi-finals.
Due to their dominant position in Serie A, Napoli must now be considered as the favourites to reach the final from that side of the draw. Carragher believes the underdogs are good enough to go all the way to the showpiece event and complete a fairy-tale story.
"I'd love Napoli to win the Champions League," tweeted Carragher after Friday's draw. Remarkably, Napoli have managed to avoid Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in their side of the draw. Chelsea will face the defending champions, while City must overcome Bundesliga holders Bayern to keep their hopes alive.
Napoli are enjoying a dream campaign under Spalletti. They finished top of their Champions League group - above Liverpool - to set up a last-16 clash against Eintracht Frankfurt. They comfortably dispatched the Germans 5-0 on aggregate.
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It is fair to say Napoli are not one of Europe's glamour teams. They have won just nine major honours during their history - with their last Serie A title coming 33 years ago. Although their trophy cabinet is relatively bare, Napoli possess a unique romanticism.
Napoli are enjoying a dream campaign (Getty Images)Who do you think will win the Champions League? Let us know in the comments below!
The late, great Diego Maradona spent seven years at the club to inspire them to their only two Serie A titles to date. He also helped them win the UEFA Cup in 1989, which was a huge achievement at the time due to the difficulty of qualifying for the European Cup.
The Champions League - known as the European Cup until 1992 - was once a tournament for league champions and European Cup holders only. As such, European heavyweights would regularly compete in the UEFA Cup and the now-defunct Cup Winners Cup.
Maradona left Napoli in 1992 and the Italian club have waited many years to return to the top of European football. Carragher hopes Napoli can complete a remarkable comeback by winning this season's Champions League.
"Yeah I think Napoli right now are the form team," Carragher told CBS Sports ahead of Friday's draw. "I would love to see them win it, an outsider behind the big teams you expect to win it. But I think this could be the season of Manchester City."
Carragher's CBS Sports colleague Micah Richards has backed Napoli to go all the way - even before the draw. He added, "I think Napoli. Napoli with their form have been brilliant. In terms of stand-out favourites, it’s difficult. You just think at the end of the season, teams are going to get better but on form I think Napoli.
"They really stand-out to me. If I was a betting man and I was putting money on right now in terms of form, I would pick Napoli because when I watch them, they’re dynamic, they defend well, they attack well. But over the course of the season, teams are going to be in form, they might lose a bit of form but right now I’d say Napoli."