TITLE: Blue Smoke

Soccer and History.

There is almost nothing in this story except what happened in a part of Naples, the Spanish Quarters, in the few minutes before and after the city's soccer team drew their away game with Udinese and mathematically won the Italian Serie A championship.

Almost nothing. Because in the human volcanic explosion that shook the close-knit hive of climbing alleys that make up the Spanish Quarters it felt there was much more.

A unique city, with its history of misery and slendour. A special people, so loved and so hated. A unique city, where they fought rubbish wars for years and that Goethe is thought to have said that after seeing it one can as well die. Sacred and violent, noble and miserable. No other city evokes so powerfully the word: life.

There was a game, soccer, that I think - in our society - is giving ''asylum'' - with lights and shadows - to the most visceral and incorrect, the most emotive and controversial ... but all still very human ... feelings, problematic in our society.

And there was a little lesson on victory and defeat.

AUTHOR: Antonio Denti (Italy)

Antonio Denti is an award-winning news cameraman, in love with still photography.

Born in Catania (Sicily) in 1972, he graduated as a social anthropologist at the University of London ( Goldsmiths' College and SOAS - School of Oriental and African Studies - ) but became a cameraman.

He has been working for Reuters since 1998.

He covered conflict and change in Kosovo (1999, 2001, 2008), Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Israel (2005 - 2006), Gaza (2005), Lebanon (2006), Tunisia (2011), the death of Pope John Paul II, the election of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignations and the election of Pope Francis, the Tsunami of 2004 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, eruptions of mount Etna, earthquakes in central and northern Italy, the migrant crises in the Mediterranean (2006, 2011, 2015-2019) and in the Balkans (2015), the crisis around Catalonia's bid for independence (2017), the Covid-19 pandemics (2020), Pope Francis' pilgrimage to Iraq (2021).

In 2018, he won the RTS (Royal Television Society) Journalism Award for Camera Operator of the Year.

In 2019, he won the ''Maria Grazia Cutuli'' international journalism award (national section).