ROME (AP) -Udinese and Napoli are making a run to become the first outsider to win the Serie A title in 17 years, with the two clubs tied with Inter Milan at the top of the table after eight rounds.
Since Sampdoria won in 1990-91 with Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini leading the way, no team outside Milan, Turin or Rome has taken the scudetto.
"It would be a great sign if an outsider could win the title. The differences between clubs in terms of TV rights are enormous," Udinese coach Pasquale Marino said.
Udinese beat struggling AS Roma 3-1 last weekend and visits Marino's former club Catania on Wednesday.
Napoli has beaten Juventus and Lazio in its last two outings and hosts Reggina in the midweek round.
The curves where Napoli's hard-core "ultra" fans sit will be reopened for the Reggina game for the first time since being closed following a riot by fans before the season-opener in Rome.
Despite the occasionally violent minority, Napoli's fans play an important role for the team. While other Italian clubs struggle to get fans in the stands, 40,000 fans showed up in Napoli for a midsummer Intertoto game.
The 60,000-seat San Paolo stadium will likely be full for the Reggina match.
"I don't understand why people marvel at Napoli being atop the standings. Why should it only be Inter, Milan and Juve. We're the fourth team in Italy in terms of number of fans," said Napoli president and film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis.
"From nothing, we've built something big in just four years, starting with a piece of paper."
After Diego Maradona led Napoli to Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 the club slipped into financial disarray and was relegated to the third division in 2004, before De Laurentiis bought the team and guided it back to Serie A.
Udinese has been challenging Italy's elite clubs for more than a decade, finishing third in 1998 under Alberto Zaccheroni and fourth in 2005 under current Roma coach Luciano Spalletti.
Hiring one attacking coach after another, the squad from the northeastern Friuli region has relied on astute market moves under the ownership of the Pozzo family.
