NAPLES, Apr 15 (SW) - Just two years after falling from grace under a heap of financial misfortunes, former Italian champions Napoli were promoted to Serie B after a 2-0 victory over Perugia on Saturday in front of a Serie C record crowd of over 51,000 Napoletani supporters.

Emanuele Calaio opened the scoring for Napoli after just 17 minutes and Marco Capparella's goal in the 67th minute ensured that Napoli would claim the Serie C1 Group B crown with three matches to spare. Nearest competitors Frosninone are 12 points back after losing to Chieti.

Napoli went bankrupt in the summer of 2004 and were denied the opportunity to play in Serie B. However, they were given the opportunity to play in Serie C1 rather than C2 and nearly won promotion last season, falling in a playoff to Avellino.

The club, whose San Paolo stadium was at its best in the late 1980's and early 1990's when Diego Maradona dazzled the crowds, won the Italian championship in 1987 and 1990.

When SSC Napoli was dissolved in 2004, Italian film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis invested in a new club, Napoli Soccer, to keep the devoted Naples fans in the game of football. Those investments appear to be more than worth it, and now a once-proud club is one level away from its glory days again.