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We are going to do everything possible so that the scudetto returns to Naples”. Aurelio DeLaurentiis He pronounced these words at the beginning of the last transfer market, and the truth is that almost nobody decided to take his promise seriously. Deep down, it was understandable. The club had just experienced another disappointment and troubled months were ahead, with the obligation to cut expenses and an inevitable fear of weakening. Just in these days, however, one of the best Napoli of all time was beginning to be born. But it’s time to take a step back.
De Laurentiis, a very famous businessman in the world of cinema with his ‘FilmAuro’, took over the reins of the club in 2004, when the old institution had gone bankrupt. He chose by his side Pier Paolo Marino, an experienced manager who had already worked at Napoli during the legendary Maradonian era. He lived for the first time the hell of Serie C for two seasons (with the provisional name of ‘Napoli Soccer’) before rising and serving in the most absurd Serie B of all time. The Azzurri shared the second category of Calcio with Juventus, but achieved promotion together with the Bianconeri and Genoa in an agonizing last day against the rossoblú, avoiding the playoff.
In 2007 they finally returned to Serie A and promised that they would never fight for salvation again. Have fulfilled: currently, They are the only Calcio club that has chained 13 consecutive campaigns qualifying for European competitions. Lavezzi and Hamsik were the first heroes of a team that began to collect talent and, Already with Cavani, they played for the first time in the modern Champions League, eliminating Manchester City in the group stage and falling in the round of 16 after extra time against Chelsea, the future champion.
In the same year, 2012, the southerners celebrated with Mazzarri their first post-Maradonian title, the Italian Cup won against Juventus that reached the final undefeated in all competitions. Later, in 2013, Rafa Benítez arrived and completed the internationalization process of the entity. With Spanish, a block was created that made history in the following courses: Pepe Reina, Albiol, Callejón, Ghoulam, Higuaín, Insigne, Mertens…
The former Liverpool player lifted two titles, another Italian Cup and a Super Cup, and then went to Madrid, leaving his place to Maurizio Sarri. With the, the Neapolitans smelled the scudetto again for the first time since 1990. The former Empoli player built a team that played by heart, knew how to overcome the sale of Higuaín to Juventus (after the Argentine scored 36 goals, a historical record for Serie A) and managed to add 91 points in the 17/18 season . Not even that was enough to break the hegemony of the Vecchia Signora.
The story of ‘beauty’ and football between Sarri and Napoli ended without titles and turned into total heartbreak when, a year after leaving for Chelsea, the coach decided to accept Juve’s offer. While, De Laurentiis had staged another surprise of his, convincing Carlo Ancelotti.
The current Real Madrid coach seemed perfect to take the missing step and succeed again, but something did not work. After a first season ended (again) as runners-up in Italy, the second began with a huge crisis of results and culminated in the famous riot against the concentration that occurred in November 2019. The squad clashed with the board: that episode marked a before and after (it is still kicking at the judicial level) and was a clear sign of the emotional exhaustion of the group.
De Laurentiis, weeks later, decided to fire Carletto, who went to Everton, and called one of his soccer sons, Gennaro Gattuso. With Ringhio on the bench, the Azzurri won their sixth Italian Cup, beating Juve in the 2020 final, but then experienced another trauma. On the last day of the 20/21 academic year, it was enough for them to beat a Verona at home that was not at stake to qualify for the Champions League, also leaving out Cristiano’s bianconeri. The Azzurri did not go beyond 1-1 and handed over the pass to their historic rival. It was a drama.
Thus we come to the present. De Laurentiis and sports director Cristiano Giuntoli (in office since 2015) chose Luciano Spalletti in 2021, and the former Inter and Roma player couldn’t start better. Napoli started the year with 10 wins and a draw in 11 games and the city once again dreamed of the long-awaited third scudetto. The illusion was broken again in April, when the partenopei added just one point against Fiorentina, Roma and Empoli and finally let Milan escape.
Spalletti reconquered the Champions League after two years of waiting, but the frustration made many forget his great work and there were even banners calling for his dismissal. The market raised doubts. Napoli is self-financing with the sale of players and television rights, and De Laurentiis, to continue boasting its perfect balance (without even one euro of financial debt) needed to cut above all his salary cap.
Then, five columns left: captain Lorenzo Insigne, the top scorer in the club’s history Dries Mertens and goalkeeper David Ospina as free agents. Koulibaly, meanwhile, ended up at Chelsea in exchange for around 40 million euros and Fabián went to PSG for 25 ‘kilos’. The group, without them, had weakened and Spalletti made it clear more than once before the press. However, with the work of Giuntoli and his scouts Maurizio Micheli and Leonardo Mantovani, it was possible to remain competitive, ending the active market and saving almost 40 million euros in salaries.
The new star is clearly Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Giuntoli had been following him for years and acknowledged that signing him for just 10 million (which Dinamo Batumi and Rubin Kazan shared) was only possible because of the war in Ukraine. The Georgian scored eight goals and 10 assists in his first 17 games (for Olocip, he is the second best player in Serie A behind Nicoló Barella), but his devastating impact was not the only one, because Spalletti has been able to give prominence to everyone. Gio Simeone, for example, has barely played 385 minutes, but it was enough for him to score six goalsfour of which in the Champions League (his great dream finally fulfilled) and one, against Milan, which is being decisive in the fight for the scudetto.
olocip.
El Cholito arrived on loan with a purchase option of around 15 million, while Giacomo Raspadori (22 years old) cost almost 40 to convince Sassuolo. The talent of the Nazionale is not a starter either, but he has already shown, with five goals and two assists, that he has a great future. Kim is another jewel in the crown. It came with the enormous weight of replacing Koulibaly and its value is already double the 20 million it has cost. He has conquered the Neapolitans with his physical strength, his tactical attention and his character. In the last game against Udinese, he made a couple of mistakes and a few minutes after the final whistle he had already apologized to his teammates and the fans on social networks.
Mathias Olivera (15 million variables included) is gradually taking center stage from an untouchable like Mario Rui, Ostigard (5 million) has given his contribution in defense due to the loss of Rrahmani and Ndombelé, on loan from Tottenham, is once again showing the talent that he had been hiding for too long. When the team works this well, everyone performs. Especially the ones that were already there.
After a summer in search of a substitute (Kepa and Keylor were really close), Meret is finally having confidence and continuity. Di Lorenzothe new captain, has confirmed himself as the best right-back in Italy and in midfield Lobotka’s performance (whom Cassano even compared to Xavi and Iniesta), Anguissa and Zielinski is being impressive. On the right wing, Lozano and Politano alternate perfectly, who have different characteristics (the Mexican seeks speed on the wing, the Italian plays more inside the field) but identical numbers: four goals and three assists each. On the other side, obviously, Kvara is untouchable, but Elmas has shown that if the Georgian wants to rest, there is no problem. The Macedonian replaced him against Atalanta and Empoli and was decisive with two goals and an assist.
The destiny of the Naples in this course, anyway, will depend on what happens with Victor Osimhen. In the last two seasons, some unfortunate injuries (in the shoulder, in the face…) took away his continuity, but in this one he has been unstoppable. The Nigerian has scored 10 goals (nine in Serie A, of which he is a capocannoniere) and, since he arrived under Vesuvius, he has scored one every 138 minutes (38 in 76 appearances).
Giuntoli chose him and De Laurentiis invested almost 50 million for him (and he did it in 2020, despite the total uncertainty due to the covid) making him the most expensive signing in the club’s history. Last summer he asked for more than 100 who he asked for their services and the reason was already clear. His physical strength, his speed, his constant movement in search of space and the rival in both phases unsettles any defense. Limiting him is very difficult.
Spalletti is building a masterpiece and has the opportunity to silence who defines him as a magnificent loser. They reproach him for not having won the scudetto, but the truth is that he never trained a clear favorite to win it. His teams always stood out for their good play (Totti, with him, won his Golden Boot in 2007) and for meeting the objectives. His only league titles were achieved in Russia, guiding Zenit in a championship that, like this season, is experiencing a long winter break. The data gives hope to the tifosi of Naples, who feel the best again.
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Numbers say everything. Napoli have just experienced the best league start in their history: 13 wins and two draws in 15 games, with 37 goals for and 12 against… Not to mention what happened in the Champions League, where they won their group with five wins and one loss, 20 goals scored and six conceded. The wins against Liverpool and Ajax are already legend.
Napoli went to the break with eight points ahead of Milan and has a squad to go far in the European Cup, where they never went beyond the round of 16 (and Eintracht, in this sense, is a great opportunity). During the break, the team will focus almost entirely on Turkey, since there are only five World Cup players (Kim, Olivera, Anguissa, Zielinski and Lozano). There will be a way to prepare well for the decisive phase of the season.
De Laurentiis has a peculiar character and has never connected with the entirety of the fans, but his results are indisputable, as their ability to look to the future. He was one of the first, more than a decade ago, to attack UEFA asking for a new Super League or to talk about a virtual stadium. One of his last bets was to independently produce his own shirts, renouncing a classic technical sponsor (Armani’s EA7 only deals with design). In this way, in the past course he was able to present up to 13 elastics and in this one he already has six.
As of 2018, the Azzurri chief executive also owns the Bari, whose president is his son Luigi. With the biancorossi he started in Serie D, in May of this year he reached Serie B and is already in the fight for the promotion zone. The FIGC rules force you to choose between one club and another if they are members of the same category and, from 2028, also if they are in different professional categories.
“I have rejected almost 1,000 million euros: let me have fun”, De Laurentiis said to whom he was questioning about the future of Napoli. He wants the Neapolitans to stop living in memories and fulfill his promise, becoming the first Partenopean president capable of winning a scudetto without Maradona. Now he has everything so that “the dream in the heart” that they sing in Curva B becomes a reality. More than ever.