Napoli, Conte needs a signal from De Laurentiis. With Roma there will be 45 thousand, but many will be virtual

NAPLES – Less than a year has passed and Napoli’s Scudetto has already become a film, but a science fiction one, without the sequel that could have been expected after the total domination of last season. The Azzurri have in fact managed to squander in the depressing vortex of the last twelve months a priceless treasure of technical values, passion, credibility and self-esteem, on which the club and team could and should have lived off of for quite some time. To consolidate the advantage over the rivals, little was needed: keeping your feet on the ground, not doing too much damage and focusing wisely on continuity. Aurelio De Laurentiis, on the other hand, took the opposite path – as a modern Icarus – and his original sin of omnipotence scarred a masterpiece, creating the bitter conditions for the sudden transition from glory to current mediocrity: eighth place in the rankings. Team in – late – punitive withdrawal and fans at the seaside, with many season ticket holders who have long been in the habit of deserting Maradona anyway, regretting having invested in the Italian champions last summer. The 45 thousand paying people that the cashier will count on Sunday afternoon (6 pm) for Roma’s arrival in Fuorigrotta will consequently be only a virtual number and the economic damage for the moment is for the sponsors, who are grasping at straws to have the even a modicum of visibility.

The rich Champions League vanished, with Roma for the honor

De Laurentiis, on the other hand, had already collected the dividends of the scudetto in advance. But he too will pay a heavy price next season, for his Napoli’s failure to qualify for the new and very rich Champions League. In fact, there are no more margins to attempt a comeback and what is at stake in the 90 minutes against Roma is only the honor of the players: or rather, the little that still remains. For this reason, sending Di Lorenzo and his teammates into a punitive retreat now, with the ranking now definitively compromised, was a move with no practical meaning and was dictated rather by the desire to accommodate the discontent of the environment. The club’s strategy has always been the same in this infamous season, a lot of smoke and little fire: three coaches burned and the president who tore his clothes in public, when to really take action he would have just needed to buy a good defender , at least in the January transfer window.

Conte, now we need a signal from De Laurentiis

The damage has now been done and Maradona’s announced protest will only serve Napoli to continue to hurt themselves, given that a team that has raised the white flag for some time will be on the field with Roma: hiding behind the avalanche of alibis received from the club. The maximum objective has become with the scudetto on the chest a miserable place in the Europa League (or much more probably in the Conference) and the punitive withdrawal imposed by De Laurentiis will certainly not increase the motivations of players with suitcases like Osimhen and Zielinski or projected towards the Europeans like Di Lorenzo, Kvaratskhelia and Lobotka. De Laurentiis himself is already working on the future and it will soon be clear whether he has really learned from his mistakes. The new sporting director will be the promising – but still young – Giovanni Manna, arriving from Juventus. The decisive choice, however, will be that of the new coach and the president is risking letting Antonio Conte get out of hand. Relations between the two are in fact excellent and the former national team coach would be happy to return to the Serie A spotlight on the bench overlooking the Gulf, convinced as he is that he would not find only rubble upon his arrival. He likes the group and the Apulian coach is certain that he would be able to bring it back to very high levels, filling the leadership void caused by Spalletti’s departure. Time passes, however, and no concrete signal from ADL, with the new season now upon us. The future remains uncertain and even Conte’s arrival at Napoli – without a quick turnaround – threatens to become another science fiction film.