Serie A, Lazio, Sarri returns to Naples, but Sarrismo has been canceled. Spalletti convinces more

Beyond the whistles – which are safe tomorrow at the Maradona, like the starting time at 8.45 pm – what remains of Sarri and Sarrismo in Naples? The campaign of ’15 -’18 (of 2000, the Great War has nothing to do with it) of Maurizio in blue will not have brought trophies, but has left a fine palate for the Neapolitan fans. And something more. That’s why beyond the reaction that from love leads to hatred, it is necessary to analyze what the man born in Bagnoli meant for Neapolitan football. Those were the years in which there was a very popular page on Facebook called “Sarrism, joy and revolution”, fueled by the same statements of the “Commander Maurizio” who inflamed the fans with his assault speeches on the Palace of power, represented by Juve. Where he then ended up in 2019-20 (“shit season” for Agnelli) to win a championship not even celebrated by the bianconeri. That rude Naples has never forgiven him, but over time things have to be reviewed in a different perspective.

Legacy for Spalletti

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Today the experience of those three years is seen with greater detachment and not only out of spite for the Juventus choice. There are those who distinguish the man and the technician. The choices of the former have never convinced. The coach likes to remember a beautiful period in which people used to go to the stadium to have fun in Naples. Here Sarri had the great merit in those years of creating a great feeling between team, coach and city. Which then got lost. And now Spalletti is recovering it in an intelligent way, focusing on the good game, but at the same time on the relationship with the people. It did not go unnoticed in the eyes of the fans that Spalletti had the phrase “I’ll be with you … and you must not give up” printed on the training “fratini”: one of the leitmotifs in the curve of the Sarri years. Important symbols to bring back that feeling with people. On this and more, the choices of the new technician are convincing. There are also those who are more severe in their judgment and have no nostalgia for the game shown by Sarri. That Napoli played good football, “but he was a bit autistic. Unable to find a different key in the interpretation of the match, in the changes”. We do not remember a race in which Sarri surprised for a choice capable of changing the course of things. His fundamentalism didn’t pay off, while people today claim to have much more fun with Spalletti and his versatility. “He plays good football, but he also changes several game systems and men in the same game. There is no reason to have regrets for this.” Whether it is true love with Luciano, or just a way to make the ex envy, we will find out only by living.

Opponent

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But how does the Commander live these eve hours? Even if on his first return from ex he was booed and even if tomorrow the scenario will be similar, Sarri keeps intact his love for Naples. “Training there was a unique experience,” he said recently and his eyes were sparkling. An adventure that could have started again. “There was a contact in January with De Laurentiis – the coach revealed last summer -, the president asked me if I was available to take the team in the running, I told him no, as I would have said no to any other club because I had decided to start training again in the summer “. Sarri will thus return as an opponent again in an evening that promises to be highly emotional for him. “For me it will not be a normal match,” he admitted Thursday after the match against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Europa League. But adding immediately after: “Now the only thing that matters is that my players recover their energy as soon as possible”. Yes, because even if Naples has remained in his heart, Sarri does not want it to end tomorrow as when he returned with Juve and lost 2-1.