Wednesday at 21:00: Watch Barcelona-Napoli on TV 2 Play.
Nine months ago, Napoli was on its head.
The big club had won the scudetto, the league championship in Italian football, for the first time in 33 years.
Then something happened. TV 2’s football expert Simen Stamsø-Møller points to three factors in particular:
The successful coach Luciano Spalletti disappeared.
The powerful centre-back Kim Min-jae was sold to Bayern Munich without being replaced.
Cristiano Giuntoli, who proved to be a very good sporting director, left for Juventus.
In Naples, the tone is completely different now.
The team is struggling mightily and is in the middle of the table, 27 points behind league leader Inter. Two coaches have already been fired, and it is the double match against Barcelona in the Champions League that can save the scraps of the season.
Club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis gets a fair share of the blame for the chaos.
– He has lost important figures and is left on bare ground. He kicks coaches over a low shoe and has no idea what is best for the club as it looks now, believes Stamsø-Møller, who describes De Laurentiis in three words:
– A crazy man!
– But what we can’t blame him for is that Napoli have been involved in the fight. He has succeeded in making them great again, emphasizes Stamsø-Møller.
The 74-year-old, who set up as a film producer, bought Napoli in 2004.
OUTSTANDING: Aurelio De Laurentiis is not afraid to say exactly what he thinks. Photo: Antonio Balasco / IPA Sport / NTB
Then the old giant broke and played in Serie C, the third level in Italy. Three years later, Napoli were back in the top tier.
Since then, they have more or less fought in the upper echelon every season, with a club owner who is neither silent nor afraid to air his thoughts on what is wrong in football.
A few seasons ago, it was the Frosinone mini-putt that was allowed to escape. The Napoli owner believed that they received too large a share of the television money.
If it were up to him, such teams would have been fined.
– The problem is that small teams have the same rights as the big ones. Why should Frosinone have a season in Serie A, get a piece of the pagnotta and then relegate back to the third division? If they are not competitive, if they finish last, they should pay a fine. They should not be given money to fail, De Laurentiis has previously said New York Times.
FILM LEGEND: Aurelio De Laurentiis has produced more than 400 films. Photo: Marco Provvisionato / ipa-agency / NTB
Then there is the question of whether the film producer also gets too involved in what happens on the field.
Set out of the TV pictures
After successful coach Spalletti disappeared, Rudi Garcia took over.
The Frenchman came from Saudi Arabian football and was only allowed to lead the team in 16 games.
The series match against Empoli was the last.
– I sat and watched the match. It was a rather boring 12.30 game, and at half-time Napoli are behind. I think they must be able to fix this. Then I see the tunnel pictures out of the dressing room, and there comes De Laurentiis.
– I think “oh shit, it’s not good”. He will stay very far away from that dressing room, says Stamsø-Møller.
He didn’t.
Later, De Laurentiis told his version of what happened off-screen.
– Why did I send him away? Because in the last match, the one against Empoli, I pointed out to him that in my opinion he made a mistake, and he replied “let me do it”. If someone answers you like that, you either tell them to go to hell right away or to shut up.
– During the break I went down to the dressing room and said to him: “What the hell are you doing? Do you really want to be sent away?”. And in the end, that’s exactly what happened. As soon as the match was over, I told him to go to hell, he is quoted as saying by Tuttomercatoweb.
MARSHORDRE: Rudi Garcia was told to take his hat and leave after the match against Empoli. Photo: Antonio Balasco / IPA Sport / NTB
Walter Mazzarri received the same message, but probably in a different wording.
But the 62-year-old, who took over from Rudi Garcia, did not survive long either. Mazzarri was only allowed to lead the team in 17 games.
– Mazzarri is a friend of the De Laurentiis family and a Napoli friend. “It’s always painful to fire a friend,” De Laurentiis said, according to the report The Athletic.
This week it became clear that Francesco Calzona, who is also national team manager for Slovakia, will lead the team through the season.
THE SUCCESSOR: Walter Mazzari took over from Rudi Garcia, but had to leave just before the Champions League matches against Barcelona. Photo: Alessandro Garofalo / LaPresse / NTB
– Self-willed
Stamsø-Møller’s clear conviction is that De Laurentiis should stay away from the dressing room.
– He seems to be OK in business, but I have little faith in him when it comes to football decisions, says Stamsø-Møller, and explains why he gives him the “crazy man” stamp:
– Because of the way he is, and also his method at times. He is very opinionated and wants to have it his way. That way is not always the best. He is a fairy tale of a figure, but I think that even though he helped give Napoli the scudetto last year, I understand that many people think that you could do a better job than De Laurentiis in terms of understanding football a little better and investing in the right position at the right time.
– He had a very good team going, and has several times had good editions of Napoli which have disappeared very quickly. He has not been able to build on good teams. And that history is repeating itself now, where a lot has gone wrong in a short time.