Naples, Di Lorenzo's crisis and Spalletti's post: the nightmare evening of the Italian Cup

Naples, 20 December 2023 - From the happy island of a club that for years struggled to enter the very top of the championship table to a real curse: la Coppa Italia it is confirmed as indigestible for the Napoli, who for the third consecutive time greets immediately, in the round of 16 and always in the presence of less equipped teams on paper.  

Spalletti's yellow (black).

  To open this trio, in 2021-2022 season, had been there Fiorentina di Vincenzo Italiano, perhaps the greatest object of desire Aurelio De Laurentiis for his creation's bench, which is in worrying conditions now that another seasonal goal has slipped away. Or rather: in the summer none of the big names in the league say they are aiming decisively at Coppa Italia, only to then re-evaluate it, also thanks to a very friendly format, when with the arrival of winter the situation in the championship and perhaps in Champions League it's not rosy. Returning to the ominous overview, in 2022-2023 it was one who executed the Azzurri in the round of 16 Cremonese then destined to be relegated to Serie B but which before doing so would have also eliminated the Roma for a comparison that, curiously, will occur again in a few weeks. The crash of a year ago, however, was cushioned by the great parachute called the championship, where curiously today the plate is crying a lot: to the team Luciano Spalletti, fast-tracked towards a triumph expected for over three decades, everything could and should have been forgiven. Precisely the great (and regretted former) as well as current coach of the team National, after last night's defeat against Frosinone, the last of the cursed trio in Coppa Italia, regained the limelight with a post on his page Instagram difficult to interpret: a totally black screen, then promptly removed but not in time to stop the speculation that had meanwhile started in the Campania capital (and beyond). According to the most popular thesis, the chromatic choice of a man who is notoriously very attentive to communication is not accidental and pertains to the black, very black tunnel entered by Napoli after his departure, perhaps one of the few moves that can currently be blamed on De Laurentiis. For the rest, the owner has kept the framework of the shield almost intact: in that 'almost', however, it is hidden (not even much) the chasm left in defense by Kim Min Jae more from a leadership and personality point of view than from a technical one. The speech is not new and, after all, the sensational poker reported by the Frosinone, who thus takes great revenge right in front of De Laurentiis and his unhappy phrases from the past, it only brought him back to the surface. However, if the veterans are also involved in betraying the Napoli, then the black tunnel to which he was probably referring Spalletti, if possible, takes on even darker hues.

Di Lorenzo's crisis

  Curiously, for once when the much maligned thing is involved Coppa Italia it's impossible to blame the turnover. Indeed: the Naples 2.0 initially deployed by Walter Mazzarri his was doing it, not with great profit but still with a generosity that during the evening would then be lost when on the lawn of the Maradona the big names have appeared. Among them stands out, for once in a negative way, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, perhaps experiencing the worst evening since he wore the blue shirt. The captain notes Mario Rui, someone used in the Campania capital to often act as a lightning rod, receiving even excessive and undeserved criticism and combining many, becoming the symbol of the defeat, first literally sending the ball on target Joseph Case, who doesn't have to be prayed for and then committing the naive foul up Francesco Gelli which would have favored the penalty then converted by walid cheddira. In short, for one evening many seemed to see that again By Lorenzo of the times of Empoli which, from a defensive point of view, was not very convincing. Of course, a bad day happens to everyone: even the best. The impression, however, is that the Italian captain has been on a downward trajectory for some time which, not surprisingly, in the summer had led the top brass of the Neapolitan club to think about a restyling of the lower right lane. At the time everything revolved around Alexander Zanoli, the eternally young (but not much more) promise to decide whether to continue to grow on loan around theItaly or whether to hold back to the Napoli: Rudi Garcia, the one to whom today someone will be making amends, opted for the second choice. In reality, the school fullback Carpi the field would have seen little of him anyway, even with the same one Garcia still on the bench. And the other even bigger problem concerns the crisis of By Lorenzo which could lead to some decisions for January. Making a comeback is the profile of Marco Davide Faraoni, followed already in the summer exactly as Pasquale Mazzocchi, in deep rupture with the Salernitana but already in the sights of Fiorentina. Regardless of the names, what is now almost certain is that the right lane will be touched, with the same Zanoli that claims space, thus leaving a space free: in all probability it will be the one destined to be occupied by a profile that will not cast a shadow on By Lorenzo but that should provide a Mazzarri a valid alternative to resorting to a turnover that is evidently saving for all parties involved. For the Napoli, who in doing so will be able to count on two good level players, thus avoiding imbalances and deficiencies in areas of the pitch where turnover proves impossible or almost impossible to apply. And also for the Italian captain himself, who would thus have the opportunity to catch his breath and recharge his energies, both mental and physical. Then at the end of the season the parties will probably meet to talk about a future which will never, as in this case, go beyond a very solid contractual situation (30 June 2028): the important thing will be to prevent one of the most positive partnerships in the history of the Neapolitan club from turning into something negative. Exactly like the bad evening of Coppa Italia.

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