Naples, peace (almost) made with Maradona on the evening when the taboos fall

Naples, 13 December 2023 - The first mission has been accomplished: il Napoli has qualified for the round of 16 Champions League, the minimum seasonal target set by Aurelio De Laurentiis, one who dreams big in this competition. Not just the ultimate goal: the Azzurri gained the pass for the next phase with a solid performance in both phases against Sporting Braga which seems a good omen for the rest of the season.  

Rain of millions

  Soon the scenario will change again: away with the music and the sequins of the Champions League, those who notoriously often provide further stimulus to the players and space (again) for a championship which, at least as regards the dream linked to a second title, has taken a bad path. In fact, as long as mathematics leaves a window for the Napoli reigning champion it will be good, if not almost a moral obligation, to continue following the events at the top that they currently see Inter e Juventus headed towards a duel to the death. The cold numbers, however, highlight other priorities, which return to wink at what was explicitly asked for in the summer by De Laurentiis: qualification for the next one Champions League, a now natural habitat for the Neapolitan club, whose budgets notoriously feed on the revenues deriving from the most prestigious continental competition. Speaking of the current situation, with the passage to the round of 16 taking place last night at Maradona after the round success on Sporting Braga il Napoli he bagged more 67 million, opened by the now well-known 15,64 million relating to the simple participation that is due to the individual Italian teams. The other source of earnings concerns the historical ranking relating to the last decade of each single formation, with the various contenders sharing a cake for over 600 million overall: the Azzurri should get just over 22 million. We then arrive at the market pool, which offers Italian companies approximately 34 million, to be divided into two parts, with the first (17 million) awarded in proportion to the league placing in the past season, that of the championship triumph of Napoli: the second (others 17 million) is divided based on the number of games each team will play in the next Champions League. In short, based on this last parameter we are obviously still traveling on the tracks of uncertainty and hypotheses: two words that people don't like. De Laurentiis, which meanwhile welcomes the 9,6 million the result of a passage to the round of 16 which must act as a launching pad and not as a final goal.  

Peace (almost) made with Maradona

  Of course, in these cases the reasoning is always the same: praising oneself and receiving praise for the club's healthy finances is admitted and, indeed, even supported, while if the public then tries to stimulate (not to say demand) a more massive use of economic resources in the market then the issue is nipped in the bud in the name of a fan who must think with his heart and not be an 'accountant'. It's a bit like what happens with episodes: brought up by coaches (and not only) when negative, but kept quiet when positive in the name of a sort of 'Calimero syndrome' which, after all, is always convenient. . Talking about the two crosses between Napoli e Sporting Braga, it is inevitable to remember the two own goals that inevitably directed the respective disputes and the entire head-to-head between the two teams: in the first leg he thought about it Sikou Niakate, disqualified on the return leg and replaced in all respects 'worthily' by Serdar Saatci. In short, the so-called positive episode (double between the first and second round) useful for unlocking a match which, at a rough estimate, the Napoli he would still have been able to direct towards friendly tracks. The importance of 2-0 given to the Portuguese thanks also to the goal of Victor Osimhen (who returns to rejoice after a fast of 65 days) goes well beyond the pass achieved for the round of 16, a situation which the Azzurri already had on the eve of a wide range of combinations to advance in Champions League: all in the presence of a team, the Portuguese one, which in fact never appeared capable of truly conquering the Maradona with more than a goal difference. The discussion shifts right to the system Fuorigrotta, which has become a difficult puzzle for the Napoli: against it Sporting Braga the Azzurri dealt the first blow to the internal taboo, which was later debunked 76 days. A huge time window for any team: even more so for the one that holds the reigning championship title. Here, to actually stop the bleeding at Maradona the victory is missing in Serie A, to be looked for perhaps already on Saturday against Cagliari: a match, on paper, definitely within reach and in any case far from those that characterized the long and intense iron cycle that dealt a very heavy blow to the greatest ambitions of the Napoli. Ambitions ruined (for now) also by a poor defensive phase. Also in this sense the evening of Champions Leaguee it soothed the still bleeding wounds, like that of a door that just couldn't remain inviolate: after 38 days the mission was successful with skill, compactness and that pinch of luck (read: positive episodes) that is always needed, like when only the post rejected the volley fired by Ricardo Horta. Now for the Napoli paradoxically the most difficult part will begin: confirming the signs of growth in the face of opponents, always on paper, not irresistible, with the Roma (tied up) to act as an exception. Before that the Azzurri will have to overcome, always at Maradona, the obstacles Cagliari e Frosinone in the areas of championship and respectively Coppa Italia: two crucial moments in the imminent future of the team Walter Mazzarri, that meanwhile he makes public declarations of love to 4-3-3. Who would have ever thought it until recently? Just as, in fact, who could have ever predicted his return to the bench Napoli? From after the Scudetto onwards, in the shadow of Vesuvius, absolutely everything happened.

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