In his 19 years at the helm of Naples many joys and few pains.
The third scudetto in the history of the Company, founded in 1926, is by Aurelio De Laurentiis (on the occasion of winning the first two, Corrado Ferlaino was at the top), a president who always gets talked about for the good things he manages to to materialize and for his critical spirit, on more than one occasion resulting in heated controversies even with those who govern football in Italy and in Europe.
But the fact that matters is another.
Since it took over Calcio Napoli from bankruptcy - the signature with the bankruptcy trustee dates back to 6 September 2004 with an amount disbursed by the film producer of 32 million euros - the Company has never shown economic-financial problems, it has always remained within the limits imposed by UEFA's fair play and also achieved great satisfaction, with the conquest of two Italian Cups and a Super Cup and with participation in a semi-final of the Europa League and a quarter-final of the Champions League.
In these 19 years they have worn the blue shirt of champions for whom militancy in Naples has served as a springboard towards an even brighter and very well-paid career.
Many have remained in the hearts of the fans, others have gone away in a more stormy way (Higuain above all) despite having contributed to making the team great and launching it towards important goals.
The end of Maradona's career marks a negative turning point in the club's history, after the triumphs in the league (scudettos won in 1987 and 1990) and in the UEFA Cup (in 1989).
The repercussion of the farewell of the Pibe del Oro is dramatic.
Corrado Ferlaino is no longer able to support the economic weight of the club and the excellent transfers begin, the squad undergoes a strong downsizing, the team is relegated to Serie B in 1998, returns to Serie A in 2000 and after a year sinks back into the second division.
In the meantime, Ferlaino has given way to Giorgio Corbelli and Salvatore Naldi.
At the end of the 2004 championship, with the team stagnating in mid-table in Serie B, the financial situation was increasingly compromised and bankruptcy arrived in the summer.
In September, with the team entered in the C1 series championship, Aurelio De Laurentiis enters the scene.
In 19 years, the president has hired a total of nine coaches (Ventura, Reja, Donadoni, Mazzarri, Benitez, Sarri, Ancelotti, Gattuso and Spalletti), made major transfer market shots (Hamsik, Lavezzi, Quagliarella, Cavani, Inler, Callejon, Insigne, Mertens , Allan, Higuain, Koulibaly, Milik, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia) and obtains the systematic presence of his team in Europe for 13 consecutive years, with seven participations in the Champions League and six in the Europa League.
What Naples lacked in the De Laurentiis era was only the Scudetto, the most coveted trophy by fans who have been unable to celebrate winning the tricolor for 33 years.
Last summer De Laurentiis, who the
the previous year he entrusted himself to Luciano Spalletti, decides for a revolution that is accompanied by a substantial cut in wage bills.
Insigne, Mertens, Koulibaly, Ospina and Ruiz leave.
Osimhen, who is already in the team, is joined by the promising young Kvaraskhelia who in a few weeks becomes one of the most interesting prospects in world football.
Those who thought of a technical downsizing of the squad must soon change their mind.
The new Napoli, assembled to perfection by Spalletti, is a perfect machine, he presses on the accelerator and in a few weeks he creates a vacuum behind him, imposing sensational gaps on his opponents.
Even in the Champions League, the Azzurri put on a show, putting down prestigious opponents such as Liverpool and Ajax and only losing to Milan in the quarter-finals, which they reached for the first time in the club's history.
But what matters now is only the conquest of the Scudetto: everything is ready for the big party.