About a year ago, the car of Luciano Spalletti, the coach of Napoli, was stolen from the parking lot of the hotel where he lived.
What is surprising about the story is that although Spalletti can afford to get around in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, he drives a Fiat Panda.
The beloved panda was not found, but a few months later the Ultras of Naples hung a sign in the stadium: "Spalletti, we will return the panda to you, just leave Naples. Signed: The Thieves."
Spalletti was unmoved by the threat and replied: "First of all, let's check the condition of the panda after you return it, how many kilometers has it traveled, and if you left the CDs of my favorite singer inside, evacuate Daniela."
End of the saga?
The fans did not return the panda, Spalletti bought a new car, and stayed in Naples.
Not only stayed, but built one of the most exciting teams in Europe.
The coach is a special type, as evidenced by the story of the panda.
He was born in Tuscany and still owns a farm there, where he raises animals.
His favorite is a white duck named "Snow White".
He also has an impressive collection of soccer jerseys.
The 63-year-old coach began his career almost 30 years ago at Empoli.
He made his big breakthrough in 2005 when he led Udinese to the Champions League.
Roma decided to bet on him and the success was impressive: quarter-finals of the Champions League, two wins in the Italian Cup and two consecutive wins in the "Coach of the Season" title.
Spalletti.
A special man on the lines, photo: AP
At the end of 2009, Spalletti moved to coach Zenit St. Petersburg, the biggest and richest team in Russia.
He trained there for 4 and a half years, made a lot of money and also won two championships - the only ones in his career.
After securing the first championship, Spalletti celebrated wildly, including taking off his shirt - in minus 10 degrees.
In January 2016, Spalletti returned to Rome and among the tasks assigned to him: make the fans' idol Francesco Totti retire.
This happened, and also led to the end of the coach's career in the team after a year and a half.
Two mediocre seasons at Inter followed and then, in the summer of 2019, Spalletti left everything and returned to a farm in Tuscany, and to his beloved duck.
For two years, during the corona epidemic that hit Italy hard, Spalletti stayed at home.
He is almost forgotten.
Until Aurelio De Laurentiis, the film producer and president of Naples, decided to call him last summer.
Spalletti had a reasonable season.
Napoli did not manage to compete for the championship against the two Milanese, but finished in third place, 9 points ahead of Juventus, and secured their return to the Champions League after a two-year absence.
Spalletti has created a monster 👺pic.twitter.com/etI2a2iBo2
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) October 14, 2022
Summer is not easy
Then came last summer, when Napoli parted ways with their three biggest stars.
Captain and fan idol Lorenzo Insigne moved to Montreal from the MLS.
The Belgian Dries Martens, the greatest Napoli scorer of all time (148 goals) signed at Galatasaray, and the wonderful Senegalese stopper Kalidou Koulibaly was sold to Chelsea for 40 million euros.
But the clearance sale didn't end there.
Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz was sold to PSG for 25 million euros, Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina left for Saudi Al Nasser, striker Andrea Patanieh moved to Monza and Algerian midfielder Adam Ounas moved to Lille.
Napoli fans were under pressure.
With all these departures it was hard for them to believe that they would have a team that could compete at the top of the league and the Champions League, especially when the draw invited them Liverpool and Ajax at home early.
True, nine new players arrived, but none of them was a big name, someone you could believe would be able to make a difference.
insignia
The idol of the fans has left, photo: USA TODAY Sports
The Georgian diamond
But already in the preparatory games you could feel that something special was happening in Naples.
Spallati managed to build a super-attacking team, which moves the ball no less well than any other team, and which scores goals in bunches.
In the first two league games, Napoli beat Verona 2:5 and Monza 0:4.
Against Verona, five different players scored, but above all of them, the Georgian midfielder Hvicha Kabazdalia stood out.
When Napoli paid 10 million euros to Dinamo Batumi for the player with the tooth-breaking name, many in Italy were convinced it would be a huge drop.
Because since when do they buy Georgian players, and more from Dynamo Batumi?
The truth is that Havicha moved to Batumi in March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Until then he played for the Russian Rubin Kazan.
But that doesn't change the fact that he arrived at Serie A as an almost complete unknown.
Well, today there is no one who does not know him.
After scoring 3 goals in the first two rounds, Kabazdalia won the "Player of the Month" title in Serie A in August.
Napoli fans fell in love and gave him the mandatory nickname "Cabaradonna".
The compliments did not affect the 21-year-old Havicha, who has already scored 7 goals and assisted 8 more in 14 games in all competitions.
After scoring and assisting in the 2:4 home victory over Ajax in the Champions League, the Giorgi continued his amazing ability and assisted Victor Osiman in Sunday's 2:3 victory over Bologna.
Hawiche.
Compared to Maradona, photo: EPA
Osiman, the great Nigerian striker, who recently returned from injury, said at the end: "I'm really happy for Hawiche, he deserves all the compliments he receives. And believe me, you still haven't seen what he's really capable of. The things he does in training, it's amazing."
It was the tenth consecutive win for Napoli, who continue to lead the table in Italy, having scored 25 goals.
Both in the league and in the Champions League it is an experience to watch Napoli.
In the Champions League, Spalletti's team scored 17 goals, more than any other team, and in total this season they already have 42 goals. Only Manchester City (44) and Bayern Munich (43) have scored more than them this season cumulatively, but these are two teams that from the beginning the expectations Of which they were high, in contrast to Naples.
Spalletti is of course happy and after the victory over Bologna he said: "The team is playing great football. I liked seeing the players trying to correct their mistakes. I just enjoy coaching these guys."
Osiman.
Compliments to the Georgian, photo: AP
So it's true that Cabazadalia gets the most plaudits so far, but what a great season Giacomo Raspadori, the 22-year-old striker on loan from Sassuolo, is having.
In the league he has one goal, but in the Champions League he scored 4 goals in 3 games.
Another great signing is the Korean stopper Kim Min-Jay, who was bought from Fenerbahçe for 18 million euros and completely forgot Koulibaly.
In September he won the title of "Player of the Month" in the league.
Andre Frank Zambo Angisa, the 26-year-old Cameroonian midfielder, played in Napoli last season, but on loan.
This summer, Napoli paid Fulham 15 million euros to have him, after he had already become one of the team's key players.
Spalletti loaned Giovanni Simeone Morone, with the clear intention of keeping him in the team, so that he would mature and later become a team player.
Cholo's son is already 27 years old, but it seems that his career is only now starting to rise.
In all the teams he played in (Genoa, Fiorentina, Cagliari, Verona) he started well, scored goals, then faded.
In Naples they hope that the process will be reversed.
"Gio" Simeone scored 17 goals last season in Verona, but Napoli is a different league.
So far he has only started the team once (away against Rangers) and still scored 4 goals in 277 minutes - a wonderful balance of a goal every 69 minutes.
How symbolic that "Gio" is making a soldier in the stadium named after Diego Armando Maradona, the idol of the fans who played for several good years alongside his father Diego in the Argentina national team.
Giovanni Simeone.
Blends in wonderfully, photo: AFP
Napoli is Maradona
And when talking about Napoli, it is impossible not to talk about Maradona.
More than 32 years have passed since Napoli won the Italian championship for the last time.
It happened in the 1989-90 season and the team from southern Italy was then unstoppable, mainly thanks to Diego.
In the last three decades, Napoli fans have seen their team go through tremendous upheavals.
Both bankruptcy and relegation to the third division, as well as three cup wins and four runner-ups.
They saw everything - except the championship.
There were a few seasons when it seemed like here it was happening.
The "Partenopei" started the 2017-18 season with 8 consecutive victories and a crazy goal difference, 5:26.
But Maurizio Sarri's team finished third.
Napoli started last season with 10 wins and a draw, and again only finished third.
The old fans, those who saw Maradona in action and celebrated when the team was crowned twice, in 1987 and 1990, were already sure that without Diego it is impossible to win the championship.
Maradona.
This year it can happen, photo: action images
Well, this season it is possible, for several reasons.
First of all because Maradona is at every home game.
But mainly because Spalletti built a great team, hungry and connected, that plays the most beautiful football in Italy and maybe in Europe.
And the truth?
It would be an injustice if she doesn't win the Scudetto.
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