The Champions League draw gifted football fans a fascinating matchup between Napoli and Real Madrid. Following the presentation of his film, “Natale a Londra,” Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke about the challenge Napoli faces in Real Madrid: “It is not as though we have not played important games in the past: I would like to remind you how we last left the Champions League. We did so by facing teams of great prestige and quality. The fact that Napoli has stayed for seven years in Europe demonstrates the importance of our management, team, and city. The only thing we lack is a stadium appropriate for the highest level of football. This does not, however, depend on me, but on the city.”
This is a Napoli side which DeLaurentiis believes could cause trouble for the current Champions: “Napoli has a unique style of play, and Real Madrid could be slightly bothered by this. Sarri’s Napoli does have some similarities with how Barcelona plays in terms of style, and it is maybe for this reason that Real Madrid feared us. They must play Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Napoli. From a psychological perspective this could be tiring for them, and we want it to be this way.”
On the team without Higuain, De Laurentiis stated the following: “It is limiting when a club plays only for one player as opposed to playing as a team: it is rare to see a team win the league only because of a single individual. It is understandable that an important player can influence a team to have them serve his role, but this limits the growth of other players: in the current environment some players have made enormous progress, and this partly why I have high esteem and trust in Sarri.”
On the Africa Cup of Nations which will deprive Napoli of certain players, De Laurentiis concluded the following: “We are covered in that part of the field. We absolutely cannot purchase players to cover for such a small amount of games and who cannot assimilate into the style of play dictated by our coach: for example, Rog only just started playing as it takes two to three months to understand Sarri’s system. Purchasing someone would be counterproductive as it would take away certainty from those who will substitute others. We have an abundance of options at the center back position; we do not need anyone. Why else would we have gotten Maksimovic? We only lack a true center forward, and that is it. Belotti’s clause? I admire Cairo because he learns quickly.”
