CASTEL DI SANGRO Te la do io…l’Europa! Aurelio De Laurentiis is calling for it loudly, now it’s up to Allegri to respond. Today, during the training camp in Castel di Sangro, comes the first taste of international football against Osasuna, the first real step in this scorching summer, even in the mountains. No matter, because there is work to be done. And facing the Spaniards is no joke: three friendlies so far this summer, and three wins. And not just any friendlies. Osasuna has beaten Racing Club, then dispatched Ipswich and Norwich, getting a taste of English football. It will be an important test for both the man and the team, who are expected to have a big season, especially in the Champions League.
Which Europe?
But for Max, returning to the Champions League is no small thing either. He’s been absent from Europe’s elite since the 2022-23 season, played with Juventus. And it didn’t go well: elimination in the group stage, the first (and only) of his career. The ‘relegation’ to the Europa League was actually a stroke of luck: a perfect run to the semifinals, eliminated by the eventual winners (Sevilla, what else?). Most importantly, it will be Allegri’s first encounter with the new Champions League format, a tournament that last year brought Napoli to its knees under Antonio Conte. Everyone, of course, remembers those lost finals when it comes to the man from Livorno on the bench. Two years apart, always with Juventus, with Spain always in his destiny.
Napoli, morning training in Castel di Sangro: discomfort in McTominay’s left foot
Two finals lost to Barcelona and Real Madrid, perhaps the toughest opponents in that period. Two finals that leave a bitter taste: because Allegri has always won a lot, but in Europe so far he has struggled at least as much as Napoli, excluding those two seasons. With Milan, he was eliminated in the Round of 16 in three out of four seasons, reaching the Quarterfinals only in 2011-12. With Juventus, he stopped at the Quarters twice (2018 and 2019), and at the Round of 16 in two other seasons (2016 and 2022). Because, as everyone knows, the Champions League is as beautiful as it is difficult. And the strength of the teams coached is only one of many factors.
Luck, for example, plays a key role and hasn’t always been on the side of the Livorno coach, who in the last season couldn’t play in Europe with his Milan. He returns after a few years, entering through the main door and with a double objective: to improve his record outside the national borders and, above all, to improve it at Napoli, a club still smarting after last year. The elimination in the mega group stage was a very tough pill to swallow, and the main goal—especially in the year of Napoli’s centenary—is to represent the Neapolitan brand as best as possible. Better than last year, at least: that bitter elimination came after a difficult period, individual mistakes, and above all, many absences. A team unable to find continuity, especially between Copenhagen and Chelsea. All mistakes to learn from this time, always starting from the third pot in the next draw.
Here they are again
Osasuna, then. No certainties because the Spaniards have changed face (and system) in every match so far and because this Napoli has not yet blossomed. Max tested them again yesterday afternoon on the field, starting from the setups seen in Dimaro: but today, that’s already a different football. Gutierrez’s absence leaves room for Spinazzola on the left: ‘The Champions League is another stage with teams much stronger economically and in terms of players, it’s a lottery,’ he explained yesterday to Sky. ‘The centenary year brings more responsibilities. Allegri is just as I remembered: he jokes with everyone, but in that hour and a half on the pitch he really makes us work hard.’
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Certainly not on the pitch will be Kevin De Bruyne: but from today he is available to Allegri (as is Ngonge, who arrived at the camp yesterday). With Kevin in the camp, perhaps for the first time we’ll see Max’s real idea for Napoli, though on the other hand, the physical condition will certainly not be at its best. There’s work to be done on everything: on-pitch chemistry, goal-scoring drive, building up fitness. Everyone will get playing time, of course, but Europe is not a walk in the park, not even in friendlies. To avoid lapses like those against Brest and Casertana a year ago. Summer doesn’t tell the whole story, but it tells a lot. It will also say a lot to Allegri, who is called to answer immediately on the pitch.
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