Naples: Massimiliano Allegri’s Future in Jeopardy—A Rival Makes a Move

Napoli’s struggles at the start of this season are plain for all to see: Devin De Bruyne and his teammates have earned 14 points in the first 10 league matches—half as many as Gennaro Gattuso’s Lazio. Napoli sits eighth in the standings, tied on points with Bologna and just one point ahead of Torino, Genoa, and Cagliari.

Things aren’t going any better in the Champions League: Massimiliano Allegri’s team lost their opener against Arsenal, then fell to Villarreal, and last matchday won 4-3 against Bodo/Glimt. Aurelio De Laurentiis is far from satisfied, and Allegri’s position is on shaky ground.

Tomorrow, Napoli will face Francesco Farioli’s Porto. The young coach is highly regarded by De Laurentiis and is among the candidates to take over the Azzurri bench should Allegri fail to deliver in the upcoming matches. During the press conference, Farioli responded as follows regarding the possibility of him coaching in Campania: “It’s clear that someday… who knows. We’ll see.”

The message is clear: should the opportunity to coach Napoli arise, Farioli would seriously consider it. His name has also recently been linked to the Juventus head coaching position, but after the victory against Napoli, Luciano Spalletti has calmed the waters.