Naples: Max Allegri Starts with a Loss to Arezzo; Matteo Politano Has a Clear Vision

Massimiliano Allegri’s Napoli began their campaign with a result that both the team and the coach would certainly have preferred to avoid: a 3-1 loss to Serie B opponent Arezzo. Moreover, the Azzurri’s only goal came from a penalty kick converted by Matteo Politano. And it was Politano himself who spoke candidly about his initial impressions following the team’s first match under the new head coach.

The field spoke volumes, revealing a Napoli side that was decidedly sluggish despite the presence of Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Anguissa, Hojlund, and Alisson Santos in the starting lineup. However, it was Cerri who broke the deadlock with a header that caught Meret off guard. In the second half, Spinazzola, Lobotka, Politano, Vergara, and Lucca gradually entered the game, after Milinkovic-Savic had already come on in goal for Napoli in the 30th minute of the first half. It was Milinkovic-Savic, however, who in the 56th minute parried a shot that Gilli converted to double Arezzo’s lead. In the 60th minute, Politano’s penalty kick briefly gave Allegri hope of at least avoiding defeat, but that hope was dashed in the 89th minute by Mavulli’s final goal. This time, the response came immediately from Contini.

“We knew we weren’t in top form yet; we’ve only been working together for a few days. So losing is to be expected, even though we’re disappointed because we really wanted to get off to a good start. But it’s okay—we still have many days of training camp ahead of us, and we need to work hard,” Politano told ‘Sky Sport’ while commenting on Napoli’s recent loss. “The team is strong and united; we’ve already shown our qualities. I’m extremely optimistic.”

It’s also inevitable to reflect on the differences between the Napoli of Conte’s era and the team that’s now taking shape under Max Allegri. “Our starting point for this year will be the 4-3-3; after that, it’ll depend on the coach. He’ll decide the formation, and we’ll follow his instructions. Over the years, we’ve already shown that we can play with different tactical setups. We’re still working on off-the-ball movement, perhaps over shorter distances than in previous years, but everyone structures their preseason in their own way. We’ll see how it goes in a month,” Politano concluded.

After all, the Napoli that Allegri inherited from Antonio Conte is a team coming off two highly successful years: last May, the Neapolitans finished the league in second place with 76 points, bidding farewell to the Salento-born coach—architect of a Scudetto and an Italian Super Cup in two years—with a standing ovation at the Maradona Stadium on the final matchday against Udinese. A solid foundation on which the new coach is called upon to build, with the Champions League on the horizon as further motivation for the entire squad.

On the transfer front, meanwhile, Allegri has to deal with a few too many headaches. The Livorno-born coach had identified Mario Gila as a top defensive priority, but the Spaniard chose Milan, signing a five-year contract, leaving De Laurentiis’s club to fall back on other options. The Plan B identified by sporting director Giovanni Manna points to Federico Gatti: the Juventus defender, who has slipped down Spalletti’s pecking order behind Bremer, Kalulu, and Kelly, is valued by the Bianconeri at around 25 million euros. That figure could, however, drop if Napoli decides to include Stanislav Lobotka in the deal—a player Juventus has long had its sights set on and who is particularly favored by Spalletti himself.

This is far from a simple negotiation, therefore, for Allegri, who—ever since his arrival at Napoli—made official in late June following the mutual termination of his contract with Milan—has been working closely with Manna and De Laurentiis to shape the roster in his own image. Among the players the Livorno-born coach considers untouchable are Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, McTominay, Buongiorno, Politano, Hojlund, and Alisson Santos, with the Danish player’s permanent transfer from Manchester United having already been finalized in recent weeks. In short, today’s loss to Arezzo is just a minor setback in a rebuilding process that is still far from complete.