«Everything has already been decided, I won’t change my mind»- Corriere.it

NAPLES
It’s raining non-stop, but that’s okay, because at the end of this colossal called Naples, when the credits roll, your eyes turn red and it’s not all the fault of the smoke bombs. Spalletti’s team also beat Inter, the only team they lacked grace this season and they did so in the final with an imaginative goal from their symbol man, captain Di Lorenzo: a shot from within the cross left, which would not be his strong foot, then a run to the bench to hug and kiss his coach, as if it were a goodbye.

Which indeed it is. And Spalletti confirms it with a clear mind (while for the ds Giuntoli at Juve there is a slowdown), in the belly of the stadium: «Possibility to wear boots later? The issue is defined by now, you don’t change your mind every day: it’s something that comes from afar, you don’t reason on the basis of a disagreement or a casual situation, because one matures stuff by being at work. Anyone called Napoli has to do important stuff for these fans and if you’re not so convinced that you can give them everything they deserve, it’s right to reason and come to a conclusion: it was reasoned, it’s not like you change your mind “.

Spalletti looks exhausted, sad. And already before the match, awarded together with the president De Laurentiis by Prince Charles of Bourbon, he is called back because he leaves before the ritual group photo. The joy for his first scudetto already seems to have evaporated and the suffering for a difficult decision can be perceived, which seen from the outside is not so simple to understand, because this Napoli still has a lot of top-level football inside it, it has strong values only from a technical point of view and he also has – understandable and confirmed by his coach – the regret of having left the Champions League.

«But Inter deserve the final, they played some splendid matches» comments the Italian champion coach, who also proudly enjoyed the third goal, from the young Gaetano, the number 101 of the season. Because when reserves put their signature, the work increases its value. And who knows better than Inzaghi? The Inter coach applies the usual turnover (inside three starters plus Lukaku) but after 8 victories he is betrayed by Gagliardini who takes a premature yellow card, avoids another one due to a mistake by the referee and doesn’t even manage to get to the interval (where would have been replaced) without the impulse to intervene in a disorderly manner on Anguissa, leaving his teammates in 10 for 54′ overall, at least good at resisting and equalizing Anguissa’s advantage with Lukaku.

Of course, even at full capacity, Inzaghi’s team thinks only of not revealing themselves too much trying some “ball” (as Spalletti calls it) on Lukaku. But after all, with an Italian Cup final on Wednesday and the Champions League final obsessed, it is necessary to manage energy, even risking a 12th defeat with a Champions League sprint (Atalanta is at San Siro on Saturday) still to be closed. But some players go on the pitch just to preserve the owners, hoping they won’t do any damage. The damage has come, but this was not the anti-City test, also because Inzaghi knows well that against Guardiola’s monsters he won’t be able to spend 90′ in the area. Gagliardini’s disqualification, however, is serious because he takes away alternatives in rotations, given that Mkhitaryan is injured. But compared to the bewilderment of those who win and say goodbye, what do you want it to be?