from the Pec to the Champions League to the phone call that never came – Corriere.it

Not the long or short contract that broke off relations between Spalletti and De Laurentiis and not even a question of money. I have gained something – the Napoli coach often repeats – I am privileged. After all, observing him in his family dimension, whether it is in Milan at the Bosco Verticale or in the Rimessa estate in Tuscany, the condition of the man more than wealthy than in search of further enrichment is evident. A man who has a sense of things, lives on inner stimuli, seeks out impossible challenges. Naples was this: I arrived to win and we succeeded. Spalletti is hungry, of course, but as a coach. He also believes that his value has increased, but this is not a reason for resentment or disagreement with De Laurentiis. There is no negotiation, his sentence is very clear. No missed prizes, no denials of money. The denials in this sense arrived on time.

The letter in the most bitter moment

When last April 19, he Spalletti, embittered by the elimination from the Champions League and in his office in Castel Volturno recriminated on what could have been, on the mistake he attributed to the referee Marciniak for the penalty foul on Lozano not whistled, the now famous letter from the president arrives. The communication of the Pec forwarded to the League for the renewal of the contract. That was the moment the man felt disrespected. He wants to continue being the coach of Napoli but he believes that the decision should be shared, beyond the right that authorizes the president not to consult him. He finds in his hands a missive in which there are thanks and certificates of esteem but nothing that is, from his point of view, humanly appreciable.

The missing Champion

The elimination from the Champions League, despite having won the Scudetto, was a pain for Spalletti and for the team. De Laurentiis instead asked for an account: how could this have happened? The difference between sorrow and anger, as if the final had been a goal to be achieved at all costs. To the point that at the end of the season the president even proposed it again.

Field invasions on training

Spalletti is the only coach of the De Laurentiis era to have won the Scudetto. And when the season started nobody would have bet on it. The revolution, the cut of the salary ceiling and the bets of Kvara and Kim. Because at the time this was the climate. De Laurentiis was the only one to say it, even in May. He saw us long, certainly. But at that stage his declaration was a further pressure. The president was very present, from time to time suggesting this or the other starting player. Also asking for the replacements made by the technician. Spalletti considered them invasions.

The call for the Scudetto

Winning the Scudetto in Udine, partying on and off the pitch. De Laurentiis wasn’t there, the team and the coach celebrated until dawn in the La Di Moret hotel retreat. Hundreds of fans in front of the entrance, the team believes it should come out and thank for the support. The president does not make himself heard. Spalletti tied it to his finger.