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“When you love someone, you give your time to them; it’s that time that proves that you love something. And I gave them everything.”
That’s the sentence. Only one sentence, but it sums up just what Napoli meant to Luciano Spalletti and what Luciano Spalletti meant to Napoli last season. A mantra that he fastidiously put into practice.
The coach from Tuscany composed the perfect symphony. In his famous frieze for the Vienna Secession Building, Gustav Klimt depicted a knight facing various hurdles in a quest to bring “freedom” to humankind, something he achieves solely through the “beauty of the arts”. The work is inspired by Beethoven’s Ninth symphony, something which also has clear parallels with Napoli’s journey towards their third Serie A title 23 years after their second.
Whereas the role of the knight in the 1987 and 1990 triumphs was played by a certain Diego Armando Maradona, the architect of the extraordinary journey this time was Spalletti.
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Breaking new ground
“Strong men, strong destinies. There is no other way.”
This was another of Spalletti’s quotes that spurred his players on to ensure that they will forever be a part of the history of a city that lives and breathes football. The 5-1 victory over Juventus was Napoli and Spalletti’s first masterpiece of 2023, the match that kickstarted an intense period that saw them capture the imagination of their fans as they transferred the ideas and the charisma of their manager onto the pitch.
It was a run that culminated in Napoli being crowned champions of Italy for the third time in their history on 4 May, while for Spalletti it marked the first scudetto of his career. He won, and he did it with the beautiful style of play he had promised ever since arriving in the city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Spalletti had earned the tag of “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” on account of never having won the Serie A title. He made people eat their words and got himself a tattoo as a further indelible reminder of the achievement.
“Sometimes, you part ways because you love each other too much.”
At the end of the 2022/23 season, those were the words with which Spalletti departed Napoli, safe in the knowledge he had given everything he could to write his name into Neapolitan folklore. His dedication was his greatest strength and the call from the Italian Football Federation his biggest prize.
National pride
“My players need to be happy. It is through the happiness of wearing the national team colours that big results can be achieved.”
One can imagine that, at the age of 64, Spalletti has obtained that happiness, both in a sporting sense and in terms of his career. As well as being a source of pride for Spalletti, coaching the national team is a chance to revitalise them after their failure to qualify for the most recent World Cup in Qatar.
And the Azzurri have already delivered by securing a place at next summer’s UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany. Achieving this goal has provided a new sense of belief in the Italian national team, both now and for the future – a confidence fuelled by the presence of Luciano Spalletti.
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