CorSport – Napoli v Bologna final shows how far both clubs have come | OneFootball

CorSport – The Final Between Napoli and Bologna Confirms the Success of the Two Clubs That Have Made the Most Progress

Napoli-Bologna is not the right final just because it pits the winners of the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia against each other. Above all, it is because it confirms, and highlights, the success of the two clubs that in the last four years have made the greatest progress in terms of solidity, stability, and results. In short, those who—along with Inter, if you like—have done things the right way, and who cares if the Arabs then boo them or don’t show up at the stadium because they only know and support Milan and Inter, Modric and Lautaro.

Napoli and Bologna are an example of how football should be done in Italy, here we are: tangible ownership, recognizable and present even while respecting natural differences in character (the exuberant, often excessive Aurelio De Laurentiis and the very reserved Joey Saputo), administrators who are experts in numbers and sports politics, increasingly less exposed than their “bosses,” just one or two steps to the side (Chiavelli and Fenucci), sporting directors of undeniable ability who are encouraged (or forced) not to step outside the boundaries of their role (the young Giovanni Manna after Giuntoli and the inimitable Giovanni Sartori), excellent scouts and, of course, top-level coaches (the instantly successful Antonio Conte and the ever more surprising Vincenzo Italiano, who replaced Motta, himself the successor to Mihajlovic).

Competence, attention to the “product,” and continuity—this is the simple, almost obvious, but effective formula. Because for a strategy to work, it must have continuity; it cannot be constantly reset.

De Laurentiis tried to force the system between Spalletti’s Scudetto and Conte’s, perhaps thinking he was smarter and stronger than football itself; he messed up badly, but he had the intelligence to reconsider and put Napoli in the right hands. And back to football. Rule confirmed, then.

Respect for roles and trust: the president cannot handle the transfer market with his intermediary friends, systematically bypassing the sporting director, just as the coach should not deal with numbers and budgets, but should be demanding on the technical side. Those who let others handle the transfer campaign and do not apply the right pressure to obtain quality players are, more often than not, destined to fail. However, to ask the ownership for an extra effort, the coach must be credible and convincing, and credibility for a coach is guaranteed by results.

Indro Montanelli explained the value of competence in his own way: “Brothels,” he said, “were the only Italian institutions where technique was respected and competence recognized.”

In the end, Italian football is nothing more than a disorganized mess in which one can only survive by highlighting one’s own knowledge and abilities, and those of the main collaborators.

In football, nothing is invented anymore; it’s simple on the pitch and especially in the office: if you don’t know the language, it’s better to do something else. There’s always burraco, which is less risky.

Carlo Gioia

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.