“Before Luciano Spalletti’s new-look Napoli led by Kvicha ‘Kvaradona’ Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen conquered the Serie A in 2022/23 for the first time since a certain Argentinian had led them to the Scudetto over 30 years prior, it was the unassuming rise of Maurizio Sarri seven years prior that had seemingly marked the start of a new era in the history of the club. Sarri’s appointment to the top job in July 2015 at Napoli had come as a surprise to many in the Neapolitan media as he beat out the more-vaunted likes of Cesare Prandelli and Luciano Spalletti himself to replace Rafa Benitez, freshly departed for Real Madrid. ‘We won’t have a winning Napoli with him,’ the typically outspoken Diego Armando Maradona told the press at the start of the season. …”
Breaking the Lines
Breaking the Lines – Part II: A First Campione D’Invierno (Or, Tuscan Men Love to Curse)
Breaking the Lines – Through the Looking Glass of Big Data: SSC Napoli 2015/16 and the Vindication of Maurizio Sarri: Part Three