Allegri's disastrous start at Napoli threatens Roma clash
Journalist Paolo Ziliani warns that Massimiliano Allegri’s start at Napoli has been disastrous, and a defeat to Roma could prove catastrophic. After seven league rounds Allegri’s side sit ninth, nine points adrift of Inter and Lazio. The warning comes as Napoli prepare to host third‑placed Roma at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 18:00. Ziliani’s article, published on Substack and X, frames the situation as a potential turning point.
Tuscan coaches linked in decline
Ziliani’s long‑form piece weaves together the fortunes of three Tuscan managers – Allegri, Luciano Spalletti and Maurizio Sarri. He describes them as the “cursed Tuscan” who were once revered bench‑monsters but now appear confused and bewildered. The article opens with a quotation that labels them “sacred monsters of the benches, today confused and bewildered (some say outclassed).”
By a strange coincidence the three “totems” of Italian football have all gone into tilt together. Napoli, Juventus and Atalanta are all performing poorly, and Ziliani suggests the Napoli‑Roma clash could begin to untangle the many knots. He implies that the struggles of these clubs are linked to the fortunes of their Tuscan coaches.
Allegri is singled out as the most arrogant of the trio, a reputation cemented by his infamous “Discorso delle Categorie”. In the press conference of 18 May 2019, after Juventus president Andrea Agnelli dismissed him following a Champions League exit, Allegri declared that football, like life, has two categories: those who win because they are better and everyone else. Ziliani notes that the moment the speech was delivered, the era of Allegri’s inevitable victories seemed to end.
Allegri's Napoli in peril ahead of Roma
The subsequent years have confirmed Ziliani’s assessment. Since taking over Napoli – a club that claimed a league title and a second‑place finish in each of the two previous seasons – Allegri has overseen a slide to ninth place with only nine points separating him from Inter and Lazio. The decline is stark after a promising start to his tenure.
Tonight Napoli face Roma, who sit third in the Serie A table. A win would keep Napoli’s slim hopes of challenging for the title alive, while a loss would push the De Laurentiis‑run side further from both the summit and the fourth‑place Champions League spot. Ziliani stresses that the stakes are high for the club’s European ambitions.
The alarms echoing from the shadow of the Vesuvius now include all three Tuscan coaches. Ziliani ends his piece with a call to action: “If you are still there, make some noise.”