Broad shoulders of Allegri face Napoli’s Champions League test

President Aurelio De Laurentiis warned that the reputation built on Max Allegri’s broad shoulders in the Champions League must now be matched by the determination of SSC Napoli, as the city wonders whether the squad can bear the weight of Europe’s most prestigious competition.

The narrative opens by rejecting the notion that the past century of SSC Napoli was a "Cent'anni di solitudine". Instead, it describes an era crowded with illusion, projection and unbridled joy, split into a.M. (before Maradona) and d.M. (after Maradona).

A rhetorical "Che fare?" was posed about the club’s direction, and De Laurentiis answered that the next step is the Champions League, calling it a long jump that has so far stopped at the quarter‑final stage for SSC Napoli.

During Allegri’s presentation, De Laurentiis highlighted the coach’s two previous Champions League finals and voiced hope for a third appearance, implicitly indicating that Allegri was recruited for that purpose.

The piece states that Allegri’s shoulders are broad enough to support the weight of the European competition, and adds that the club must now see whether the shoulders of its own team will be equally wide.