“Allegri fits the Juve motto ‘winning is all that matters’. Here in Naples, we’re all about heart and soul. Maradona played here, won here and in winning here he showcased how beautiful football can be. We can’t play our football without a nod to that aesthetic legacy.”
That’s how Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti described the difference between his team and Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus ahead of Friday night’s potentially season-defining clash at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
You can argue the toss about the aesthetic qualities of Juventus under Allegri, but Spalletti was certainly right about the winning part. Indeed, during Allegri’s first stint in charge of the Old Lady, Juventus won more major honours than Napoli have in their entire history – five Serie A titles in five years, plus four Coppa Italia for good measure.
Allegri has struggled to get Juventus back on course after they fell off the rails during his two years away. A fourth-place finish in his first season back was the least expected, while his job looked under serious threat after bombing out of the Champions League group stage and a dismal start to the 2022-23 campaign.
But amid all the noise and all the backroom scandal, Allegri quietly got Juventus back to what they do best – winning. Either side of the World Cup break, during which the entire board resigned, Allegri’s men won eight successive Serie A matches without conceding a goal.
Their performances won few plaudits. Some of the wins were scabby and unconvincing. It didn’t matter. They’d taken 24 points. And that meant they travelled to Naples with an opportunity to close the gap on pace-setters Napoli to just four points.
As Napoli wobbled, losing their first game back from the break to Inter, you couldn’t help but think back to the thrilling 2017-18 Serie A title race. That season, Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli won hearts and minds, playing scintillating football as they pushed imperial-era Juventus closer than anyone else had managed in the 2010s.
Allegri’s champions didn’t capture the imagination in quite the same way – but do they care? They got the job done, won the most memorable Scudetto of their nine-in-a-row, and a wonderful Napoli team ended the season empty-handed.
“Sarri worked here a few years ago and, despite not winning anything, all I ever hear about since I’ve been here is ‘Sarriball’. That means something. That’s what I’m all about too. Benitez won a…
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