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People, let me tell you something — and as a proud Italian-American, I feel as though I’ve got a societal right to say this — Italian football is fucking wild.
Seemingly stuck in the 1970s, Serie A is outdated in terms of its facilities, its style of play, and its culture, as Italian football struggles with rampant fan racism year in and year out. I mean, shit, a couple years ago, the then-manager of this very club — Maurizio Sarri — was ripping cigs on the sideline. While coaching!
Simply put, the league just doesn’t operate in the same manner that the world’s other major soccer leagues do: the Premier League (England), the Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain), and MLS (USA) ((Just kidding)).
Take what’s going on down in Napoli, for example, as they’re currently in the midst of a “revolt” so intense that the team’s owner has threatened to sell “everyone now.”
Napoli appear to be in turmoil with the club’s owner threatening to sell the entire squad after a dressing room revolt.
In an act of mutiny, Napoli’s players refused to report to the extra session which led to a furious stand-off between the playing staff and Laurentiis, who is now considering cutting his losses and letting some of his star players leave in the January window.
While reports suggest he’d be willing to sell everyone now, the 70-year-old owner – who is a prominent Italian film producer – is ‘aware not to act on instinct’ and will bide his time on the matter. [via Liverpool Echo]
Napoli — who have finished as runners-up to Juventus in each of the last two seasons — currently sit 7th in the Serie A table with five wins, four draws, and three losses. Additionally, they currently sit second behind title-holding Liverpool in their Champions League group.
They’re some excellent players on that squad, so if the club does decide to do a firesale, expect some of the world’s most elite teams to start poking around.
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Contact him on Twitter @eric_ital or via email eric@brobible.com