Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis arrives for the screening of the film “Freaks Out” in competition at the 78th Venice Film Festival on September 8, 2021 at Lido, Venice. (Photo by Marco Bertolello/AFP) (Photo by Marco Bertolello/AFP via Getty Images)
Manager Aurelio De Laurentiis held a press conference to discuss the club’s pre-season and plans for the upcoming 100th anniversary, but refused to comment on the impending appointment of Massimiliano Allegri as manager, saying: “You know the rules.”
De Laurentiis talks about Napoli ahead of 100th anniversary in 2026-27 season
De Laurentiis sat in front of the press on Thursday and confirmed that Napoli will hold two summer training camps in Trentino and Abruzzo, despite millions of offers to join them on summer international tours. He also said the club plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary not just in the summer but throughout the 2026-27 season, and acknowledged that the Stadio Maradona requires major redevelopment.
“We are writing the story of these 100 years. When we talk about the 100th anniversary, I think we should celebrate the 100th anniversary for one year. If we take August 1st as a date, that means we want to celebrate from August 1st 2026 to July 31st 2027,” De Laurentiis said of the club’s upcoming centenary (via TMW).
“We have an impressive series of celebrations, activities and plans, and if we did them all at once we would not be able to launch this great concept of Naples, Napoli Essiste, Naples, Filosofia, Rialta di Vita. So please come along with us on this year-long journey.”
De Laurentiis went on to talk about the infrastructure available to Napoli. The club’s president is not concerned about the condition of the training ground, but suggested it might be more cost-effective to build a brand new stadium rather than redevelop the Stadio Maradona.
“We came here to talk about the city, the locality, the relationship with the local government and the stadium problem. We want to be seen as a great team, but even when Ancelotti arrived, we said that the Stadio Maradona is a garbage dump. That opinion still remains. Even if we spend 200 million euros, Maradona’s problems will not be solved.”
“There is no problem with the training ground. We will have a separate meeting about the stadium. These structures will be a recurring theme over the next five years.”
Napoli recently confirmed that Antonio Conte had resigned as manager by mutual consent, with Allegri widely expected to replace him on an initial two-year deal, but De Laurentiis was unable to comment for legal reasons.
“Napoli don’t even have a manager at the moment, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to announce it. You know the rules. There’s no point in confusing them.”
He then added, “If the regulations allow, I will introduce the coach. I am not a person who is against the rules. Sometimes I don’t agree with the regulations, because sometimes the regulations are made at a certain time and become obsolete. We have agreed to play in competitions with regulations and we respect the regulations. When the time comes to announce the coach, we will announce it.”
De Laurentiis assured reporters in attendance that Napoli would not give up on fighting for the league title just because they parted ways with Conte. “I won the Scudetto before with a manager who had never won the Scudetto, but only the Russian league title. So rest assured, as long as my face is visible (we want to win the title),” he said.
“For many people, the league is not important. For me, both the league and the Champions League are important. After the first Scudetto, I said that I would aim for big things in Europe. It didn’t work out, but I overcame it and finished second. Next year, after these two training camps, I hope to get back into shape.”
De Laurentiis was also asked why Napoli tend to keep their pre-season training camps at home when many other ‘top’ clubs across Europe are taking advantage of the opportunity to expand into new markets, for example North America and South East Asia.
“I had a gentleman called Charlie Stellitano that I really liked, and he told me he would give me four or five million for every round-the-world flight. He wrote to me again about a week ago. I wrote back that they had to pay for everything, and that if it was 15 million euros they would give me five days. But I never heard from them again. They left me alone.”
De Laurentiis also revealed why Napoli tend to play away games in the first round of the Serie A season.
“The first game will be played away because after the summer concerts we need time to broadcast the pitch. I have been asking the league for years to let us play the first game away and they have always graciously accepted.”
Finally, De Laurentiis responded to Kevin De Bruyne’s recent comments in which he claimed he was “delighted” to see Conte leave.
“They made statements that are acceptable or unacceptable depending on your point of view. We’ll see what happens when we all go back to work. We’ll see what the new manager thinks about it. If someone has to leave, they’ll leave too. What’s the problem? There are a lot of football players in the world.”
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