Abodi: 'Others move faster than us' after Napoli, Inter losses

Sport minister Andrea Abodi used the Paladino d'Oro awards ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies to question the competitiveness of Italian clubs in Europe, a day after Napoli and Inter were both beaten in the Champions League.

The others are moving faster than us.

He went further, calling directly on clubs for self-criticism. "I hope our clubs carry out an analysis to understand the reasons for this, because it's clear that for us the national team is the main element, and it's an indicator of the state of our football that isn't secondary," he said.

He closed with a blunt verdict on the European night. "Days like Tuesday's are critical in the sense that they have to make us grow — it's unthinkable that our clubs cannot compete at the highest level," Abodi said.

For Napoli, the defeat Abodi was referring to came on Tuesday 13 October at Villarreal, 3-1, the second game of the Champions League league phase. Rrahmani had put Napoli ahead in the 8th minute before the game turned between the 22nd and 26th minutes through goals from Mikautadze and Mouriño.

It was Napoli's second defeat in two Champions League matches, after a 0-1 home loss to Arsenal — zero points from the European campaign so far. In Serie A, a separate picture, Allegri's side are eighth with 10 points from six games.

Abodi also found room to thank Italy head coach Roberto Mancini, who is rebuilding the national team he had just described as an indicator of the state of the domestic game. The link the minister draws is direct, between how Italian clubs perform in Europe and the strength of the system that feeds the national team.

A mirror for Napoli too

Abodi's words land in a week when Napoli are already under scrutiny at home. The summer transfer window closed with a net deficit of around €47.5m, the contract renewals of McTominay and Anguissa are stuck on the gap between what the players are asking for and what the club is offering, and De Bruyne's future — his contract runs to June 2027 — remains undecided between a renewal option and the possibility of leaving as a free agent. Asking clubs to examine why they are falling behind Europe, while squad planning at Napoli is struggling to close its most urgent files, sounds in Naples like a mirror held up to the club itself.

The next chance to measure the gap Abodi describes is already on the calendar: Napoli host Bodø/Glimt at the Maradona on Tuesday 20 October, the third League Phase matchday. Before that, Napoli travel to Venezia on Saturday 17 October in Serie A — a different fixture and a different test, but one that will say plenty about the state of Allegri's side after the shock at Villarreal.