Biasin: Inzaghi turned down De Laurentiis after two-hour call

Fabrizio Biasin told Cronache di Spogliatoio that Simone Inzaghi, now at Al-Hilal, was Aurelio De Laurentiis's first choice for the Napoli bench last summer, but a personal phone call could not break his contract in Saudi Arabia.

by Rosaria CimminoSaturday 12 September, 17:27 CET· 2 hours ago

Biasin: «De Laurentiis tenne Inzaghi al telefono per due ore, ma disse no» — Grafica Arena Napoli

Before Massimiliano Allegri, Aurelio De Laurentiis wanted Simone Inzaghi back in Italy. Fabrizio Biasin told Cronache di Spogliatoio that Napoli's president called Inzaghi, now head coach at Al-Hilal, in person last summer, keeping him on the phone for two hours. It was not enough to break a contract already locked down in Saudi Arabia.

"Do you know who was the first coach he called this summer? Simone Inzaghi. He kept him on the phone for two hours trying to convince him, and he didn't manage it."

That refusal adds to a story already reported: before turning to Allegri, De Laurentiis also met Vincenzo Italiano in Rome, when Italiano was still under contract at Bologna.

Biasin still can't make sense of the switch. "Then I didn't understand why we fell back on Allegri, they are two very different coaches," he said. The two philosophies are indeed opposites: Inzaghi builds play from the back with aggressive pressing, while Allegri works on defensive balance and quick transitions.

The detail cuts deeper given the table. Napoli are 12th with 3 points after three rounds, and Allegri himself spoke of a "third straight defeat" counting Como, Inter and Arsenal. In those three games the defence has conceded 76 shots in total, an average of 25 per match - a systemic problem, not one down to individual opponents, as we had already flagged.

De Laurentiis's original plan was a proactive Napoli, one capable of playing well and not just winning - that is what the call to Inzaghi tells us. The team that actually took shape runs on opposite lines, and the struggles of these first three rounds also measure the gap between that starting idea and the side Allegri inherited. It's fair to wonder how long a high-pressing Inzaghi side would have lasted in a fanbase already debating the coach after three games. But it's a question we can't answer, because that proactive Napoli was never seen on the pitch.

On Sunday 13 September at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET), Napoli host Bologna at the Maradona, where they are yet to win this season. The two-hour call to Inzaghi stays a footnote from the summer. The answers now are Allegri's to give, on the pitch.