Di Canio says Napoli are at the end of a cycle, and he has a point

"Ancelotti started being a manager of people and failed at Napoli, then became great again at Real Madrid." That was how Paolo Di Canio, who played for both Lazio and Napoli, opened the build-up to Sunday 8 November's game at the Maradona, which kicks off at 12:30 CET (11:30 UK, 06:30 ET).

In Naples, the mention of Ancelotti hurts twice over. De Laurentiis sacked him and replaced him with Gennaro Gattuso, the same man who will sit in the opposing dugout on Sunday as league leaders. Lazio have 28 points from ten games, with nine wins and a draw. Napoli have 14, exactly half. Fourth place, the stated target when Allegri arrived, is 9 points away.

The dressing room comes onto the pitch

Di Canio's hardest line was not about tactics. "Once at Juventus there was a row between Schillaci and Baggio. That season we finished out of the cups after 27 years. What happens in the dressing room, you take onto the pitch."

He did not need to name names. In Porto, Lucca insulted De Bruyne. The club chose not to fine either of them. After the game Politano said: "I'd like some other teammate to come and give explanations, not always us Italians." Those are three facts from the past week, and they look a lot like the "electric atmosphere" Di Canio describes.

"What happens in the dressing room, you take onto the pitch."

On one point he should be challenged. Saying there are "not many stars" partly lets the coach off and puts the blame on the squad. But this squad has De Bruyne, McTominay, Højlund and Lobotka, players who finished second with 76 points last season. The 4-1 defeat at the Dragão cannot be explained by a lack of quality alone. All three of Porto's second-half goals came through substitutes, while Napoli's first change arrived in the 78th minute. Game management is exactly what Allegri is being criticised for, and Di Canio comes close to saying so without going all the way.

Where he is right is the end of a cycle. Meret, Anguissa and De Bruyne are out of contract in June 2027. Lucca is expected to leave in January, and so is Lobotka. Sporting director Giovanni Manna is already working on the midfield of the future. When a team is preparing to replace half its spine mid-season, "cycle" stops being a matter of opinion.

On Lazio, Di Canio spoke with a former player's affection: "Gattuso is credible for a group of humble, hungry lads. With the stadium empty they feel no pressure if they make mistakes, and the fans show their affection away from home. A paradoxically perfect mix. This Lazio is becoming something poetic yet carnal." Their supporters will not be at the Maradona on Sunday: the prefect has banned ticket sales to residents of the Lazio region.

Then came the line that matters most to us: "Sooner or later they will lose a game." Gattuso has never beaten Allegri, and he admitted as much before the match. After the 2-0 in Turin and the 4-1 in Porto, nobody in Naples is asking for a poetic performance. They want that defeat to come on Sunday at 12:30. Otherwise Di Canio's "end of a cycle" stops being an interview provocation.