Di Lorenzo and Politano earn Italy call after 309 and 281 Napoli games

Napoli's captain and vice-captain have stayed first-choice through every head coach from Conte to Allegri — a dressing-room episode from the club's toughest days under Conte explains why.

by Gennaro SanninoSunday 13 September, 23:26 CET· yesterday

LIVE | h.17:00 | La conferenza stampa di Mister Allegri e Di Lorenzo alla vigilia di #NapoliArsenal — Foto: SSC Napoli (canale ufficiale)

Di Lorenzo and Politano have never stopped starting for Napoli, under any head coach, and that undroppable status now follows them into the Italy squad too. The captain has reached 309 appearances for Napoli, the vice-captain 281 — numbers that, at Castel Volturno, the club's training ground, tell a story of loyalty that has outlasted every managerial cycle.

Gattuso, Spalletti in his first season, Garcia, Conte and now Allegri: Di Lorenzo and Politano have come through every change of head coach unscathed, never reduced to bit-part players. It is no coincidence both have renewed their contracts with Napoli, tying themselves to the club as two of its flag-bearers in a squad where others are more likely to move on.

A dressing-room episode

There is one episode that shows how much they carry in the dressing room. Under Conte, after a match against Bologna, there was a tense face-to-face between the head coach and the squad, with Conte ready to walk away. It was Politano, Di Lorenzo and Lukaku who reassured him and talked him into staying — Lukaku, the same player Napoli let go this summer because his €11m salary weighed too heavily on the club's UEFA accounts.

Di Lorenzo had already said as much in the summer.

"If Mancini calls me I will say yes, I could never turn down the national team."

In recent weeks the call from Italy has also come for Anguissa and Rrahmani, called up by their own countries' national teams — a sign that Napoli's group of veterans do not need to chase attention, age or no age.

Three straight defeats and the Allegri debate

The context behind this double call-up is not trivial. Napoli beat Bologna 1-0 at the Maradona on Sunday 13 September, Lobotka scoring in the 66th minute, moving up to 6 points and tenth place after four games, with Lazio top on 10 and Roma, Inter and Cagliari on 9. Three straight defeats across the league and the Champions League were enough to reopen the debate over Allegri, and in that debate Di Lorenzo and Politano remain the two names nobody at the club would question.

That is also why their undroppable status should be read on two levels. On one hand it is merited: players who have earned 309 and 281 appearances do not hand their place over for any change of system. On the other, it is a question Allegri's bench has yet to answer: with Vergara, Neres, Giovane and Lang all available, Napoli still keeps picking the same two names out wide, even when the rest of the side is struggling to find its balance.

Di Lorenzo and Politano now leave Castel Volturno to join Mancini's squad, in the international break that opens after Sunday's match. Napoli will have them back for the next league fixture, again at the Maradona, on Saturday 10 October against Frosinone.