Napoli – “We are ready for anything. The goal at the start of the season was to qualify for the European cups, preferably through the main door, so far it seems to me that we can't complain
. The team has done very well so far and we are happy with what we have done. The hope is that the players return from their respective national teams in good condition and without any injuries”.
The coordinator of the technical staff of the blue club, Lele Oriali, said this in an interview with Radio Crc, a partner station of Napoli. “I have to be honest, if I said otherwise I would be a liar: neither I nor the coach expected to find ourselves in this position in the standings with nine days to go in the championship.
We came here with the idea, the intention and the conviction to do well, but we were certain that we would not find ourselves where we are now”. And instead Napoli is there, in full fight for the tricolor.
“When we arrived in Naples we immediately found a very collaborative environment. We were helped by the fact that the team was coming off a negative season and the players couldn't wait to relaunch themselves and start all over again. The players made themselves available, they did what we asked of them and they understood it. Now we are seeing the results,” explains Oriali.
"What we try to convey to the players is that through work, sacrifice and sweat you can achieve important results. The players have done it by making themselves available but they have not yet raised their heads: they will do so on the last day", continues the former midfielder of the national team who, during his time as team manager of Italy, began working with Antonio Conte, a coach with whom he immediately created a relationship of strong mutual respect.
“The coach is an important part of the success of a club and Antonio is crucial in this. A strong coach like him gives something extra to the team. As I said before: Antonio Conte is a champion among coaches. He has many strengths, but also many flaws like everyone else.
He is a person who is well liked for his ability to involve everyone, both those who play and those who do not play. He is frank, loyal and sincere even if in some cases this can be a problem, especially in an environment like ours where there are successful losers and successful liars.
Antonio, however, stands out for his ability to create a heterogeneous, united and cohesive group: the results are also visible for this. The coach affects the weight of a team, I have worked and collaborated with some of the best in the world and I can confirm what I said”.
A “life as a midfielder”, as Luciano Ligabue sings, until reaching the World Cup title with Italy in 1982. “I must point out that I didn’t share a room with Zoff and Scirea. I was with Ivano Bordon but when night fell there was another neutral room where all of us night owls who spent the early hours of the morning talking to each other would meet up, among them there were me and Tardelli – Oriali reveals -.
After that, when the World Cup was over and everyone left the hotel to celebrate the victory of that feat that has remained historic with their wives and children, we found ourselves in a room, Zoff, Scirea and I. That room, however, was a silent room. We were all in disbelief of that feat that we had achieved and Dino and Gaetano are the first people I think of when those moments come back to mind”.
We are talking about today's Italy, which yesterday suffered a home defeat in the first leg of the Nations League quarter-finals against Germany. "I liked the Italy team that Luciano Spalletti fielded yesterday, especially in the first half. I am convinced that on Sunday in Dortmund the Azzurri can overturn the result of the first leg.
The team never seemed to be in trouble with the German game and I think we can turn the result around on Sunday”. There was also space to address the refereeing issue.
"I respect the decisions made by the referee even if I sometimes make mistakes. Those made by the VAR, on the other hand, I digest less, because he has the possibility of reviewing the incidents. The decisions of the referee, on the other hand, are easier to accept".
Oriali, indirectly, knows what it means for Naples to win the tricolor. “The day of NAPLES’ first championship, in the match with Fiorentina, I was on the field but on the opposite side of the field. I remember a great party. I would like to leave a good memory in this city. For someone like me, who is of a certain age and a certain experience, hearing the fans singing in chorus and supporting us is something beautiful and indescribable.
According to Oriali, the teams fighting for the title are "Inter, Atalanta and Napoli, the first two were the teams that had something more than the others, even compared to us, because they have a large and competitive squad. Atalanta is still in the running, in the last 9 days they will play for the title.
During the season, teams like Milan and Juve have been missing. I think we are also in the running for the title. From the beginning, the players have tried to put their heart and soul on the pitch and they will do so until the end. They have their heads down and will raise them only at the end of the last match when we will be there to welcome them on the pitch because they will have given everything and more to try to bring Napoli back to the top”.
Article published on March 21, 2025 - 16pm
