"Naples has always been marginalised by the rest of Italy. It is a city that suffers the most unfair racism," said Diego Maradona. When he played for Napoli in the more prosperous northern cities like Milan and Turin, he and his team-mates would be subjected to banners reading 'Welcome to Italy'; 'Napoli, cholera sufferers' or 'Vesuvius, wash them with fire'.
For players cast aside by Manchester City and Manchester United, however, Napoli has become a safe haven. It was the first choice destination for Kevin De Bruyne after he was forced out of City by Pep Guardiola after a glorious decade and he has gotten off to a flying start there, with two goals in three games.
Rasmus Hojlund, who was kicked out of United after the arrival of Benjamin Sesko despite wanting to stay, made a dream start to his loan spell with a well-taken goal and a fine all round performance in Napoli's 3-1 win at Fiorentina on Saturday.
Then there is Scott McTominay, who has not just found safety in Naples from the chaos of United, but a platform to relaunch his career as a talismanic goal-machine, firing his new team to the Italian title, being named Serie A’s player of the season and then being nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
The trio will be returning to their former home on Thursday to take on City in Napoli’s Champions League opener and they will be keen show they are reaping the benefits of La Dolce Vita…
AFPIn love with the Premier League
While Hojlund and McTominay were seen as flops when they left United and De Bruyne was considered past his best at City, they were all seen as highly attractive propositions to Antonio Conte, who holds a special respect for Premier League players. Conte took the English league by storm by leading Chelsea to the title in his very first season despite an abysmal previous campaign under Jose Mourinho and then Guus Hiddink.
And while star names like Eden Hazard and Diego Costa played crucial roles in that triumph, the coach also got the best out of previously unsung players like Victor Moses, who he turned into a wing-back, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta. His experience gave him a special appreciation of physical players from England’s top flight and when he took his next job at Inter he populated his side with former Premier League players such as Matteo Darmian, Aleksandar Kolorov, Christian Eriksen, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Ashley Young, even signing Moses on loan for half a season.
His Premier League-heavy squad helped Inter win their first title in 11 years before Conte left after falling out with the board, as he so often does, over transfers.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportPassionate about physical players
And when he returned to Italy after a short-lived but highly eventful spell at Tottenham, he again looked to England. Billy Gilmour joined from Chelsea, he signed Lukaku once more (from Roma) but the missing piece was McTominay, signed just before the transfer deadline.
"Conte is a coach who is very methodical so he is passionate about physical players who run a lot, players who are strong, fast and who can follow his tactical instructions," explains Italian journalist Antonio Moschella. "That's above all why he wanted McTominay. It is clear that, like everyone else, he likes Premier League players. It's the top league in the world."
Moschella adds that Napoli have taken a keen interest in former Premier League players due to the success of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who arrived after a disappointing spell at Fulham, initially on loan, and later became their inspirational captain. "Since then they have been looking at players who did not do well in the Premier League but believing they could do well in Italy because the level is lower."
And there is no better success story from this approach than McTominay.
GettyUnited's loss, Napoli's gain
Conte had identified a lack of steel in his team amid a shock 3-0 loss to Hellas Verona in his first game, when he declared his players had “melted like snow in the sunshine”.
With McTominay in the team, Conte changed Napoli’s formation from 3-4-2-1 to 4-3-3 with the former United man at the tip of the midfield. By the time McTominay moved to Napoli, he had already discovered his goalscoring touch. It first happened for Scotland after being deployed further up by Steve Clarke and then Erik ten Hag did the same for United. But even though McTominay had saved the Dutchman’s job with his brace against Brentford, he was still used sparingly, often as a last resort rather than a Plan A.
And when United needed to raise cash in the summer of 2024, McTominay was the player the club decided to let go. Ten Hag did not want to lose him but nor did he put up too much resistance. Napoli and Conte, however, could not believe their luck. McTominay scored 12 goals in Serie A, including six in the final seven games, proving utterly crucial to them pipping Inter to the title by a single point.
Getty ImagesFrom misprofiled to the King of Naples
"He never had a primary role at Man United, while here we gave him one," Conte said towards the end of last season. "He feels more complete and knowledgeable and he's reaching a key stage in his career where he needs to decide his direction. He's worked hard and now he's a complete player."
McTominay called the title win the best moment of his career, trumping the FA Cup final win with United over City and any other moment during his seven-year spell with his boyhood club. And he felt that Napoli appreciated him in ways that United had not. He told : "When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,” he said. “My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game."
"I think he wanted to prove Manchester United wrong and prove people in the Premier League wrong. He has gone over there and done that pretty successfully," said his Scotland team-mate Andy Robertson. “That’s credit to him, credit to his attitude and his determination to be the best version of himself. Now he is a king over there."
