Franco Ceravolo, former sporting director of Napoli and Juventus, spoke on ‘1 Football Club’, a radio program hosted by Luca Cerchione on 1 Station Radio. Here is an excerpt from the interview.
What do you think about Juventus’s current form after two heavy defeats, and do you believe that this project, without Champions League qualification, is destined to end prematurely?
‘Certainly, the Juventus environment is not happy because some objectives they aimed for have not been achieved. Regarding the league, there are still nine games to play, but at the beginning of the season, I don’t think their only goal was fourth place; surely, it was to win the league and do well in the Champions League and Coppa Italia. Unfortunately, the fans are demanding, and we know this. Despite everything, I believe Juventus has all the means to reach fourth place, but at the same time, we must recognize that the club is somewhat far from its initial expectations.’
Not reaching the Champions League would be an incredible economic damage for Juventus, what do you think about that?
‘Yes, that’s very true, because unfortunately today, to stay afloat, you always need to qualify for the Champions League.’
It seems that for Napoli fans, just the Champions League is no longer enough, and despite being in second place, there are complaints about Antonio Conte’s team, not to mention that Napoli has a strong team like Inter ahead of them?
‘It’s not easy, but I don’t think the fans are unhappy, given that Napoli is second in the standings and still has the possibility to finish first. People expected something different, it’s true, but there are also opponents, let’s see how it ends.’
When you finish the first half of the season in first place, if you don’t win the Scudetto, should you consider it a failure?
‘No, for me, it’s not. Napoli is in second place, and money is coming into the club. There are other teams doing well, like Inter and Atalanta, who, however, after the last defeat, have fallen a bit behind, but the season is still long.’
Would Gatti be the right name for Antonio Conte’s Napoli?
‘I don’t know, this is a negotiation that is done by the professionals. I must say that many Juventus players have been enhanced, like Spinazzola or Kean himself. Now we are talking about Gatti, but it’s still early. Gatti is a good player, but the evaluations are made by sector experts.’
Would you like a defensive pair of Buongiorno-Gatti?
‘Let’s say that every footballer has his qualities. Gatti is one of the best defenders in Italy, and he has shown it. He is not a player who impresses technically, but he is one who puts heart and determination.’