De Laurentiis: 'Inter for Scudetto'

By Football Italia staff

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis claims Inter are 'the main candidate for the Scudetto', while praising Coach Maurizio Sarri: 'We're in great harmony'.

The Partenopei have a four-point difference to make up if they wish to reach the summit of Serie A, but the President acknowledged the Nerazzurri will be tough to beat.

“Inter are the main candidate [for the Scudetto],” he told Il Corriere dello Sport. “They're a solid team with a Coach, [Roberto] Mancini, who creates a culture of good manners, savoir faire and good behaviour.

“This encourages peace in the changing room, so that certainties emerge out of a thousand doubts.

“And there's something extremely important. The Nerazzurri have no cups to dispute and they only play once a week. They may have the Coppa Italia, but not the European Cups.

“The others? Juventus can't be set aside in the Scudetto race. [Coach Max] Allegri restored the rules of the previous Coach's [Antonio Conte] 3-5-2, which are the most logical for [Claudio] Marchisio and the three players behind him.

“Roma are very strong and once they sort themselves out within the club, they'll respond even better. And Fiorentina are a beautiful team, with a Coach who is enthusiastic about being in Florence.

“Enthusiasm leads you to always give your best, and there are many interesting players with the Viola.”

Finally, De Laurentiis discussed his Coach Sarri, who is doing very well in his first year with Napoli.

“I was struck by his draw at the San Paolo, and his victory with Empoli by 4-2. I spoke with people like [Sinisa] Mihajlovic and [Vincenzo] Montella, but there was always a doubt. Not so with Sarri.

“He has great intellectual honesty and wants games to be studied and prepared in advance. He's a good person, has a wonderful family and is an avid reader, which created a great harmony between us.”

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