Spalletti Praises Giuntoli and Reiterates Scudetto Joy

Luciano Spalletti has heaped praise on sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli for his work off the pitch, which heavily contributed to the club’s Scudetto success on it. The Partenopei executive was tasked with lowering the wage bill by bringing in unknown talents, many of who – such as Victor Osimhen, Kim Min-jae and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – are now on the radar of top European clubs.

In an interview (via Calciomercato) at the Bulgarelli Award Ceremony in Bologna, where he won the prestigious accolade as the Serie A coach of the season for his exploits, Spalletti looked back at the historic title-winning season.

“When you invest on a team, you need to replace strong players with other strong players. Maybe they were unknown, but there are videos, and it’s a great way to be informed. The biggest part is the work of Giuntoli, who has great quality in doing this. Another characteristic a coach needs is to have the conviction that he is dealing with strong players. We were sure of it, then we set to work with maximum discipline and hard work. It’s always the time you dedicate to something that makes the difference. It’s working in a serious way that leads to the final result.”

Spalletti then reiterated the joy of winning Napoli’s third Scudetto.

“Naples has taught the world how to celebrate a Scudetto, how to make everyone participate in the joy of a city – that happiness has no boundaries.”

Napoli could finish the season with 90 points in their coffers with two wins and a draw from their final three games, becoming only the 11th ever Serie A squad to legitimately hit the mark. The latest defeat Monza eliminates any chance of reaching 95 points, which would have handed them the joint-third highest tally in the top-flight history.