, an enduring mediocrity of Serie A football since it was formed in 1926, to the top of the Italian league in 1987, Naples erupted in street parties that went around the clock for days. Neapolitans were so thrilled by their first-everthat they took to teasing the dead. “You don’t know what you’re missing,” they scrawled on the walls of cemeteries.in 1990, Napoli, in its post-Maradona years, went into gradual decline followed by humiliating collapse.
At first, Neapolitans, a notoriously cynical though outgoing crowd, were non-believers. What did a film guy know about football? Mr. De Laurentiis is the nephew of legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis and an accomplished producer in his own right . Mr. De Laurentiis did precisely the opposite, but he needed help to launch his risky strategy. Two years ago, he recruited a new manager, Luciano Spalletti, who had successful, if sometimes spotty, careers at several Italian clubs, including Roma and Inter Milan, but had never won a. By the time he landed at Napoli, he was in his early 60s and apparently decided it was now or never.