If, and it’s a big if, Maurizio Sarri can bring the Scudetto to Naples, the impact will be so great, he will forever be revered. History suggests that this will be the time to part ways with the Partenopei, leaving simply to make sure his legacy is such, that he will be forever be mentioned in the narrow streets in the same breath as Diego Maradona. Where next for this quite brilliant but unrefined coach? London perhaps? Arsenal? He is far from media polished, but he is just what they need, a coach who would be in his element with the tools he would have to work with.
Maurizio Sarri signed for Napoli and returned to the place of his birth back in 2015. He arrived from Empoli and was seen at the time as a calculated risk and has quite a different CV than many of his counterparts. Sarri firstly, he is not an ex-player, his early life saw him work for the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and spent his time working in London, Zurich and Luxembourg. He would play football in the evenings before eventually transitioning to coaching. Eventually, he gave up his job to dedicate himself to the beautiful game and the rest, as they say, is history.
Sarri’s big break came in 2000 when he signed with Sansovino and he took them from the regional championships all the way to Serie C2. Over the next 15 years he coached another ten clubs including spells at Pescara, Verona and Perugia but even as late as 2011 he found himself coaching Sorrento, a team that has a beautiful setting but is in the lower reaches of Italian Football. Still his attacking brand of football saw him sign for Empoli and when he brought them back to Serie A, Napoli took note.
If any coach embodies the great Arrigo Sacchi it would be Sarri. Arrigo’s quote that “I never realised that in order to become a jockey you had to be a horse first” fits perfectly with Sarri’s journey. The ex-Milan coaches book ‘Total Football’ lists Sarri as one of the most promising coaches in Italy when it was written some time ago and he has been proven right. The Neapolitan has created a brand of football at Napoli that is as attractive as anything seen at the Emirates, but his side can also be pragmatic.
The continual change, or more appropriately put, evolution of Sarri’s Napoli side, is certainly something that would make him attractive to an Arsenal side who seemingly do not change their approach. When Sarri came in from Empoli he made sure that the defence was worked hard and that if they needed to at any point in the game, the entire team knew how to shut up shop. After this he developed a cavalier brand of football that saw his team score a ludicrous amount of goals and play some sumptuous football. It is true that at times he almost went too far with this and had to reign it in, as they were losing their defensive discipline, but he adapted and corrected.
The season after they found themselves again playing great football, however, they were too reliant on Gonzalo Higuain’s record-breaking 34 goal tally and when he left for Juventus they had to adapt again. Perhaps fast forwarded by the injury to Arkadiusz Milik, Sarri challenged his team to collectively pick up the slack and contribute to the goals themselves. What developed was a utilitarian’s dream, a collective sharing of the responsibility that created a team unity that saw them come close to the title but just not close enough. This season he has changed again, he has made them pragmatic as well as cavalier, they have won ugly at times and they are in with a fighting chance of claiming the Scudetto this season.
Sarri, loves simply to coach, he is happy to leave much of the transfer dealings with others, he just wants to focus on the football. There is an argument that with Arsenal’s new structure this is exactly what they would need, a man who drills them, a man who wants to work hard on all aspects of the game and has fresh ideas. Sarri would certainly bring a level of professionalism to the training field and Arsenal could see a revival in many of the squad.
Sarri isn’t without his faults however. He doesn’t always use the full squad and is guilty of finding his 15-16 favourites and working solely on them. Whilst this does create something quite beautiful it is no surprise that Napoli look tired at the end of the season. He is also unpolished and controversial and is perhaps not ready for the slick Arsenal brand and all its forms of social media. He has been accused by Roberto Mancini of being a homophobe, he smokes on the touchline, he has also been derogatory to female journalists. To say he is a character is letting him get away with it and he would have to undergo some media training perhaps but that is a small price to pay.
Sarri could be just what Arsenal need right now, a man who is adaptable, he is current in his style and his tactics and what’s more he is a coach. Unlike Arsene Wenger he will not get embroiled in the day to day running if the club, he won't care, as all he wants to do is be on the training pitch. His pragmatism could make Arsenal hard to beat again and the thought about what he could achieve offensively with the Gunners is spine tingling.
