First the thriller, then the legal thriller, now the spy story. The final of the Italian Super Cup, scheduled for next Saturday in Beijing, continues to give series twists. And so, after the excesses of De Laurentiis (who first insisted on playing in China and then tried to blow up the agreement in extremis) and the chaos deriving from the Scommessopoli trial, the (successful) espionage attempt by Napoli arrived against Juventus.
The "crime" took place on Monday during the Bianconeri's afternoon training, which in Conte's plans was to take place strictly behind closed doors. Too bad that in the meantime a judo recital was scheduled in another venue of the Olympic Sport Center Stadium, which involved numerous Chinese children, complete with cheering parents in tow. An excellent opportunity for Enzo Concina and Claudio Nitti, Walter Mazzarri's tactician and observer respectively, who were thus able to spy on (and photograph) the training of the Italian champions. An almost perfect plan, ruined in extremis by too many flashes, which made Juventus security suspicious. Once warned, Fabio Paratici rushed into the offending gym, while Concina and Nitti attempted a hasty and comical escape from the stadium.
The Juventus sporting director didn't take it well and immediately telephoned his Napoli colleague Riccardo Bigon, complaining about the incident. Judgments aside (we'll leave those to you…), the episode is symptomatic of the nervousness that reigns in Beijing. If the Italy of football is in fact distracted by the market and bets, the Chinese one lives with trepidation the approach to the Super Cup, an appointment that will kick off the 2012/13 season. Both teams have been preparing for the match for some time, but it is clear that psychologically Napoli seems to be doing better.
In fact, Juve's most important match will be played between today and tomorrow, and the protagonists will not be the players, but judges and lawyers. The sentences of Rome relating to the first degree of judgment on football betting are expected at any moment, which could lead to the disqualification of Conte, Bonucci and Pepe. A story that is considerably disturbing the Italian champion club, as demonstrated by the resignation of Stellini (Conte's deputy has bargained for 2 years and 6 months) and the hiring of Giulia Buongiorno in the pool of defense lawyers. Napoli, on the other hand, does not have these problems and is enjoying the amazing form of Goran Pandev (the Macedonian has already made Lavezzi forget), in addition to the return of Cavani, a kind gift from Olympic Uruguay. But Mazzarri knows well that underestimating Juve would be suicide, so he doesn't want to leave anything to chance. Because a Super Cup counts for a lot, to the point of attempting James Bond espionage. Or perhaps, given the final result, it would be better to tell Totò and Peppino.
