Faouzi Ghoulam’s memories of Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli offer a portrait of a side for whom a comfortable lead was never enough. In those seasons, the former Algeria international recalls, the work did not stop at winning: Sarri wanted opponents’ stadiums emptied, intensity maintained and every match pushed beyond its apparent conclusion.
Key takeaways
- Ghoulam says Sarri used the sight of home supporters leaving early as a target for Napoli.
- If away fans were still in the stands around the 70th minute, the squad faced a Tuesday double training session.
- The left-back recalls Sarri demanding eight goals after Dynamo Kyiv sent an early long ball into Napoli’s half in a Champions League match.
- Ghoulam considers Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma among the leading contenders for the Scudetto.
- He believes Gasperini has revived the best of Paulo Dybala and made a major impact on Donyell Malen.
Sarri’s Napoli and the demand for more
Napoli’s Sarri era is often remembered for its football and its pursuit of Juventus at the summit, but Ghoulam describes a dressing room driven by smaller, relentless challenges. One of them concerned the away end.
Sarri would tell his players to make the home crowd leave. During matches, Ghoulam says, Napoli players would occasionally glance towards the stands to judge whether supporters had begun heading for the exits. A two- or three-goal advantage was not simply a scoreline to manage; it was an invitation to keep attacking until the atmosphere around the stadium had changed.
The incentive was direct. Should the opposition supporters still be present by the 70th minute, Sarri would schedule two training sessions for the following Tuesday. That, Ghoulam explained, was why Napoli continued pressing even when the result appeared settled. When the third goal arrived after the interval, they would rush to retrieve the ball as though they were behind rather than comfortably ahead.
Opponents could understandably take exception to it, Ghoulam said, but Napoli knew what was at stake: leaving a match competitive meant the crowd would remain, and the consequences would follow later in the week.
He also recalled the squad’s first Champions League fixture in Kyiv. Napoli arrived calm, but Sarri entered the dressing room furious and warned his players that if he saw the ball in their own half even once, they would have to score eight times.
When Dynamo Kyiv launched the ball forward early in the game, Sarri immediately reminded the team of his demand. Ghoulam said he turned to Kalidou Koulibaly and wondered whether their coach had lost his mind. The response on the pitch was an extreme pressing effort, with Napoli determined to prevent another long ball from the opposition. In Ghoulam’s recollection, the players feared the manager’s reaction as much as the threat of the match itself.
Ghoulam’s hope for Roma’s title challenge
Looking at the present Serie A campaign, Ghoulam places Gasperini’s Roma among the clubs capable of contesting the title. He believes Romanisti now expect the side to be in that conversation, and he hopes the club’s supporters can experience a long-awaited championship celebration.
Roma have not won the Scudetto for a long time, he noted, and Ghoulam said he would like his many Roma-supporting friends to feel something similar to the joy Napoli experienced when they ended a 33-year wait for the title.
For Ghoulam, the strength of Roma’s case begins with the coach. He described Gasperini as an outstanding manager, pointing to the transformation of Malen and to Dybala’s return to the level of a player he has always considered a genuine star.
