We’ve heard some odd suggestions in our time but staging the Coppa Italia final between Napoli and Juventus in England’s capital? Napoli’s owner reckons it’s a great idea.
The club’s madcap owner – who famously stormed out of proceeding after this season’s “corrupt” fixtures were announced on the back of a stranger’s scooter – made the statement after claiming that Roma and Lazio’s Stadio Olimpico is simply big enough for the Juventus v Napoli final, despite its capacity of 72,481.
“The whole world will be flocking to Rome. Going into a big stadium is exciting, but we’ll have to see if the Olimpico has the right characteristics to host us,” Daily Calcio quotes De Laurentiis as telling Radio Marte.
“Right now they say it’ll be played in Rome, but it could be Milan, Paris or London. Juventus President Andrea Agnelli and I will have our say on the venue for the Final, discuss it on Monday and set ticket prices.
“We do not want to cut anyone out, but rather impose the organisation so we can avoid ticket touts. I urge the Napoli fans to continue with the process of signing up for the fan passport. I was against it, but in truth it comes from a sense of belonging and could be indispensible to be there for that match.
“I know there are around 150,000 fans registered between the two clubs and this could represent a problem. An important match always creates problems and it even happened for Milan-Barcelona in a bigger venue. Clearly, that is not enough.”
It’s interesting that De Laurentiis speaks of not “cutting out” Napoli’s fans yet by the same token suggests moving their momentous day to an entirely different country. Oh well, we suppose that in his head it all makes sense.
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