Are you ready for the summer?

By: Joe | June 13th, 2007

While Napoletano’s worldwide will celebrate Napoli’s triumphant return to Serie A, there is one man who must clear out his summer calendar and focus on reloading the squad: Direttore Generale Pierpaolo Marino.

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentis has already declared the goal for next season is to secure a top 10 finish. Next year’s Serie A is sure to be an even more competitive affair than the recently concluded campaign due to the quality of squads from top to bottom. There isn’t likely to be an Ascoli or Pescara or even a Watford in the bunch who can prop up the rest of the squads. The rebirth of Juventus, who will be fighting for a top 4 finish to secure Champions League football in 2008, an eager Inter Milan side looking to hush their naysayers, a rejuvenated Roma squad and the returning Champions League winners A.C. Milan will all be favorites for the scudetto. Additionally, the last few years have seen former bottom-feeders Palermo, Empoli, Reggina and Cagliari all improve their squads to the point where they aren’t simply looking to avoid relegation, but rather, fighting for European slots (Palermo and Empoli will be in the EUFA cup next season and Reggina would not have been very far behind had they not endured a very harsh 11 point penalty for their alleged part in last summer’s calciopoli scandal).

A deeper and more dangerous squad will be required to secure a top 10 finish and the man in the cross hairs [HA!] is Uncle Fester’s long lost cousin.

A return to Serie A is not only extremely important to the Napoli tifoseria but it signals a tangible cash influx to the team’s coffers. Last year’s contract with Sky TV netted the squad roughly 12 million euro. The figure is likely to more than double to the 28 to 30 million range next season. It’s much easier and more lucrative for Sky TV to secure sponsors for a Milan-Napoli match then it is trying to shake much money from Birra Moretti for a 30-second spot on a Pescara-Napoli match where the main drama lies in seeing if a squad can avoid the drop to Italy’s 3rd division. Of course, new sponsors will also be knocking on the doors at Napoli’s headquarters at Castel Volturno to associate themselves with a squad with a fan base as massive and passionate as the crazy Napoletanos. Existing sponsorship deals will be renegotiated and the team is estimated to draw an additional 10 million euros from its own sponsorship deals. Finally, Napoli’s season ticket base is set to dramatically increase to somewhere around 30,000 as its citizens once again get a chance to see Italy’s greatest stars at the San Paolo.

The new and enhanced revenue streams will provide Marino with approximately 30 million euros to spent on strengthening the squad with new players. Given the depth of talent in Serie A and the ambition of De Laurentis, Marino won’t have to concern himself this summer with avoiding sunburn while swimming near Capri. He’s been around long enough to know Napoli’s success in Serie A will depend on the contracts he negotiates this summer.

Next up: a look at the how Napoli’s Babbo Natale will spend the loot!

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