Caos Napoli, the mutiny decided before the Salzburg. Here is the gang of five who broke the front

They arise a moment after realizing that they would return to where they left off, four hours before, or at Castel Volturno. In prolonged withdrawal. Despite the peer who has the taste of the pass for the team in the Champions League knockout rounds. I promised it in the afternoon Mertens, Callejon, Allan, Insigne, Koulibaly and company. And so they did: when DS Giuntoli explained that the bus was waiting for them in the San Paolo parking lot, Mertens was the first to raise his voice and protest. But he knew perfectly well that he was not alone. And in fact all the others have joined together without losing a second. Allan intervenes, and the Brazilian raises the bar with the sports director. "We go home, tell the president." The injured midfielder almost looks for a fight even with De Laurentiis junior who has arrived in the meantime: "We are always on your side, you have to accept the company's decision," he says. Nothing to do. The tension is skyrocketing, because everyone else is there to roar, to protest. Mertens doesn't think about it for a moment: he doesn't even take a shower and leaves. The others continue to argue, Giuntoli and De Laurentiis junior continue to push them to go to the hotel for the night and postpone the discussion to the morning (yesterday morning, ed). Nothing to do: the nerves have now completely disappeared and when Ancelotti – who has a room of his own a few meters from the big room of the players – he realized that there was little to do, he took his bag, he deserted the press room and went straight to Castel Volturno. He and his staff. Alone. Knowing well that they would have remained alone. Ancelotti followed the evolution of the situation almost at 3 am, in the lobby of the Golden Tulip hotel, together with his son Davide and the rest of the collaborators.

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WHAT CHAOS
A pandemonium. Who listen to everyone, because it is not possible not to hear what is happening. Aurelio De Laurentiis avoids going down, limits himself to a hasty greeting to Lozano and then leaves the stadium. He also armored by silence. What happens he knows immediately after, when he is first surprised by the absence of Ancelotti at the Uefa conferences (there are fines of almost 50 thousand euros). The technician explains: "What am I going to say after all that is happening?" The minds are overheated, a group remains locked in the locker room and continues to argue. No reverse gear. When they go out, each on their own, they measure the words with the lantern. "It is not right, we give our best, for us this is a punitive measure that we do not accept", the monologue of the blue locker room.

The BACKGROUND
The team is sure to have Ancelotti on his side. De Laurentiis is instead sure that the withdrawal is "for constructive purposes" and not "punitive" (Naples also writes in a second statement released yesterday afternoon) and that he is almost doing his coach a favor. It is certain that this is the right thing to do. The players are annoyed by the fact that they have heard the news from the newspapers (Il Mattino anticipated the provision on Monday morning). The veterans remember the precedent of 2015, when May, the captain, with the support of Benitez, made the patron change his mind even though he had put everyone behind the blackboard after being eliminated from the Italian Cup. De Laurentiis does not say no but lets it be known that if he has to backtrack, it must be Ancelotti who asks for it and not the players (to whom he has also granted prizes for the Champions League in recent days). But the technician does nothing. That is, he has no problem in taking sides and putting his face but he draws a clear line between himself, his tasks and the rest of the world: I completely agree with you, he says to the team, and I will also say this publicly but these are chosen of society and I do not allow myself to interfere because it is not up to me to do so. Mertens and Callejon then move in other ways because they are certain that this is a provision also contractually illicit: nobody, they say, can force them to stay so long in retreat. Moreover, the nationals are the most angry: from Sunday they will leave home for another 10-13 days. An infinity. Allan consults a lawyer, there are those who call the Assocalciatori, almost all of them get advice from their managers who in turn turn to lawyers. The opinions are conflicting, but lnsigne, Callejon and partners they decide to continue the same with the protest. The die is now drawn.

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