Still "attempting to climb out of Diego Maradona’s shadow after 25 years in relative obscurity," Serie A side Napoli "appears to be on the verge of something special," according to Andrew Dampf of the AP. The team has started strong in Serie A, "trailing five-time defending champion Juventus by one point through six matches." All this "despite Gonzalo Higuain’s Italian-record transfer to Juventus" for $99M after scoring 36 goals last season to break a 66-year-old Serie A record. Belgian winger Dries Mertens said, "We’re playing as a team now and everyone is adding something extra." While Napoli finished runner-up to Juventus in Serie A last season and in '13, the team has not "won the league since Maradona led the club to its only two titles" in '87 and '90. In '04, Napoli "fell into financial disarray and was forced to restart in the third division under new ownership" after film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis purchased the club. Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri’s personal history "somewhat mirrors the team’s travails over the past quarter century." Sarri "toiled in relative obscurity" before taking over his hometown club last season. While fans have "decried De Laurentiis for raising ticket prices, they have supported Sarri’s stances against perceived referees’ mistakes," contrasting with De Laurentiis’ preferred silence. At "odds with the city over the decrepit San Paolo Stadium," De Laurentiis said recently that he will not set foot again in the arena "and wants to build a new 40,000-seat facility instead" (AP, 9/29).
