Newspaper identifies cliques in divided Napoli dressing room as pressure mounts on Allegri

Newspaper identifies cliques in divided Napoli dressing room as pressure mounts on Allegri Newspapers in Italy claim that there are too many ‘cliques’ within a divided Napoli dressing room, which they claim could be part of the reason why Massimiliano Allegri has struggled to get the squad going in the early stages of the 2026-27 season. Gazzetta: Too many cliques forming in divided Napoli dressing room Pressure on head coach Allegri rose on Wednesday night when Napoli fell to a 4-1 defeat against Porto in the Champions League. This leaves them with just three points from four games in the competition and at risk of not qualifying for the knock-out play-off rounds. PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Jan Bednarek of FC Porto celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images) Allegri has now lost seven of his first 14 competitive matches in charge of Napoli and has won only five. The Partenopei are currently eighth in the Serie A table with 14 points after 10 matches, and are already 14 points off the league leaders, Lazio. To make matters worse, senior players appear visibly frustrated with the situation: Kevin De Bruyne was seen having it out with teammate Lorenzo Lucca during Wednesday’s defeat against Porto, and Matteo Politano seemed to call out some of his teammates for not taking responsibility during his post-match interview. Politano has regularly appeared in the media room to give post-match interviews and conferences after Napoli defeats in recent weeks, and it was suggested to him on Wednesday that it is ‘always’ him who shows up to apologise and give an explanation. NAPLES, ITALY – OCTOBER 20: Massimiliano Allegri, Manager of SSC Napoli, talks with Matteo Politano of SSC Napoli during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between SSC Napoli and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on October 20, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) “It would be nice if a few other teammates came here to give an explanation and not just us Italians, but never mind,” said a frustrated Politano. La Gazzetta dello Sport has pointed the finger at two non-Italians within the Napoli dressing room, both of whom have been with the squad for a long time and were key players in Napoli’s two recent Scudetto triumphs. They are Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Amir Rrahmani. PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Andre Silva of FC Porto is challenged by Amir Rrahmani of SSC Napoli during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images) La Gazzetta dello Sport also suggests that there are too many cliques within the Napoli dressing room and not enough togetherness as a squad, on or off the pitch. They suggest that, for example, the Italian block of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Politano and Leonardo Spinazzola are close friends off the pitch, and that the same goes for Noa Lang and David Neres, Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay and Alisson Santos and Giovane. NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 23: Scott McTominay of Napoli poses for a photo as he celebrates victory with teammate Billy Gilmour following the Serie A match between Napoli and Cagliari at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 23, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) However, there are also some players whom La Gazzetta dello Sport claim are too individualistic, including De Bruyne, Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka and Rasmus Hojlund. The Pink Paper warns that it is the players’ responsibility to sort themselves out as much as it is the head coach’s and that if they continue to act as a fragmented group, then it will be ‘a long way to go’ until the end of the season.