Walter Gargano punched Napoli Vice-President Edo De Laurentiis and – egged on by Ezequiel Lavezzi – and called Neapolitans “rude.”
The midfielder gave a lengthy interview to Mexican radio station Rg La Deportiva and had some truly colourful anecdotes about his time at Napoli.
Walter Gargano punched Napoli Vice-President Edo De Laurentiis and – egged on by Ezequiel Lavezzi – and called Neapolitans “rude.”
The midfielder gave a lengthy interview to Mexican radio station Rg La Deportiva and had some truly colourful anecdotes about his time at Napoli.
“In my first six months at Napoli, I had a fight with the then-captain, Francesco Montervino. After a clash in training I complained and he said: ‘Shut up, shorty.’
“Perhaps he thought I wouldn’t react because I am a bit small, but he got the wrong guy. I gave him two blows and he didn’t even react. He tried to scare me by saying ‘I’m going to kill you.’
“There they talk a lot during a fight, whereas I am of the idea that if we are to give each other a kicking, we should just get on with it.
“Lavezzi was there urging me on, saying ‘hit him, hit him!’ I was young and didn’t think much about the consequences.”
Gargano remained at Napoli and had further fisticuffs with the son of President Aurelio De Laurentiis, but again Lavezzi was the very vocal by-stander.
“We were returning from Rome on the team bus after a game with Lazio and Edo De Laurentiis put one of his father’s films on the TV.
“We all started jeering and told him to remove it. Edo was irritated by this. At the time he wasn’t the Vice-President of Napoli, but he is now because they couldn’t think of anything else he was capable of doing with his life, so they put him into the football club.
“He walked past Lavezzi and told him he was going to ‘beat up the little guy,’ putting a hand on my leg to tell me I shouldn’t have jeered and shouted to take the film off. I told him it wasn’t me, as I was listening to music.
“Lavezzi continued to provoke me and told me to hit him. At the end, we did reach a physical confrontation. He threatened me and I’d hit him.
“Eventually when we arrived at the Castel Volturno training ground we got off the bus to continue the discussion, but he pulled back and said he was wrong, so he realised it wasn’t me jeering. It ended there.”
Gargano didn’t have kind words for the people of Naples either.
“I have two Neapolitan children and I can say it’s true, the people of the north don’t like them. Naples is a crazy and truly chaotic city, but that makes it unique.
“I admire the way they experience football, even if I don’t share their culture. They are insolent and rude. They have the kind of attitude where at any moment they start shouting at you to come over, not even asking please or waiting for you to finish your meal.
“It is a unique experience for a player to be there, as the passion is immense. If things go well, you can’t leave the house. Mind you, that’s true if things go badly too!”