Serie A champions face Coppa Italia holders for the first trophy of the season, but in front of an Al Awwal Park expected to be half-empty
The Italian Supercoppa will hand out its trophy tonight in Riyadh, but Napoli vs Bologna will be played in a setting that clashes with the sporting value of the occasion. Al Awwal Park is set to be far from sold out: an expected crowd of 17,000–18,000 in a stadium that was supposed to celebrate the very best of Italian football. A clear paradox, given that the two teams on the pitch are the ones who most deserved to be there: the reigning Serie A champions and the Coppa Italia holders.
It is a “real” final, perhaps the most authentic one possible, but also the least appealing to the Saudi hosts, who were hoping for at least one of the traditional giants. The result will be a flat, almost suspended atmosphere, with an “aquarium effect” threatening to frame a match of significant historical weight, especially for Bologna, appearing in the Supercoppa for the first time in their history.
Unfortunately for the Saudi sheikhs, and for Italian football as well, money can’t buy passion. The €53 million invested by the PIF fund to bring the Italian Supercoppa to Riyadh enriches the system’s coffers on one hand, but on the other highlights the limited appeal of Italian football in the Arab market, where the Juventus, Milan and Inter brands are more attractive than the Serie A brand itself.
The lack of true global superstars capable of driving engagement through their personal branding does the rest. And so we find ourselves facing the paradox of an event that would have sold out in Italy without generating significant revenue, while in Saudi Arabia (for now) it produces tens of millions in income without engaging Italian supporters and without truly captivating local fans.
It remains to be seen how long the Saudi world will continue to invest in the Serie A brand, and this is a crucial issue, because that money could soon disappear from the radar. A successful event gets repeated, often for even higher fees as the bargaining power of the stakeholders grows; an event that struggles to take off, instead, risks becoming an asset to be quickly divested by Saudi businessmen.
Within this scenario, two very different but equally intense journeys collide. For Napoli, this could be the closing of a circle, the final chapter of a transformation that began 43 days ago after the heavy 2–0 defeat suffered precisely in Bologna. That loss marked a breaking point, culminating in Antonio Conte’s outburst, which reshaped the Azzurri. Since then: a new tactical setup, greater compactness and a team that has rediscovered energy and edge, as shown in the semifinal win over Milan.
Conte’s 3-4-3 has made Napoli more solid and quicker to strike, a system also designed to face an opponent like Bologna, who always play on the front foot.
“In the end, only those who win are remembered,” Conte reminded his players.
Bologna, however, have no intention of playing a supporting role, not even in a half-empty stadium. Vincenzo Italiano approaches yet another final with the clarity of someone who understands the weight of these matches and with the ambition of writing his name into Rossoblù history.
After lifting the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa represents a unique chance to give continuity to a project that has brought Bologna back to stages they had been missing for decades.
Italiano is asking his team for a fearless performance: aggressive, vertical, ready to bridge the technical and financial gap with Napoli through intensity and hunger.
Orsolini can light up the flank, Ravaglia was decisive in the semifinal, and Immobile remains a heavyweight option off the bench. The city pushes from afar, with fans willing to take on expensive trips just to be there, even if the overall setting is still far removed from the great European nights.
Napoli vs Bologna thus becomes the symbol of a Supercoppa living with an evident contradiction: a final of the highest sporting value, played far from its natural audience. In the relative silence of the desert, hunger, tension and the ability to handle pressure will matter even more. Because, full stands or empty ones, history — as Conte reminds us — is written only by those who win.
L’articolo Money can’t buy passion proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
