How Napoli went from immortal Serie A champions to also-rans in just five months

After Napoli had clinched the title with a draw with Udinese at the Dacia Arena on May 4, De Laurentiis took to the stage at the Maradona and told the delirious 50,000 fans in attendance who had been watching the title-clinching match on giant screens that a first Scudetto in 33 years was merely just a taste of things to come.

"The project never stops," he declared. "This is a starting point for me; not an arrival. We resume next season with Spalletti." The very next day, De Laurentiis revealed that he had activated the one-year extension clause in the coach's contract.

"Spalletti is someone I had been chasing for years and finally I managed to bring him to Napoli," De Laurentiis told RAI 1. "He got us back into Europe and now I would like to open up a new era with him, because he is a great leader."

Spalletti, though, was not in the least bit impressed by the fact that his contract had been extended without warning. According to reports, he was keen to stay at Napoli, but wanted to know the club's summer transfer plans before committing himself to them - which was fair enough, given it was already clear that Cristiano Giuntoli, the sporting director who had constructed Napoli's Scudetto-winning squad on a shoestring budget, was leaving for Juventus.

Spalletti and De Laurentiis decided to clear the air over dinner. Everything was decided inside 15 minutes. Spalletti explained he was exhausted and wanted to step down. "Am I hurting myself by leaving Napoli? Yes, but I'm not leaving because I stopped loving," he explained. "I'm leaving because I loved and gave everything. I am not someone who changes his mind easily after making a decision. And I don't want there to be friction with president De Laurentiis. I don't want there to be a division."

Napoli fans were devastated, but De Laurentiis argued that it wouldn't have been right to stand in the coach's way. "Spalletti is a free man," he told Che Tempo Che Fa. "When someone comes to you and says that he has done all he can and an era of his life has concluded... He told me that he would prefer to have a sabbatical year. What do you do then? Do you oppose it?"

However, the pair's comments on the matter did little to quell the suspicion that they had fallen out; that they could simply no longer work with another. They certainly didn't seem to be on the same page anymore, that was for sure - because less than a month after quitting Napoli, Spalletti was contradicting De Laurentiis' claim that he wanted to go on sabbatical.

"I only said that I needed to take a breather and sort some things out," he told reporters in July and, less than two months later, he was back in the game, unveiled as Italy's new coach after Roberto Mancini's shock departure.

By that stage, De Laurentiis had surprisingly turned to Garcia, pointedly remarking that it was "a pleasure" to announce the former Roma coach as Napoli's new boss "having got to know and spend time with him during the past 10 days" - which was widely interpreted as a reference to his strained relationship with Spalletti.

The fans were less enthused by the news, though. Antonio Conte, Roberto De Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique were all linked with the role so they rather understandably expected the newly-crowned champions of Italy to attract a higher calibre of coach than Garcia, who hasn't lifted a trophy since 2011, at Lille.

Garcia's use of a Spalletti-like 4-3-3 formation had played a big role in De Laurentiis' thinking, as it would, in theory, mean less tactical disruption for the players. However, the input of Carlo Verdone had also been key. As well as being a good friend of De Laurentiis, Verdone is also a Roma supporter and was full of praise for Garcia, who twice led the Giallorossi to second-placed finishes during his three years at Stadio Olimpico.

Garcia's work since then, though, was far less noteworthy, and Napoli supporters were rightly concerned that De Laurentiis was entrusting Napoli's new immortals to a man who had effectively been sacked by Al-Nassr for failing to sustain a Saudi Pro League title tilt with Cristiano Ronaldo up front.

In that context, Garcia's struggles came as little surprise. There were mitigating factors, of course. The loss of South Korea centre-back Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich was a hammer blow to the backline, while an injury to Victor Osimhen robbed Napoli of their most reliable source of goals.

However, even before the Nigerian was sidelined with a hamstring problem, it was clear that Osimhen, who still hasn't signed a new contract, wasn't entirely happy with some of Garcia's decisions. Last season's capocannoniere reacted furiously to his substitution in the 0-0 draw with Bologna in September - and there were similar touchline tantrums from Kvaratskhelia and Mateo Politano during the games against Genoa and Fiorentina, respectively.

After the 3-1 loss at home to Fiorentina, which came just before the last international break, Garcia appeared a dead man walking - and he was only granted a stay of execution because Conte reportedly turned De Laurentiis down because he was unwilling to take over a team midway through the season.

Garcia was, therefore, under intense pressure to prove his worth over the past month. He failed dismally in that regard. Even in victory, the coach was losing support, so poor were the performances.

The Partenopei should still reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, but the midweek draw with Union Berlin - a team that had lost their 12 previous games - represented another significant setback in Garcia's fight for survival. Napoli had dominated possession but had looked vulnerable to counter-attacks throughout, meaning the concession of a breakaway goal from their own corner was viewed as yet further evidence of just how disjointed and disorganised the team had become on his watch.

It was, therefore, imperative that Garcia got back to winning ways against relegation-threated Empoli, who are coached by Aurelio Andreazzoli - arguably the most Spalletti-like coach in Serie A. Yet he inexplicably to decided to change to a 4-2-3-1 formation, drop two of his best players and play without a left-footed centre-back despite having two on the bench.

Again, one could argue that Napoli were unfortunate to be hit with a sucker-punch right at the death, but they've had their guard down nearly all season long, resulting in just five clean sheets in all competitions and only two wins from eight matches at the Maradona.

Despite managing to hold onto the majority of last season's league winners, Garcia's Napoli bear only a passing resemblance to the Spalletti-led side that wowed the world with their thrilling brand of attacking football. A winning machine has undeniably broken down. They appear both physically and mentally drained. Consequently, a team that was as united as it was effective has been relying on moments of magic from individuals trying desperately to remember what made them so successful in the first place.

As Marco Ciriello wrote in the Gazzetta dello Sport, "The fact is that Napoli had lost their joy even before the [Empoli] game. The Scudetto is further away than the last eruption of Vesuvius."

Garcia is certainly culpable for such a rapid and dramatic decline, but the real fault lies with the man who hired him. His appointment looked like a massive mistake to everyone bar De Laurentiis and Verdone - but an even bigger error preceded that calamitous call.

Spalletti may be a demanding and peculiar character, and thus a difficult man to deal with, but De Laurentiis should never have allowed their relationship to deteriorate to such a point that the Tuscan would have even considered quitting a club that he clearly loved.

The net result is that Napoli have sensationally turned to former boss Walter Mazzarri, who has returned on a short-term contract after 10 years away. It's a step back that smacks of desperation and has done absolutely nothing to restore confidence in De Laurentiis among the club's frustrated fans.

The president promised them a new era of sustained success with Spalletti, but he has instead precipitated a period of great uncertainty with one dreadful decision after another. The project never stops, of course, but Napoli's hopes of making the most of a truly remarkable achievement are already over.