[News Figures] "Didn't Even Know Soccer Rules" Napoli Owner Who Recruited Kim Min-jae

Movie Producer-turned-De Laurentiis Draws Attention
Napoli, Prestigious Club Where Maradona Played
Acquired for 53.8 Billion KRW After 2004 Bankruptcy
Directly Scouts Players... Signs 'Iron Pillar' Kim Min-jae

The owner of SSC Napoli, the club of South Korean national football team defender Kim Min-jae, has come into the spotlight as Napoli won the Italian professional football Serie A earlier this month. Napoli's championship is the first in 33 years since the 1980s when Diego Maradona played for the team.

Aurelio De Laurentiis, born in Rome, Italy in 1949, is 73 years old this year and had no prior connection to the football world. His profession is a Hollywood film producer in the United States. He once served as a jury member at the 19th Moscow International Film Festival, one of the world's four major film festivals. He inherited the 'Filmauro' company founded by his father Luigi and is widely known as a comedy film producer. How then did he acquire Napoli and lead the team to a championship?

Italian football team SSC Napoli secured their third-ever Serie A title, and immediately after, on the 7th, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is giving an interview during the home match against Fiorentina. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

De Laurentiis's involvement in football became serious in the 2000s. In 1999, he offered 102 million euros to acquire Napoli but was rejected. Later, in 2004, while on vacation on the Italian island of Capri, he acquired Napoli for 37 million euros (approximately 53.8 billion KRW). At that time, Napoli had gone bankrupt and fallen to Serie C (third division).

Napoli fans expressed strong dissatisfaction with De Laurentiis as the club owner, pointing out that he was a figure from the film industry, not football. Especially since Napoli had a shrine dedicated to the Argentine football hero Diego Maradona, who had played for the team, public opinion suggested that the fans' protests were understandable.

Regarding this, De Laurentiis recently stated in an interview with the Financial Times (FT), "I paid 37 million euros to buy a piece of paper," adding, "I didn't even know the rules of football, but it was important to create content by combining film and sports." He acquired the club purely for business purposes.

Player Kim Min-jae is roaring. Behind Kim Min-jae, a flag depicting Napoli's hero 'Maradona' is fluttering.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, De Laurentiis had another purpose. Although not widely known externally, he dreamed of restoring Napoli to the glorious era of the 1980s when Maradona played. Although born in Rome, he grew up considering Napoli his spiritual hometown because his family was originally from Napoli. Perhaps his acquisition of Napoli was more than a sports business venture; it might have been a dream he had to fulfill in his life.

After acquiring Napoli, De Laurentiis began to manage the club realistically. Unlike other billionaire owners who delegate club operations to various departments, he personally involved himself in management. He also established a player scouting organization, mainly recruiting and developing undervalued young players from peripheral leagues.

However, Napoli fans were still dissatisfied. In an interview with the sports media The Athletic on the 5th (Korean time), De Laurentiis mentioned last summer's transfer market, when they brought in players like Kim Min-jae, saying, "Most people didn't know who the players we signed were." The team was essentially built with almost unknown players, and he said about the atmosphere at the time, "No one believed in us."

Kim Min-jae, nicknamed the "Iron Pillar," made his first overseas move in January 2019 by transferring to Beijing Guoan in China. After consistent performances in the Chinese league, he joined Fenerbah?e in Turkey in August 2021, entering the European stage. Then, in July last year, he received a love call from Napoli and stepped into a big league. Napoli's choice was not wrong. Kim Min-jae showed outstanding defensive skills, playing 33 matches (2 goals, 2 assists) in the 2022?2023 Serie A season and played a key role in the team's early championship. Currently, Kim Min-jae is receiving acquisition attempts from big clubs such as Manchester United.

Currently, the perspective of Napoli fans toward De Laurentiis has shifted from skepticism to admiration. The film producer and club owner who knew nothing about football promoted Napoli to Serie A (first division) within three years of acquisition. Moreover, they won the championship, making it a story more cinematic than any movie.