MILAN: Gonzalo Higuain (pictured) will face former club Napoli for the first time tomorrow since his acrimonious departure for Juventus, adding even more spice to the fierce rivalry between the two sides.
The brooding Argentine scored a record 36 league goals for Napoli last season as he led them to the runners-up spot behind Juventus who won a fifth successive Serie A title.
But instead of staying on to lead another attempt by Napoli to end Juve’s recent domination, he triggered a €90m ($98.31m) buyout clause in his contract, which had two years still to run, and moved to the Turin club.
Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri, who brought out the best in Higuain last season, gave a light-hearted answer when asked about the meeting with his former marksman, who has scored six league goals for Juventus so far.
“Higuain did well with me and was always hard working in training. How will I greet him tomorrow? In the same way that a father would with a son who made him angry,” he said after Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Empoli.
Napoli fans, however, have been less forgiving, clearly feeling betrayed by a player who in May said how much he enjoyed playing for their club.
When news of his move first emerged, supporters gathered in the city centre to tear up pictures of the Argentine and set fire to replicas of his number nine shirt. A banner bearing his photograph was tied to a dustcart.
Juventus go into tomorrow’s match as Serie A leaders and are four points ahead of third-placed Napoli. More than any other fixture in Italian football, Juventus against Napoli has come to be seen as a clash between the rich, industrial wealth of the north and the much poorer south.
The city government of Turin is so worried about possible trouble that it has banned the sales of tickets in the Naples region for the second time in a row.
