De Bruyne and Lukaku: World Cup and Napoli to become great again

It should have been a fairytale season, but the book about De Bruyne and Lukaku at Napoli has been stuck at the preface for months. After all, having or not having the Belgians in your squad can make all the difference in the world. And, in the common imagination, they should have and could have been the added values ​​for Conte’s team, if it hadn’t been for the injuries. Injury to the rectus femoris of the left thigh for Romelu, who was retiring, during the last friendly match in Castel Di Sangro, against Olympiakos. And Kevin suffered a hamstring injury in his right thigh at the end of October, when, after scoring from the spot in the home match against Inter, the former City player curled up in pain rather than rejoicing. Very high expectations in the premises, unmet by a tragic common destiny dictated by physical problems, which for two over thirty years old like the Belgians, Lukaku 33 years old and De Bruyne almost 35, meant losing half the season, in the best of cases.

long recoveries

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Romelu, who returned prematurely to Castel Volturno, disrupted the recovery that began in Antwerp. Also finding little playing time at Napoli, where Conte had already permanently relied on the new offensive certainty called Hojlund, who cost 50 million. The recovery of De Bruyne was easier, but equally unsuccessful. Unlike his compatriot, he underwent surgery and carried out his entire rehabilitation in his home country, returning to Naples only after complete re-athleticisation, after more than four months out. In his first year in Serie A, the midfielder racked up 1436 minutes, spread over 21 games and featuring 5 goals and 4 assists. Big Rom’s score was decidedly worse. Relegated to the bench for the entire season, the center forward played only 102 minutes in all competitions, yet he managed to score a goal, which gave Napoli the victory against Verona. More or less, both De Bruyne and Lukaku will want to put an end to the season just ended at Napoli as soon as possible. And, perhaps, to rewrite it starting from a different preface. The awareness of being central in the new project signed by Massimiliano Allegri could be one of the discriminating factors, the World Cup played by protagonists, the common dream to relaunch themselves as top European players, otherwise on the decline as is rumored in many quarters. The real big regret remains not having been able to shine together in blue, at least for the moment. De Bruyne and Lukaku have shared only 6 minutes in the season in the Napoli shirt, 12 if we consider injury time, in the match at Maradona against Torino. It was last March 6, when Kevin entered the field in the 79th minute and Romelu followed him in the 84th minute.

parallel careers

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It’s strange, but the two compatriots, practically the same age, always arm in arm in the national team since they were teenagers, have never in their careers found a team ready to host them at the same time. Yet in the 16 years of Belgium, since 2010, they have demonstrated that they can be in tandem, prolific, impactful, at times, overflowing. A big problem for any opponent: being in front of De Bruyne serving Lukaku, sending him towards goal without fail is a lethal weapon. In the 82 matches shared with the Belgian shirt, 18 goals were scored twice: on thirteen occasions Kevin assisted Romelu and 5 times the opposite. Who knows, the scheme may not materialize in blue next season. In addition to Allegri’s decision, that of the club, and the will of the players themselves, the real oracle on the future will be the next World Cup in the United States. The chemistry on the pitch translates into mutual respect off it. When Lukaku found himself embroiled in the diplomatic issue with Antonio Conte, at the time of the March national break, De Bruyne was the only teammate to defend him: “There is always a lot of noise around Napoli. If something happens, it gets amplified. I don’t know the details, but the situation is not good for Rom. I just hope he comes back as soon as possible.” Admiration that he also expressed recently, from the pre-World Tour. After the match against Croatia, Kevin had a few words for his teammate: “The most important thing for Lukaku now is to play. He will always have his qualities and will always score. He must improve his physical condition, he knows it too. And then he will always be dangerous.” In short, Belgium’s withdrawal proved to be a hotbed of strong declarations. The midfielder removed a few stones from his shoe after Conte’s farewell: “I’m happy that the coach is gone. I never played in my role…”. The center forward, however, again after the leave of his former mentor, tried to mend things with Napoli: “My love remains unchanged. I have another year on my contract, in my mind I am a Napoli player. There is no problem with the club.” De Bruyne and Lukaku’s plan is written, all that remains is to test it in the USA and, perhaps, propose it again in Italy. But, between saying and doing, the World Cup is involved.