Marek Hamsik: A Decade of Dedication
The days of Napoli Soccer were now a distant yet painful memory, but to grow and be taken seriously in the top flight the club needed fresh blood, and when Aurelio De Laurentiis splashed the cash to land both Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi, most fans would have been forgiven for being more excited about the Argentine than the Slovakian; a relative unknown who arrived from Serie B side, Brescia.
Now, I could spend the next several paragraphs telling you all about Hamsik’s career statistics, numbers which of course, speak for themselves; 10 years, 452 games, 113 goals (15 headers, 65 right foot, 33 left foot), and 97 assists. It's quite possibly the best €5.5m De Laurentiis has ever spent in his tenure as Napoli president.
However, as a Napoli supporter and founder/host of a long running Napoli podcast, I’m in the fortunate position of being able to watch Marek Hamsik every week with my own eyes. This is a player I know inside out, a player I have admired for years for his professionalism off the field and his leadership on it. A player, and a man, I am proud to call, ‘mio Capitano’.
While Lorenzo Insigne is very much viewed as “Uno Di Noi” by the Partenopei due to his local roots, Marek Hamsik is very much Naples adopted son, and proudly so. Like his team-mate, Dries Mertens, Hamsik has gone out of his way to embrace the culture of his adopted home from day one, and it’s inarguable that his feelings toward the city come from the fact he completed his journey from a boy into a man in Naples; in effect, Naples has had as much of an influence on Marek Hamsik as he has had on it, perhaps even more so.
He lives and breathes Naples, the joy on his face when he scores a goal is second to none as he celebrates with his people. In fact, at a fans street party last season hosted by Daniele Bellini, Hamsik strode on stage and took a banner from the adoring crowd and held it aloft; it simply read, “Thank God I’m Neapolitan”. Slovakian by nature, Neapolitan by nurture.
Many pundits, column writers, and rival fans have questioned Hamsik’s decision to remain in Naples during years which were nowhere near as enjoyable as the present day under Maurizio Sarri, but that for me is the measure of the man. Times got tough, results didn't go to plan, big name players came and went; but Marek remained.
Whilst many players kiss the badge, beat their chest, quote club mottos, and pander to fans before sulking off like a thief in the night to find another suitor (I’m looking at you Gonzalo Higuain), Marek has remained steadfastly loyal, a word that is becoming rarer and rarer in the modern day, agent driven, greed ridden version of the ‘Beautiful Game.
I feel sorry for fans who will never have the opportunity to truly identify with a player at their club, to feel your heart beat out your chest with pride at the very sight of them wearing your jersey.
Roma fans had that with Francesco Totti, and the outpouring of pride and borderline grief when he recently retired just shows what loyalty does to football fans. These men don’t just become icons, they become much more than that; they become family.
Juventus fans could argue that they had this very same feeling with regards to Alessandro Del Piero, and Milan fans have had numerous examples of this including, but not limited to, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi.
And that’s what these pundits and fans from abroad don’t grasp; Marek Hamsik has everything he wants in Naples.
They ask, “Why would he not want to join the Most Successful League In The World”®
They scratch their heads in disbelief whilst daring to question his ambition, asking if Hamsik ever actually wants to win trophies in his career. Of course he does, he just wants to do so in the blue of Napoli.
Now, the above are of course valid questions from a basic football fan perspective, the argument being that top players should want to win things and play at the best clubs is a common one. The answer is simple this; you’re not Naples.
And it is this outlook which people woefully underestimate.
Naples is a powerful city, it’s an emotional city, with uniquely warm people and some of the most beautiful sights you could see with your own two eyes.
Let me put it another way. I’ve been to Naples & Campania five times and the city got under my skin to the extent that I became a massive Napoli fan, which in turn led to the creation of Sempre! podcast. I didn't choose Naples; she chose me.
That's after five week long visits, now try spending your entire adult life there.
Naples has that effect on some, not all, but to those who's heart she captures, there is simply no escape.
Perhaps Marek will never win a Scudetto, maybe he’ll never win a European trophy, who knows?
Personally, I think Napoli represent the single largest threat to Juventus’ bid for 7 in a row as Aurelio De Laurentiis moves heaven and earth to retain his starting squad from the previous campaign in an attempt to regain the momentum with which Napoli ended the season.
At the end of the day, for some players, simply pulling on that jersey every week is enough and is something that no amount of money or winners medals can match.
Francesco Totti himself said, “Winning one league title at Roma to me is worth winning 10 at Juventus or Real Madrid”. It’s a mentality only those with true loyalty to their clubs can truly speak of and a sentiment echoed by fans in Naples; to us one title for us is worth ten of theirs. That’s how much it would mean.
You can see what Napoli means to Marek Hamsik in every single match; the elation when he scores, the dedication in his work rate, the emotion when things don’t go to plan, and the pride as he puffs his chest out leading his team onto the field week in, week out.
Sempre il nostro Capitano. Marek Hamsik.
James McGhie @jrmcghie