On 22/7, in their first summer friendly, Napoli lost 0-2 to Arezzo. Emiliano Pattarello's penalty right before half-time opened the scoring for the Serie C team. In added time of the second half, Muhamed Varela sealed the victory.

De Bruyne (in blue) takes photos with some Arezzo players after the friendly match on the evening of 22/7. Photo: Napoli

Kevin De Bruyne started the match but couldn't help Napoli score. In the first half, he had two shots, both off target. On the other side, goalkeeper Luca Trombini made several saves for Arezzo. At half-time, the former Man City star was substituted for Stanislav Lobotka. De Bruyne's Belgian teammate, Romelu Lukaku, also started the second half. Napoli were without Matteo Politano and Scott McTominay, last season's Serie A player of the year, due to minor injuries.

Several Arezzo players asked to take photos with De Bruyne at the end of the match. The Belgian midfielder happily obliged despite being visibly disappointed with the result. He smiled while his face was flushed.

De Bruyne wears the number 11 shirt for Napoli. However, as a welcome gesture, the Serie A champions allowed the former Man City star to wear the number 10 shirt, currently retired in honor of legend Diego Maradona, during training.

De Bruyne joined Napoli on a free transfer after 10 seasons at Man City, where he won 19 titles, including the 2022-2023 Champions League and six Premier League titles.

Napoli have four more friendlies scheduled before the new season. On 23/8, Antonio Conte's team will begin their Serie A title defense with an away match against Sassuolo. Last season, they won the championship by one point over runners-up Inter.

Thanh Quy