It was January 2020, and Diego Demme was finishing up his winter vacation. Just as he was getting ready to return to RB Leipzig, his agent called him: Napoli wanted to sign him.

Having never lived outside of Germany, Demme was intrigued by a potential summer transfer. The only issue? Napoli wanted him to join right now, in the middle of the season.

At the time, Leipzig sat atop the Bundesliga and were in the midst of a historic season that saw them reach the UEFA Champions League semifinal. Napoli, meanwhile, were in chaos, sitting eighth in the Serie A table.

Diego Demme explains how Gennaro Gattuso put Napoli on the path to ending their Scudetto drought

Carlo Ancelotti had lost control of the dressing room, with the club attempting to fine players 25% of their salary – 50% for Lorenzo Insigne and Allan – after they refused to return to a mandatory training retreat ordered by owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Ancelotti's replacement, Gennaro Gattuso, inherited a club in free fall. He quickly began rebuilding the squad with Stanislav Lobotka, Amir Rrahmani, Matteo Politano, and Andrea Petagna. For his midfield enforcer, he turned his attention to the Leipzig captain, a man modeled in his image.

Demme's brain told him to stay at Leipzig, but his heart pushed him to leave. After all, his father was a lifelong Napoli fan who had named him after Diego Maradona. Moreover, Demme grew up idolizing Gattuso and relished the opportunity to learn from his role model.

After several sleepless nights and lachrymose conversations, he ended up leaving Leipzig after six years and joining Napoli for €12 million. Demme quickly justified that price tag by becoming an integral figure in midfield, helping Napoli end a six-year trophy drought and defeat Perugia, Lazio, Inter and Juventus en route to the 2019/20 Coppa Italia.

"My idol was Gennaro Gattuso; every time I saw him play, I said, ‘I want to play like him.’ He was my idol when I was a kid, and now he’s speaking to me and letting me play...it's crazy," stated Demme to FourFourTwo.

"Gattuso gave me a very good feeling: if he gave you a hug before the match, you’d be so motivated to play for him. As a coach, he’s exactly like he was as a player, because his mentality gives you a crazy kick."

Having led Leipzig from the 3. Bundesliga to the Champions League, Demme helped Napoli get back on track and reestablish themselves as a behemoth in Italian football. Napoli went from 7th to 5th under Gattuso, to 3rd and 1st under Luciano Spalletti, winning their first championship since Maradona's departure.

After a horrific title defense, Demme then left Napoli for Hertha Berlin, watching from his homeland as Napoli claimed their fourth Scudetto in 2024/25. They had waited 33 years to win the title, and suddenly, they had won two in three years.

Whilst Spalletti and Antonio Conte brought the Scudetto back to Naples, it was Gattuso who steadied the ship, laid the foundations, and set Napoli on course for their long-awaited return to the summit of Italian football. He's now looking to repeat that magic with Lazio, who, after finishing ninth last season, currently sit level with Inter atop the Serie A table.

"When I arrived at Napoli, the atmosphere throughout the whole city and the dressing room was not good," noted Demme. "Everybody was sad, and the fans were criticizing the team; they wanted to see players give everything on the pitch. Gattuso gave stability back to Napoli and put players like me on the pitch who did the basics like running and fighting. Gattuso changed everything for the team’s results."