Italian Serie A side Napoli had been on a more upward curve again in more recent seasons, but things for the fans of Gli Azzurri really ticked up following the appointment of Luciano Spalletti in the 2021/22 domestic campaign.
The now 64 year old former professional midfielder led the side to third place, with a Champions League spot secured for the first time in two years. Many will know the previous year, their draw on the final day saw them finish in fifth spot, missing out by a solitary point. For those with a William Hill Promo Code back then, you would not have predicted what happened next.
2022/23 turned into a far better campaign, and they surprised many by powering themselves into top spot and given the exploits of Victor Osimhen at the top of the pitch, they lifted their third Scudetto title and their first since the sad passing of the absolute club legend that was Argentine Diego Maradona.
Rudy Garcia took charge for this season, but he was replaced by Walter Mazzarri back in November, and now Mazzarri has himself been replaced. Following his own sacking as results did not continue to match the expectations of their board after last season’s success, the new man in the dug out will be Slovakia boss Francesco Calzona.
55 year old Calzona does have history in Naples, he was their assistant manager previously under Maurizio Sarri and Spalletti himself, but he is currently tasked with leading Slovakia’s charge at the 2024 European Championships and the country’s Football Association has simply confirmed he has taken the job on until the end of the current campaign.
Interestingly, his contract with them runs until 2025, with an automatic extension for 2026 if they qualify for that year’s World Cup tournament.
Club owner Aurelio de Laurentiis thanks Mazzarri for ‘having helped the team in a tricky period’ and Calzona now sets himself to work on their upcoming first leg Champions League knock out clash with Barcelona tomorrow.
The SFA statement attempted to both calm their fans fears about the strangeness of this deal, but they also more than indicated a good respect for Calzona’s previous ties to the club and how he wanted to help them out.
The way forward is very much a balancing of obligations which each ‘first XI’ taking priority as and when they need to be prioritised until we hit the summer.
“The Slovak Football Association is aware this is a non-standard decision that may cause concern among the public. However, it also understands the exceptional relationship of Calzona to the club where he worked for a long time and wants to help him in the current difficult situation.”
Their statement went on to say that the gaffer has restated his commitment to them, and that the Slovak job was his main priority, but simply put he was going to put full faith in both his national team management squad right now, and his Napoli backroom staff to ease the load, so he could do his best for both.
It is certainly an unlikely and unexpected appointment, so Napoli fans will have to see what the future holds.
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