Francesco Calzona
Osimhen gets new coach as Napoli hire Calzona to replace sacked Mazzarri
Struggling Napoli sacked Walter Mazzarri on Monday and brought in Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona just two days before hosting Barcelona in the Champions League.
The 62-year-old Mazzarri became the second man to be sent packing this season by the ailing Italian champions.
Mazzarri took charge in November after Rudi Garcia was dismissed but Napoli then fell to ninth in Serie A ahead of Wednesday’s last 16, first leg with barca at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
“I thank Walter Mazzarri, a friend of the De Laurentiis family and Napoli, for having helped the team in a tricky period,” said Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis on X, formerly Twitter.
De Laurentiis confirmed that Calzona has been hired, reportedly until the end of the season, and will be in charge on Wednesday night.
“It’s always painful to sack a friend,” said De Laurentiis in a short interview with Sky Sport.
“But we need to consider that in Naples you have to give Napoli fans something extra. Now we’re going to try to do that with Francesco Calzona.”
Calzona guided Slovakia to Euro 2024 but has a huge job on his hands as he returns to Napoli, where he was an assistant under Maurizio Sarri and during Luciano Spalletti’s trophy-less first season with the club.
READ ALSO:
The 55-year-old will reportedly keep his job with Slovakia while also trying to drag Napoli back up the table after the disappointing end to Mazzarri’s brief second spell in charge of southern Italy’s biggest club.
Mazzarri helped return Napoli to the upper echelons of Italian football between 2009 and 2013.
He guided Napoli to the 2012 Italian Cup, beating undefeated league champions Juventus in the final to win the club’s first trophy in over two decades.
Libya Arrests Two Nigerians Over "Inciting" Social Media Posts Security forces in Tripoli, Libya, have…
LP Chieftain Calls for Protest Against Peter Obi Over Okonkwo Feud A former Chairman of…
UAE Announces Social Media Ban for Children Under 15 The United Arab Emirates has set a minimum…
Court Declares PENGASSAN Strike Against Dangote Refinery Illegal, Labels Crude Supply Disruption ‘Economic Sabotage’ An…
FG Launches FreeTV, Offers Nigerians Over 100 Free Digital TV Channels The Federal Government formally launched…
Kebbi Police Arrest School Guard for Alleged Defilement of 10-Year-Old Girl The Kebbi State Police Command has…