Francesco Calzona, Napoli’s third manager of the season, will be on the bench when they play Barcelona at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday in the Champions League.
It’s rare that we saw Italian champions falter so dramatically when attempting to retain the title. Since they won Serie A, Napoli’s identity and flair have been completely destroyed, along with their competitive spirit. It is incomprehensible.
As last year’s Treble-winning coach of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, put it, they are no longer even close to being the “strongest team in Europe”.
By this point in the previous season, Napoli had amassed 65 points in Serie A after thrashing Juventus 5-1 at the beginning of the year. Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were ecstatic. With 24 games played, the squad had scored 58 goals and had the best defense in the league.
Their football approach was addictive. With each dribble and through pass, the Partenopei were not only winning games; they were crushing opponents and exciting supporters.
