Maurizio Sarri discussed his career path from banker to Napoli Coach and Gonzalo Higuain’s exit. “I expected the Premier League, not Juventus.”
The 58-year-old tactician only had his first Serie A experience at Empoli in 2014-15 after years of semi-professional management and the lower leagues.
“I left my job in a bank because I was certain that this was what I wanted to do. Of course, whether I’d do well or not in football was a mystery,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
Maurizio Sarri discussed his career path from banker to Napoli Coach and Gonzalo Higuain’s exit. “I expected the Premier League, not Juventus.”
The 58-year-old tactician only had his first Serie A experience at Empoli in 2014-15 after years of semi-professional management and the lower leagues.
“I left my job in a bank because I was certain that this was what I wanted to do. Of course, whether I’d do well or not in football was a mystery,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“I was sure, though, that I wanted to and indeed had to do this. Considering I worked in a bank, you might say I got out at the right time…
“I started out in the lower youth levels. The Coach had a row with the club and deserted us before a game. We were on our own. So I got the team on the bus and sent them to the match anyway.
“I told the referee that the Coach had a problem, then got the bus driver to act as linesman, as they were missing one.”
Sarri has come a long way since then and saw star player Higuain shatter the all-time Serie A scoring record, then leave in a €90m move for their arch-rivals Juventus.
“The moment of abandonment was a bad time. I expected that he could go to the Premier League, but not Juventus. That made it so much worse.
“For a while I didn’t hear from him and, to be honest, I didn’t want to hear from him. It’s like when your son makes you angry: for a few days you feel like tearing into him, but at the end of the day he remains your son.
“He made a debatable choice, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good man. Despite it all, I still feel about him the way I do a son who has made you angry, but you still care for him. I owe him a great deal.”
They did share a warm embrace ahead in Turin earlier this season, when Juventus beat Napoli 2-1.
There will be another series of encounters coming up, as the two sides are also paired in the Coppa Italia semi-final.