Carlo Ancelotti named the Napoli players who need to be more “reliable and consistent,” but admits the Champions League exit “demoralised” them.
The Coach sat down for a lengthy and fascinating interview with Il Napolista and you can read the rest of his quotes here.
Carlo Ancelotti named the Napoli players who need to be more “reliable and consistent,” but admits the Champions League exit “demoralised” them.
The Coach sat down for a lengthy and fascinating interview with Il Napolista and you can read the rest of his quotes here.
“I think Napoli above all need to improve in terms of mentality and experience. There are some younger players who have to mature, as some are in their first seasons here, such as Alex Meret and Fabian Ruiz, but I’m also thinking of Piotr Zielinski and Arkadiusz Milik.
“They need to reach the level of reliability and consistency that we have with Kalidou Koulibaly, Allan, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon. We want the older players to help the younger ones grow up.
“I don’t mention the forwards, because players like Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Adam Ounas or Simone Verdi do not need to be consistent. With them, I prefer to wait for the right moment to give 100 per cent. I accept certain gaps or pauses with them. I do not accept them from midfielders like Fabian, Zielinski or Amadou Diawara. Their performances have to be consistent through 90 minutes.”
Napoli crashed out of the Champions League on goal difference from a group with Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool.
“I thought our best performance of the season was against PSG in Paris. I liked our character, desire to control the game and clarity of purpose.
“We prepared that game very well and it is easier to prepare for European matches than in Serie A, because Italian teams study their opponents meticulously. For example, Torino changed their approach towards us compared to earlier this season, moving Tomas Rincon on to our left side to make it more difficult for us to get passes between the lines. This doesn’t happen abroad.
“You might find a Pep Guardiola who studies the opposition, but in general you won’t get Coaches studying you that carefully.
“Going out of the Champions League did demoralise us to a degree, largely because we were so close to qualification for the next round. We could comfortably have been in the last 16. On a psychological level, that did hurt us, as we lost some of that verve and the attitude we showed against Liverpool and PSG.
“I can see that Napoli feel obligated to win, because in recent years they came so close and it becomes frustrating. But we must not lose faith. I continue to believe we’re within reach of success.”
The attendance for the Europa League win over FC Zurich was painfully small, although Ancelotti accepts their reasoning.
“We would like to have more fans attending the games and we might have a few extra points if we did. We could’ve beaten Torino and Chievo, I believe.
“The stadium is what it is and, objectively, if I was a Napoli fan, I wouldn’t be that eager to go either. It is very inconvenient and uncomfortable for a series of reasons.”