Carlo Ancelotti is not surprised Napoli hired his ‘friend’ Walter Mazzarri to replace Rudi Garcia.
Napoli visit Real Madrid in a Champions League group stage game on Wednesday, four days after an away 2-1 win at Atalanta in Serie A, on Mazzarri’s ‘second’ debut on the Partenopei’s bench.
Ancelotti won the first leg in Naples last month, beating Garcia’s Napoli 3-2 at the Stadio Maradona. The Real Madrid coach talked about Mazzarri’s return during a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“I am not surprised. He is an experienced coach, a great friend of mine and I think a new coach always brings new motivation to the players,” said Ancelotti, as quoted by Marca.
“He can bring his experience and knowledge of the game.”
The La Liga giants will be without several regular starters against the Partenopei tomorrow, Thibaut Courtois, Kepa, Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, Arda Guler and Vini Jr, but Ancelotti, focused his attention elsewhere:
“Talking about the problems we have and the injuries feels like a lack of respect for those who will play and who are doing well,” he said.
“They are contributing as I never expected. If we are able to keep up with these problems it means that this team is very good.”
Jude Bellingham is available and will be the number one threat to Napoli, especially after a MOTM performance in the reverse fixture, when he contributed to Madrid’s win with a goal.
“English players sometimes struggle to adapt to Spanish football, Bellingham is a fantastic, mature player who adapts to any country in the world,” noted Ancelotti.
Bellingham has scored 14 goals in 15 appearances across all competitions this season.