Rafa Benitez hailed a “spectacular Napoli” in Wolfsburg and revealed his future depends on “planning and investment.”
Today was his 55th birthday and the team certainly gave him a lovely gift, winning the Europa League quarter-final first leg 4-1 away to Wolfsburg.
“It was a spectacular performance. I’ve said for a long time this squad has quality, character and professionalism, all of which were on show tonight,” he told Mediaset.
Rafa Benitez hailed a “spectacular Napoli” in Wolfsburg and revealed his future depends on “planning and investment.”
Today was his 55th birthday and the team certainly gave him a lovely gift, winning the Europa League quarter-final first leg 4-1 away to Wolfsburg.
“It was a spectacular performance. I’ve said for a long time this squad has quality, character and professionalism, all of which were on show tonight,” he told Mediaset.
“We put in great games against Roma and Lazio, yet played worse against Fiorentina and won 3-0.
“Tonight we combined the performance with the result, showing players who work for each other and this attitude can make the difference.
“We played against the second best team in the Bundesliga and these players deserve credit. For the performance and result, it was an excellent game, but I don’t know if it was our best of the season.
“We still lack experience to control the match and not concede goals. We work on tactics, but can still improve.”
Napoli were thrown into a training retreat by President Aurelio De Laurentiis after their Coppa Italia defeat to Lazio, an idea Benitez did not necessarily agree with.
“We all know where this team started from and there was a bit of a slow down this year, but we did play well and just made some individual errors.
“What I do not like is hearing people say the players are unprofessional or undisciplined. Let's not forget the worst performances were away from home, when the team was in a hotel.”
Benitez was again asked about his future, as his contract expires in June, but this time gave some more clues than usual.
“I haven’t decided anything. We have an opportunity to do even better, as people talk about Coaches, but my assistant manager Fabio Pecchia allows me to understand Italian football better and the whole staff, from President to technical director, deserve credit.
“It’s not hard for me to work with Napoli, but I have to understand the final objective, the planning, the investment in a training centre and stadium. If we go forward, then we’ll see.
“The President has invested and worked hard in these years, but now we have to see what the plans are before deciding if we’ll continue together.”