Francesco Calzona reveals the hairdryer treatment he gave Napoli stars at half-time to spark their extraordinary comeback in Monza. ‘This is not football, this is not what we worked on.’
It was all going wrong for the Partenopei at the U-Power Stadium, as Milan Djuric gave Monza the lead after just nine minutes, then the visiting fans ended their silent protest by entering the stands to hurl abuse at their players.
However, they sprung to life with four goals in a 13-minute spell, all of them spectacular from Victor Osimhen, Piotr Zielinski and substitutes Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori.
Andrea Colpani’s curler had the final score at 2-4, though Napoli also had two strong penalty shouts rejected. What happened at half-time?
“In football, you need to run. If you always receive the ball to feet, far away from the opposition goal and try to dribble towards it, that is not modern football,” Calzona told DAZN.
“In modern football you have to run, give passing options to those who have the ball at their feet, that is what we work on in training. That is the difference. That is what we did not do against Atalanta or in the entire first half today.”
Although their campaign has been troubled with three different coaches, Napoli are still the team who earned the most Serie A points from trailing situations this season with 19.
They are now in seventh place, so could a Champions League spot still perhaps be possible?
“We are forced to take it one game at a time, because it doesn’t only depend on us. We have to keep winning and maintain some hope of finishing in the top spots. If we play like the second half, we can have hope, but not if we play like we did in the first half.”
There were no substitutions, so what caused the extraordinary switch in the attitude of the Napoli players coming out for the restart?
“During half-time we talk, we discuss the problems, try to resolve them. The lads got the message, but it’s not just today, I’ve been saying this for a long time.
“It was the first week we managed to focus entirely on training, but it was clear from the first half that we’d get nowhere like that.
“When you play against teams who man-mark, you have to create movement. There’s no point everyone just waiting to receive the ball to feet, you have to run into the space and create the space.
“With players like Politano, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, it’s natural to expect a moment of individual skill, but we need to get them into the right positions first. There’s no point getting pig-headed about dribbling when a long way from the opposition goal.”
As the stunning goals went in, Napoli seemed to regain some of the enthusiasm and joy they had in playing during the Scudetto campaign.
“It’s fundamental, because first and foremost you need motivation, more than tactics and technique. When we took the lead, the team felt free mentally, started to move and play with one or two touches, so when you have that, more situations are created.
“I am still mad that we conceded on the only real scoring opportunities Monza had, but we have to keep working.”
Although three of the four goals were incredible moments of individual skill, Calzona singled out the fourth.
“They were spectacular goals, but I like to underline Raspadori’s goal because he believed to the end. Strikers must have that instinct to attack the goal even when it seems unlikely that the ball will come to him.”
Calzona was asked if he has hope of being confirmed on the Napoli bench next season, which would mean leaving the role of Slovakia international manager.
“No, I have a contract that expires in June, I have a contract with the Slovakian Federation. It is an odd three-person marriage, I don’t know how it will end up, but Napoli is my life right now and if the worst comes to the worst, I want to at least leave a positive memory here.
“We’ll see, it’s too early to talk about it now. I am not thinking about it.”
Calzona was asked if it was true that President Aurelio De Laurentiis had offered him the chance to remain next season as part of the staff, even with a new coach?
“Absolutely not.”