New Napoli coach Francesco Calzona warned Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen he will ‘not look at their names’ after hauling them off against Barcelona in the Champions League.
The Partenopei earned a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Round of 16 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Robert Lewandowski had opened the scoring, cancelled out by Osimhen with the last kick of his game before he was replaced by Giovanni Simeone.
When they were still trailing, Calzona surprised many by taking Kvaratskhelia off the field to introduce Jesper Lindstrom, much to the obvious anger of the Georgia international.
“I keep the players on the field who are doing well, I don’t look at their names,” the coach said to both Sky Sport Italia and in his press conference.
“Matteo Politano had an excellent match, he was defending well too with great vigour. Those who do not do well can be removed.”
There was some reassurance for Kvaratskhelia, who had stomped over to the bench without saluting teammates or the coach after his substitution.
“Kvara is a top player, he will help us out the way he did last season. Kvara was substituted, his performance was not fantastic, but it’s not unusual for a player to have an off night.
“Kvara will knuckle down, work harder. I was not disappointed with his movements tactically. He was lacking the moment to get past his man, but I am fairly satisfied.”
It was noted that Kvaratskhelia was the first player to leave the Stadio Maradona and stormed off through the mixed zone without speaking to anyone.
He had his hood pulled down over his head, but a scowl was still visible.
Calzona, who had been an assistant manager to both Maurizio Sarri and Luciano Spalletti at Napoli before being given the main job on Monday, also revealed he was not remotely tempted to keep Osimhen on for longer after the equaliser.
“No, in fact I had been ready to take him off earlier, but due to a tactical issue, I kept him on for a few more minutes.”
Napoli, Calzona: "Kvara arrabbiato? Io non guardo i nomi. Resta in campo chi fa bene" https://t.co/RWBQLmD0pN
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) February 21, 2024