World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro is intrigued by the return of Walter Mazzarri at Napoli and sees potential now Luciano Spalletti has helped Italy qualify for EURO 2024, but Marcus Thuram will get ‘a clip round the ear.’
The Ballon d’Or winner had been linked with the Napoli job when spotted in the stands with his brother Paolo and President Aurelio De Laurentiis during the final game of Rudi Garcia’s reign, a 1-0 home defeat to Empoli.
Instead, the job went to Mazzarri, who returns after a decade and will make his debut this weekend against Atalanta.
“The next few games are already very difficult on paper, let alone when starting out with a new coach,” Cannavaro told Sky Sport Italia.
“The players have to bring out that pride of being champions to get their situation back on track. I cannot think the players seen against Empoli are the same ones who won the Scudetto just six months ago. There is some sort of psychological block and it is up to them to get out of this situation.”
That title was won under coach Spalletti, who left at the end of the season and was appointed to the Italy job in September.
There were a few hiccups, but he got them over the line and into EURO 2024 with a 0-0 draw against Ukraine, even with a last-gasp penalty scare.
“There were 30 seconds of nationwide anxiety. As Vujadin Boskov used to say, and he was with me at Napoli, it is a penalty when the referee blows his whistle. I liked the Italy performance, because they could’ve scored several in the first half, while in the final stages I saw a team that suffered with great heart. You can build on that.
“Spalletti didn’t have much time, but has already shown some changes and always tries for a super-modern approach to football.”
Speaking of modern football, Inter forward Marcus Thuram is the son of Cannavaro’s ex-teammate Lilian, so there is a certain age gap.
“Marcus Thuram called me an old man, so as soon as I get near him, he’s getting a clip round the ear… I joke around a lot with him and had already told Lilian that he needed to understand assists are not as important as goals in Italy.”
Thuram’s Inter will face Juventus in Turin on Sunday evening in a Scudetto showdown.
“Inter are certainly well-equipped and aware of their capabilities. They both have practical coaches who know Italian football inside out, but this is the kind of fixture that always has controversy around it.”