Paolo Di Canio praises Napoli, but insists Manchester City play “the best football in Europe”.
The Partenopei face the Premier League leaders at the San Paolo, and realistically need a win to qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League.
“Manchester City play the best football in Europe,” Di Canio told Neapolitan newspaper Il Mattino.
Paolo Di Canio praises Napoli, but insists Manchester City play “the best football in Europe”.
The Partenopei face the Premier League leaders at the San Paolo, and realistically need a win to qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League.
“Manchester City play the best football in Europe,” Di Canio told Neapolitan newspaper Il Mattino.
“They don’t only know how to dominate the opponents’ half by keeping the ball and and tiring out their opponents both physically and mentally, then finding a way to win the game with the talents they have on the pitch, they also know how to go direct, and maybe score with just three or four players in the opponent’s half.
“They know how to move from the non-possession phase to possession, because they have willing players who want the ball in space.
“Most of all, [Pep] Guardiola understood that he couldn’t play tiki-taka in England as he had at Barcelona, he had to bet on Fernandinho to bring balance, with two intermediaries in [Kevin] De Bruyne and [David] Silva.
“They have the legs and the quality to link the play, with short, medium and long passes on to [Raheem] Sterling, [Leroy] Sané and Gabriel Jesus.
“They give full availability, with great quality, personality and physicality, because they have strength and speed in space.
“That makes them unique, and all these elements combine to make Manchester City the most complete and beautiful team, especially when they have possession.
“Guardiola’s side have that ‘Englishness’ in the speed with which they counter-attack, but also in the way they express themselves. They’re not a team who hold the ball in a sterile way.
“They move the ball quickly, with the great quality and great talent of players who want the ball in space, not just at their feet. That means they keep high intensity, as you have to do in England.
“Guardiola’s Barcelona were unlikely to score a goal on the break, they were obliged to keep compact, playing short passes between each other and dominating the midfield.
“Then they had superstars like [Lionel] Messi and [Andres] Iniesta who could make the difference, breaking down the opponent’s barricades and allowing their teammates to get in on goal, even without directly passing to them.
“This Manchester City isn’t as strong, but they’re more complete. That said, they’ve lacked something defensively in the last games.
“[Dries] Mertens, [Marek] Hamsik, [Lorenzo] Insigne and [Faouzi] Ghulam can cause some real damage on the left flank, I see a Napoli that can go directly in behind and attack the space behind the defensive line.
“Is Maurizio Sarri like Guardiola? Absolutely, yes, in terms of the way they think about football. Sari hasn’t done anything in Europe yet though.
“The numbers say there’s been huge growth, and he’s done something great with the players he has.
“That kind of game, with that intensity and high quality, precision in how they move, the great discipline of the players in working for each other.
“In both the short game and the long game they’re doing something special.”