Rudi Garcia believes Real Madrid were smart to replace Karim Benzema with Jude Bellingham but warns the Merengues that Napoli ‘have a lot of options too.’
Garcia joined captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo for a pre-match press conference on Monday. Tomorrow, they’ll host Real Madrid in the second game of the Champions League group stage, the first one at home this season.
“The Champions League is the best competition, it’s a special moment for coaches and players,” said Garcia as quoted by TMW.
“Just listening to the music is enough to get motivation. Napoli must play in the Champions League every season. We are the group leaders alongside Real Madrid, but it’s through the league that we play in the Champions League every season.
“Real Madrid have a unique palmares, they still have at least ten players from the last Final they won against Liverpool [in 2022].”
Speaking about the many threats in the Merengues squad, Garcia said: “They were good at signing Bellingham to replace Benzema although they don’t cover the same position, but they were also good at signing Joselu.
“They have many valuable players technically, but also tall and strong players for set pieces. We have many options too, we are strong in all departments, it’s an important game, so we must be humble and give 120% of our qualities.
“They have many strong footballers with technique and physicality. I don’t know who Carlo Ancelotti will play, but we must be focused on ourselves and know who we face. Our players must know everything about the opponents, we must be good at managing some details.”
Napoli scored eight goals in the last two Serie A games, conceding just once and also beat Portuguese side Braga in their Champions League opener two weeks ago. How have they evolved over the last few weeks?
“We won the first two games, so I don’t think we had a bad start,” argued Garcia.
“Some players are performing better anyway. Kvara is lighter in the head, he has returned to scoring. He used to think about goals too much. We are more efficient with shoots on target which was what we needed to improve. We also scored our first goal from a set piece against Lecce. When you score goals, it’s easier not to lose games.”
Napoli reached the Champions League quarter-finals last season, the best result in the club’s history. How are they preparing for tomorrow’s game against one of the best teams in the continent?
“It’s one of those games everyone dreams of playing, we are only focused on this match,” said Garcia.
“It will be our fourth game in nine days, which is surely too much for players. For example, Di Lorenzo will play his seventh game in a few days, including the national team.
“Players can solely focus on the game they play, but I must think about what’s coming next too. Now we’ll give our all in the Champions League, then we’ll have five days to rest. We must be ready physically because we’ll be there with our hearts.”