Gennaro Gattuso was critical of himself and his Napoli players after a 3-1 home defeat to Milan. ‘It’s no coincidence that we falter in the important games. When things go wrong, we complain.’
This was a head-to-head for the top of the table and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gattuso’s former teammate, proved decisive with a brace at the Stadio San Paolo.
Gennaro Gattuso was critical of himself and his Napoli players after a 3-1 home defeat to Milan. ‘It’s no coincidence that we falter in the important games. When things go wrong, we complain.’
This was a head-to-head for the top of the table and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gattuso’s former teammate, proved decisive with a brace at the Stadio San Paolo.
Tiemoue Bakayoko received two yellow cards and left Napoli down to 10 men just after they had got a goal back through Dries Mertens.
“Mistakes can happen, I don’t stand here focusing on individual errors. We did it all ourselves, as we created chances, created their chances for them,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.
“I am the ultimate person who is responsible and every time we get to a big game, something happens. We’ve got to raise the bar, it’s my problem, as evidently I can’t get the team to approach certain matches the right way.
“It’s not a coincidence that we create so many chances in these games and don’t take them. We have to focus on what we’re doing, get the job done, that’s the main problem.
“We think too much about what’s missing, what we don’t do, what went against us. It’s not bad luck. It’s that we don’t approach these games with the right determination, because technique and quality aren’t enough.
“I’ve been talking about this for months now. I see an attitude I don’t like and it hurts me. We need to sort this aspect out as soon as possible.”
Gattuso was asked about the possible Ibrahimovic elbow on Kalidou Koulibaly, which was not even given a yellow card.
“I don’t want to get into it. On television it looks like a Mike Tyson elbow, but that’s on slow-motion replay. That’s irrelevant, we have to focus on what we need to do, the determination we need, the ability to put the ball in the net, and we don’t do it.
“Milan believe firmly in Ibra, they believe 100 per cent in what they are doing. He seems I think even stronger now than he was 10-12 years ago.
“They put the crosses in because they know he’ll get on the end of them. What we did today was create lots of chances and not believe in them fully.
“It’s about mentality. Football is about helping each other out, clubbing together, having a kind, reassuring word for your teammate when they’re struggling. There are too many people who act like Professors, who want to teach you everything. This hurts me.”
Napoli have lost each of their last three home games between Serie A and the Europa League against AZ Alkmaar, Sassuolo and Milan.
“We mustn’t stay here focusing on single incidents, we have to think as a team. We won games when we had the knife between our teeth, when we had fire in our eyes and our hearts. We need to think about ‘us’ rather than ‘I’ and we don’t do it enough.
“It’s not that we are relaxed, it’s a mentality and it has been going for a long time. I am responsible, there’s no point beating about the bush. Maybe I need to spend more time talking to them, trying to get these things across to them, because that too is the duty of a coach,” continued Gattuso.
“I see football in such a completely different way to when I was a player. What I cannot accept, however, is to see my team without the fire in their belly. At the first sign of difficulty now, we complain to the referee, complain to each other for it not being the right pass, complain to bad luck, we complain to everyone.
“Quality is not enough in football, we need to focus and fight for every result. I know what’s wrong and it is not a coincidence that when we go into a really important game, we falter. We have to think as a team, with one mind, not individuals.”