Walter Mazzarri says he wants to solve Napoli‘s problems and insists he ‘no longer complains’ but ‘it makes no sense to talk about the Scudetto.’
Mazzarri had replaced Rudi Garcia before the break and held his first pre-match press conference on Friday, on the eve of a Serie A game against Atalanta.
“I am thrilled, this is surely the best team I’ve ever coached. I must pay attention to what I say because I am famous for being a moaner. Now, I no longer complain. This is a new Mazzarri, I’ve been sleeping well and I am relaxed,” he said, as quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio.
“Last year, they made a masterpiece with Spalletti and it was thrilling to watch them. When you see a team like this, you hope to coach them one day and I want to thank the President who called me. I hope I can coach them until the end of the season.
“I’ve kept a good relationship with De Laurentiis, we respect each other,” the coach continued.
“Napoli is home to me. Napeolitans have always shown me love. When I left, my cycle was over. I told myself we needed a step forward because I needed to motivate the team differently in my fifth season at the club. I should have also improved the second placement; it wouldn’t have been easy.”
Napoli have won six games out of 12 in Serie A this season and are currently 10 points below table leaders Inter.
“I’ve been in football for a few years and I imagine this team is not accustomed to winning titles so there is a price to pay unconsciously,” he said.
“You can think of being stronger than the others, but it is difficult for everyone in today’s football. I am here to make the team understand that there are perils. The other teams are waiting for us with more attention, so we should underestimate nothing.”
Mazzarri has recently met all his players as many were on international duty when he arrived less than two weeks ago.
“I saw Anguissa for the first time today and when I arrived there weren’t many starters,” he said.
“There will be time to stay together, we’ll play every three days so I’ll have time to chat with everyone.
“Osimhen is a great guy. He’s been cheerful since the very first moment. He is a generous guy who thinks about winning and sacrifices himself. He is getting back in shape and I am happy.”
Mazzarri will reportedly adopt a 4-3-3 formation, which is the most familiar system to this group of players, but refused to rule out switching to different tactics.
“I don’t like to give an advantage to the opponents regarding the line-up. I will make my choices depending on the physical shape of those available,” he said.
“Atalanta are a top side with a great coach like Gasperini. They often call me at Coverciano to give lessons on every system, I’ve studied and I don’t know if we’ll always play with the same system. But of course, this team has amazed everyone by playing in a certain way. We’ll see what to do in every game.”
Mazzarri didn’t discuss the targets for 2023-24 saying that it is too early to think about a second consecutive Serie A title.
“It’s a tricky moment, so it’s not the right time to think about it,” he said.
“The next match is the most important one, at the end of the season we’ll make our assessments. For now, I want to solve problems; tomorrow we have the first test. We can’t think about the title if we don’t win games. We are ten points away from the top of the table, so it makes no sense to talk about the Scudetto now. We must win and avoid dropping points at home and away.”