Thiago Motta believes Genoa are facing Napoli “at the right moment” this Saturday and will go to the San Paolo with “the desire to have a great game”.
Napoli haven’t won in four games across all competitions and, coupled with the continued fallout of their post-Salzburg mutiny, Motta is hoping Genoa can take advantage of the situation.
“It’s stimulating for us to play Napoli,” the coach said at a Press conference.
Thiago Motta believes Genoa are facing Napoli “at the right moment” this Saturday and will go to the San Paolo with “the desire to have a great game”.
Napoli haven’t won in four games across all competitions and, coupled with the continued fallout of their post-Salzburg mutiny, Motta is hoping Genoa can take advantage of the situation.
“It’s stimulating for us to play Napoli,” the coach said at a Press conference.
“They’re a team in the Champions League. We will go there with the desire to have a great game.
“I would say it’s the right moment, but also a difficult one. Ancelotti is a fantastic person and I wish him all the best.
“From where I stand, I see a compact Napoli. I expect a team who will leave everything out there, for themselves.
“They are players from the top drawer, who are going through a tough period, and most of all, they’ll play for their coach.”
The Rossoblu lost 3-1 at home to Udinese last time out, which saw them drop to 17th in Serie A, but the former Inter midfielder insists they are looking forward.
“I will never lose my enthusiasm; I will continue to look forward. We all make mistakes, but the most important thing is to find out where it went wrong. The most important thing is Napoli.
“Everybody has their point of view. I prefer to watch the training sessions and look towards the next game. If we start looking at the table before the match, we won’t go anywhere.”
Questions have been raised about the lack of a leader in the squad, but Motta pointed to the experience of attacker Goran Pandev and defender Cristian Zapata.
“There are no problems with the squad. We have young players, but we also have the experienced players like Zapata and Pandev.
“If I was [Lasse] Schone, I would have thanked my teammates. Like I said, Schone raises his level when the squad does. That also applies to Pinamonti, who has done a great job.
Domenico Criscito has missed the last five matches with a hamstring injury, but the Italo-Brazilian expects him back after the international break.
“Criscito is the first person who wants to play because he wants to help the squad. I will never risk a player’s health because you need to be 100 percent sure, also to play 20 minutes.”