Napoli director Mauro Meluso confirms trust in Walter Mazzarri but admits the Partenopei will decide whether to go into training retreat on Monday: ‘Those who go on the pitch should take responsibility.’
Defending Serie A champions Napoli collapsed against Torino on Sunday, suffering a 3-0 away defeat, leaving them 22 points below table leaders Inter.
Walter Mazzarri watched the game from the stands as he was serving a one-game ban so sporting director Meluso spoke to DAZN nearly one hour after the final whistle.
“We waited for the green light for Mazzarri to come down to the dressing room and there was a quick meeting. Then we talked to the team, but of course, I can’t reveal what had been said,” Meluso said.
“We apologise to our fans for this game. The team is a bit unrecognisable, and we are thinking about what to do to motivate the squad to restore normality. This hasn’t been possible due to some injuries and a few players who are away, like Anguissa and Osimhen, who are very important to us. It’s not an excuse, but we must realise these absentees affected us too. Politano wasn’t fully fit either, the same as Juan Jesus. There were some negative situations, which should not be an excuse anyway.”
Will Napoli go into a training retreat to help players be more focused?
“We’ll meet at the training centre tomorrow, and decide,” said Meluso.
Mazzarri won just three of his 10 games in charge since replacing Rudi Garcia in November and Napoli are currently out of a European placement. However, the club is not considering sacking the Tuscan coach.
“He has the trust of the club, me and the team,” insisted Meluso.
Napoli legend Ferrara, one of the DAZN pundits on Sunday argued that he disagreed with Meluso when he mentioned absentees to justify today’s defeat, so Meluso clarified: “Surely, it’s clear that we are far from last season’s performances. We must find no excuse, but we must take a 360° look. Those who play for Napoli must always be ready to play. Nobody wants to hide from responsibility, I just wanted to say that negative things add to an already negative moment.
“We apologise and insist that we can no longer continue with this situation,” he continued.
“Those who go on the pitch should take responsibility as well. I’ve already said we build the team adequately, technically and humanely.”
Napoli have lost seven of the opening 19 Serie A games this season and have been eliminated from Coppa Italia at the hands of Frosinone. They have managed to qualify for the Champions League Round of 16 where they will meet Barcelona.