Maurizio Sarri looks forward to Napoli’s Champions League return – ‘one day I’ll be able to say I played Real Madrid’.
The Partenopei won their group, but were then thrown into a Last 16 tie with the holders of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
“Real Madrid are a team which can flip a game on its head in a few minutes,” Sarri warned, speaking to Sky.
Maurizio Sarri looks forward to Napoli’s Champions League return – ‘one day I’ll be able to say I played Real Madrid’.
The Partenopei won their group, but were then thrown into a Last 16 tie with the holders of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
“Real Madrid are a team which can flip a game on its head in a few minutes,” Sarri warned, speaking to Sky.
“We’re happy to be going there for an important game, against perhaps the biggest team in the world and in one of the most hallowed stadiums in the world.
“There’s a certain awe that everyone has, it’s inevitable. No-one is Superman and you ask yourself ‘can we keep up with these guys?’.
“I think in the end they’ll have something more, but in a one-off game we can have our say. One day I’ll be able to look back and say I played a Champions League match at the Bernabeu.”
The match is the biggest of Sarri’s career, but the Coach insists it won’t necessarily be the most emotional.
“People always think about the Champions League or the Scudetto, but in reality what you carry inside is a game in a small town near Siena where promotion was achieved and brought huge emotion.
“People think that emotion is proportional to the size of the event.”
Finally, Sarri was asked about achieving perfect football with Napoli.
“The 20 minutes against Benfica between five and 25 was the most sexy for me. What I lust over is [Pep] Guardiola’s Barcelona.”