Maurizio Sarri's agent reveals the Coach's working methods and claims 'Napoli are not tired'.
The Partenopei seemed unstoppable for a few weeks, but a string of poor results saw them losing first place in Serie A and crashing out of the Europa League.
“Last night we analysed the game [against Villarreal] with the Coach until 3:30a.m.,” Sarri's agent Alessandro Pellegrini told Radio Marte. “I saw him calm, the data sends a clear message even though the result seems to contradict it.
Maurizio Sarri's agent reveals the Coach's working methods and claims 'Napoli are not tired'.
The Partenopei seemed unstoppable for a few weeks, but a string of poor results saw them losing first place in Serie A and crashing out of the Europa League.
“Last night we analysed the game [against Villarreal] with the Coach until 3:30a.m.,” Sarri's agent Alessandro Pellegrini told Radio Marte. “I saw him calm, the data sends a clear message even though the result seems to contradict it.
“We didn't even have a video to show the footballers to correct any mistakes. We can't do anything about a miracle by their goalkeeper or the ball bouncing on a hole, or [Kalidou] Koulibaly deflecting it for Milan. These are episodes.
“If Napoli return to their initial form the opponents will have no chance, they can defend with the whole coach parked in front of the goal, but Napoli will still struggle to be anywhere but ahead of Juventus.
“Last year Napoli already had a squad composed of champions: Rafa Benitez ended with two unlucky games against Lazio and Dnipro [Dnipropetrovsk], regardless of what one may think of him.
“I know Maurizio's methods and I was pretty sure the results would come. Competing against Juventus for the Scudetto means fuelling a dream.
“It's not true that the team is short of oxygen. I think they're doing quite well, but maybe there's a psycho-physical tiredness that is more about the head of the players. Being close to the top burns energy.”
Pellegrini was then asked about Gonzalo Higuain, who was recently criticised by President Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“In my opinion he's a phenomenon. As for De Laurentiis' statements, I'm not a dietician but I've seen him [Higuain] struggle, fight and pursue pressing.
“Villarreal are stronger than Milan, but Napoli kept them from countering partly thanks to Gonzalo's pressing.
“There's been a difficult moment for the team, yes, but Napoli are still at -1 from Juventus in spite of creating a little less.
“His future? Let's get results first, but his project can't end on May 16. It's all in the hands of De Laurentiis, even though right now people aren't talking about a renewal but about how to win the Scudetto.”