Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri says his club are looking to “safeguard” their stars as buying players “is very difficult in today’s market”.
Napoli open their Audi Cup campaign on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid, and Sarri is keen to use the preseason tournament as a dress rehearsal for the Champions League playoffs.
“It’ll be tough for us, given the level of our opponents,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri says his club are looking to “safeguard” their stars as buying players “is very difficult in today’s market”.
Napoli open their Audi Cup campaign on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid, and Sarri is keen to use the preseason tournament as a dress rehearsal for the Champions League playoffs.
“It’ll be tough for us, given the level of our opponents,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“It’s an important test for the playoffs. I hope that our invitation to this competition is an acknowledgment for what Napoli have done.
“We’re a team that are growing. The four teams come from important workloads, and we’ll also be playing in a non-ideal climate. I think it’s still more preseason football than real football.
“Ancelotti, Simeone and Klopp? I feel a bit like I’m intruding on them, they’ve won a lot more than me.
“We’ll be playing two games in 24 hours, so I’ll use the entire squad, like I think our opponents will.
“It’s unthinkable to play 180 minutes in two days with the same players at this stage.
“We won’t have an A or B team, but two that are homogenous.
“We’ve built this group in two years, and the feeling we have is that this group are growing, also from a mental point of view.
“We thought it would be great for us to safeguard this group because it’s very difficult to buy players in today’s market.
“Having bigger ambitions and raising our level will be difficult, but we’ll give it a go.”