According to reports on Thursday, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis entered the team’s dressing room to talk to the players and coach Rudi Garcia after Wednesday’s disappointing Champions League stalemate with struggling Union Berlin.
The Partenopei had put in a dominant performance during the first 45 minutes, and had led by a goal to nil at the interval, but collapsed during the second period and allowed the visitors back into the game on the counter attack.
Union, who recalled former Juventus and Italy captain Leonardo Bonucci to their starting XI on Wednesday, had recorded 12 consecutive losses heading into the European tie with Napoli.
Fortunately for Napoli, Wednesday’s result does not impact their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds too heavily. They are still in second on seven points from four matches and are four points clear of Braga in third. Qualification could be secured with a victory over Real Madrid in their next Champions League game.
However, given Union’s struggles this campaign, this was a game that Napoli had been expected to win, particularly at home.
According to reports from SportMediaset, De Laurentiis wasn’t especially pleased by Wednesday’s draw.
Shortly after full-time, ADL reportedly entered the dressing room to debrief the players before having an in-depth conversation with coach Rudi Garcia.
The Napoli President had recently drawn criticism for entering the dressing room during half-time of the team’s eventual 2-2 draw with Milan in Serie A at the end of October.
Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount for Garcia, despite going unbeaten in his last five matches in all competitions.
Spalletti was truly a genius. He kept this totalitarian at bay