Maurizio Sarri expressed all his regrets as Napoli lost the Scudetto to Juventus “in the hotel and not on the pitch,” but left the door open for an exit.
The 2-0 victory away to Sampdoria this evening allowed the Partenopei to set a club record of 88 Serie A points, although Juventus still took a seventh straight title.
“It goes without saying Juve are more powerful in every way. I haven’t watched them enough to say if they were the best,” Sarri told Mediaset Premium.
Maurizio Sarri expressed all his regrets as Napoli lost the Scudetto to Juventus “in the hotel and not on the pitch,” but left the door open for an exit.
The 2-0 victory away to Sampdoria this evening allowed the Partenopei to set a club record of 88 Serie A points, although Juventus still took a seventh straight title.
“It goes without saying Juve are more powerful in every way. I haven’t watched them enough to say if they were the best,” Sarri told Mediaset Premium.
He was asked what they could’ve done differently and his mind immediately went to the night before a 3-0 defeat at Fiorentina, when the team watched Juve fight back to beat Inter 3-2 in stoppages.
“We needed to go to bed early on Saturday night in Florence… The team suffered a psychological blow and felt it for the timing and the way that result came about. The only regret I have this season is that we lost the Scudetto in the hotel and not on the pitch.
“We lost three games and then always drew after that defeat. The team is sensitive and certainly vulnerable in some ways. We have to work and the Lega Serie A has to work a lot.
“We played after Juve 14 times in the last 16 rounds and seeing as Juve pretty much always win, that badly damaged us.
“This sport has become a business for everyone. It has to remain a sport, because if it’s just business, then it will end pretty quickly. I will say that I admired the performance from a team that had nothing left to play for. I liked this performance.”
Sarri has refused to confirm if he will remain at Napoli next season and again implied he’ll walk away from President Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“I can say that I love the fans deeply, I love the city deeply and that will never change, regardless of how this story ends.
“There’s a club dinner on Thursday, so we’ll definitely meet there, unless one of us doesn’t turn up!”