Luciano Spalletti insists he wants to stay at Napoli and refuses to blame Alex Meret for his error against Empoli: ‘It was also my fault.’
There have been reports that Spalletti and Napoli could part ways after just one season, but the Tuscan boss insists that he is happy at the club. Aurelio De Laurentiis visited the team over the last few days, watching training sessions and attending team dinners.
“His presence is always motivating for the footballers. He spoke to all of them and he understood that this is a united group,” Spalletti said at a press conference today.
“We didn’t talk about the future, we all want to do well in the last games of the season. I want to see a reaction. We shouldn’t have lost against Empoli, but we are all professional and the president wanted to help,” he continued.
“My future is today’s training, the dinner, tomorrow’s match. I have another year left in my contract and I want to stay here. I am happy in this city, I see no problems.
“We had been good at creating an important chance [to win the title], but we were not as good to make the most of it. If you look at the big picture, I see that we are in the race for a Champions League spot which is what we wanted at the beginning of the season.”
A howler of Alex Meret sparked Empoli’s comeback on Sunday when the Partenopei wasted a two-goal lead over Empoli, conceding three times in the last ten minutes. How is the goalkeeper feeling and could Spalletti start both Dries Mertens and Victor Osimhen in tomorrow’s game with Sassuolo?
“Mertens and Osimhen played well together [in Empoli]. I am a fan of Mertens, but I must think about the team’s balance. Mertens doesn’t have the same characteristics as a midfielder and tomorrow we must keep possession, avoiding their counter-attacks,” the coach said.
“Both Mertens and Osimhen could play tomorrow, they can always do it. Sassuolo play well and the result will depend on who will keep the ball for a longer time.
“Meret feels the same as those who make mistakes. It wasn’t just his error. It was my error as well as I had asked him to play the ball and build up from the back. To me, the goalkeeper is like an outfield player, so you need someone who is good with his feet. That’s what all the good coaches are looking at. Mistakes can happen during e development path.
“Di Lorenzo is a great defender and a silent leader. Zanoli has proved that he can be as good as Di Lorenzo, but he lacks experience at the moment. Di Lorenzo has trained well after his injury, but he must feel ready and decide whether to play or not. He has the last word.”