Give credit where credit is due–to both Ancelloti and to Sarri.
Napoli coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has already hit the ground running, both domestically and abroad. Napoli currently sits second on the league table and trail leader, Juventus, by 6 points after 10 league matches. In the Champions League, Ancelotti’s lads occupy the second spot–equal on points with 3rd place, Paris-Saint Germain–only separated by a point with the group leader, Liverpool.
Ancelotti (photo, CalcioMercato.com)
Napoli first registered a draw against the bottom side Red Star Belgrade, then took a 1-0 win against Liverpool. They maintained a 2-1 lead against PSG for the most part of the game, only for Angel di Maria’s late equalizer to deny them full points. Napoli next takes on PSG at home in a Champions League group encounter.
But the larger picture for this team is how Ancelotti is completing a puzzle started by Maurizio Sarri, who moved on to become the head man at Chelsea.
Under Sarri’s tutelage, Napoli developed into serious title contenders. In the past three seasons, they finished second, third, and gave away the title to Juventus last season in the last few games–to settle for a second place once more.
Not many things have changed since Sarri departed. Most of the players are still there, and some had moves blocked by the club’s president, De Laurentiis who said: “He (Sarri) wanted to take the whole team to England and dismantle it. I had to lay down the law to Marina [Granovskaia, Chelsea director].” The only departure came in Jorginho, the team’s midfield maestro, who left for Chelsea with Sarri.
Sarri (photo, Metro)
For those who thought the team would struggle without Jorginho, just the opposite has happened. After last Sunday’s one-all draw with Roma, Ancelotti told Sky Sports Italia: “The midfield is very solid, the club built an important team. We have a deep squad, with quality. We replaced Jorginho, who was an important player for this team, with many quality and young footballers.”
Carlo Ancelotti is arguably one of the best football managers in the world. But what can’t be overlooked is the fact that this gentleman is dining on food that Sarri prepared. Give credit where credit is due–to both Ancelloti and to Sarri.
