NAPOLI ON THE EDGE OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL QUALIFICATION

Italian side, Napoli are on the edge of fulfilling their hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.


The Partenopei, who just need a win against relegated Frosinone to gain direct access to the Champions League.

The Goalkeeper of the team, Pepe Reina, is calling for ‘a full stadium’ as Napoli prepare to ‘make their dream come true.’ While they couldn’t snatch the Scudetto from Juventus, it’s still been an extraordinary season and they need the win to confirm their participation for next season’s UCL.

Reina, at a ceremony for the Campania Fair Play Prize 2016, according to reports by CalcioNapoli24 said:

“When you make mistakes, you’ve got to recognise them and learn to do better.

“But what matters now is that there’s only one game left for us to realise our dream after a great season.

He also added: “I said the same thing yesterday. We want the supporters to be by our side in a full San Paolo stadium, so they can help us meet our objectives.” Continue reading NAPOLI ON THE EDGE OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL QUALIFICATION

Diego Maradona wants Napoli to offload Gonzalo Higuain

Gonzalo Higuainis going through what might be his best season of his entire career as the Argentine player has scored 30 goals in 32 appearances which is his most prolific amount of goals scored in a single season.


Even with the outstanding amount of goals that Higuain has netted for Napoli in this season, they still couldn’t stop Juventus from snatching the Serie A title for the 5th successive year.

Despite experiencing what might be his best season out of his career, Diego Maradona has urged his former club Napoli to sell Gonzalo Higuain and use that money to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.

“I think ‘Pipita’ Higuain has already done the best he can for Napoli and he’s not going to have another season like this one. We saw it also with EzequielLavezzi. They need new faces and they need to sell Higuain for as much money as possible. Instead of Higuain, I would go for Harry Kane of Tottenham.’’ Former star of Napoli, Diego Maradona said.

Diego Maradona is generally considered to be one of the best players in the history of the sport and it was with Napoli where he managed to make a name for himself and even though he retired over 15 years ago, Maradona still remains up to date with everything that is going on in the world of football and especially with his former club Napoli. Continue reading Diego Maradona wants Napoli to offload Gonzalo Higuain

Bruce Arena was disappointed to see his team fail

Bruce Arena was disappointed to see his team fail to win against Vancouver Whitecaps despite having a man advantage for the majority of the game.

Matias Laba received a red card in the 28th minute and this seemed to put the match in favour of the away team. However, LA Galaxy were unable to capitalise despite having the advantage. The team have been going to a confidence crisis in recent seasons. Their inability to win important games despite having some of the best players in the world like Steven Gerrard is a testament to this fact.

LA Galaxy have already suffered one defeat in the league this season. The team has been very keen on improving their recent run in the hope of retaining Arena as their manager. Despite being one of the most successful managers in MLS, Arena has been recently feeling the heat. The failure to win against Vancouver, who have taken only six points from their opening four matches, is not ideal as far as meeting the objectives for the 2016 season is concerned. Arena has been backed quite heavily in the transfer market. The club recently brought in former Chelsea defender Ashley Cole as their new major signing for the campaign. Continue reading Bruce Arena was disappointed to see his team fail

Massimiliano Allegri has hinted he is not going to do too much of business this winter

Massimiliano Allegri has hinted he is not going to do too much of business this winter.

According to Allegri, he doesn’t think there is any requirement for Juventus to rope in new players as the squad is already in pretty good shape.

Juventus, which has won the top flight in Italy for the last 4 seasons on the trot, had had a patchy beginning to their current campaign.

They lost 4 out of their first 10 games in the season and were pushed down to the lower half in the points table, but, they came back to secure 7 successive wins thereafter to move up in the table and they now seem to be all set to push for another title.

They have started the New Year by crushing Hellas Verona by 3-0 at home.

Talking to the press post that game, a happy looking Allegri was quoted as saying, “We have been performing well in all departments. So, I don’t feel I need to make additions to the squad at this point of time.” Continue reading Massimiliano Allegri has hinted he is not going to do too much of business this winter

Maurizio Sarri is quite highly rated by the top brass of the club

Maurizio Sarri, who has replaced Rafael Benitez as Napoli boss, is quite highly rated by the top brass of the club.

The chairman Laurentiis was all praise for him yesterday.

According to Laurentiis, Sarri seems to be a person who is quite committed to his job and he believes the 56-year old will be able to make Napoli a World Class team in future.

Sarri has not had that much of experience of management at the senior level.

Yes, he has had a long management career, but, most of the teams that he has managed so far have been the second and third tier teams.

So, this is a bit of a test for him, managing a team like Napoli which happens to be in the top half of the Serie A table almost every season.

The previous season too, under Benitez, Napoli had ended up at no. 5. So, they are a big team and being in charge of that, Sarri will be under media scrutiny.

But, Laurentiis believes the Italian is prepared for the tough job that he has got and he will do justice to it. Continue reading Maurizio Sarri is quite highly rated by the top brass of the club

Rafa Benitez could long at Napoli

Former Liverpool and Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez could be on the move once again after he failed to speak about his future at Napoli.

Benitez came to the Italian club only two years ago after his short spell with Chelsea came to an end. During his time at the Premier League outfit, the Spaniard came up with a similar sort of interview just two months before the end of the season. Since he has refused to confirm that he will remain at Napoli, speculation has started about a potential return to England. Napoli have failed to progress under Benitez.

Last season was considered as a decent success, but the club have moved backward this campaign. After the early exit from the Champions League, the club have slipped out of the top three places in the Italian Serie A. Finishing in this position is extremely crucial for the club’s hopes of continuing to qualify for the Champions League. Their run of just one win in their last five matches sees Lazio take the third place with a sizeable five-point advantage. Speculation has been pointing out that the club are unhappy with the performances of Benitez, who could face the sack sooner rather than later. Continue reading Rafa Benitez could long at Napoli

Rafa Benitez magic worked for Napoli

Rafa Benitez came close to working his magic at Napoli last season, but the team has since regressed this campaign.

This has increased rumours about Benitez leaving the club for pastures new. The Spaniard has only added to the rumours by saying that he will announce his future after three months. Benitez came to Napoli last summer after the departure of Walter Mazzarri. Replacing the man who had almost let the club to title success was always going to be difficult, but Benitez has never really achieved the same level of consistency.

Napoli have suffered an embarrassing exit from the Champions League at the group stages this season and will be involved in the Europa League from the knockout stages. Napoli president is not too keen on featuring in the second tier European competition on a regular basis. Continue reading Rafa Benitez magic worked for Napoli