SUPER Eagles of Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen will be playing under a new coach at Napoli following the sacking of Walter Mazzarri tonight.
The 62-year-old was fired after only three months in charge following poor results and replaced by his compatriot Francesco Calzona, who will still retain his position as Slovakia coach.
Mazzarri became the second manager to be sacked this season by the struggling Serie A champions, after the man he replaced, Rudi Garcia.
The latest sacking comes just two days before Napoli host Barcelona in the first leg of their round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie.
“I thank Walter Mazzarri, a friend of the De Laurentiis family and Napoli, for having helped the team in a tricky period,” Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis wrote tonight on X, formerly known as Twitter.
De Laurentiis confirmed Calzona’s appointment, expected to be until the end of the season, and he will be in charge for the visit of Barcelona.
“It’s always painful to sack a friend,” said De Laurentiis in a short interview with Sky Sport Italia.
“But we need to consider that in Naples you have to give Napoli fans something extra. Now we’re going to try to do that with Francesco Calzona.”
Calzona, 55, guided Slovakia to Euro 2024 in his first job as head coach, having previously served as an assistant under Maurizio Sarri and during Luciano Spalletti’s first season with Napoli.
Napoli went from bad to worse under Mazzarri, dropping to ninth in the Italian top flight, but the former Inter Milan and Watford boss hardly had his best player Osimhen available due to injury and the Africa Cup of Nations.
PHOTO: Francesco Calzona.
