For a marquee club like S.S.C. Napoli to take in a not-so-big of a manager in Maurizio Sarri (of course, in relation to his colleagues here in the top tier Italy football Serie A), Napoli top brass should be very trusting of the 56-year-old signal caller who hails from Naples.
Or, if I should be more on-point, Napoli think that Sarri is a miracle worker, and the team is in need of this miracle now. Fast.
I retracted from me saying the word trust because giving a coach just a one-year gig on paper is not synonymous to trust. But the fact that they actually picked him up means they saw something in this man, albeit they don’t want to stay long should they be wrong and the man proves to be just a fluke.
It is no secret that when Sarri turned Empoli’s fortunes around, he immediately become a person of interest for several Serie A clubs. But not everyone is willing to make the dive with him, so they kept their distance. Napoli’s motivation, on the other hand, is more palpable and more pressing, especially with Juventus’ rampage for years now going unchecked and unchallenged. Napoli have been losing the title fight to the Old Lady. And if they gamble now and lose, it won’t be a first, or something new. At least they tried, so for that, I have to give them credit.
As for Sarri, I think what he lacks in terms of having lustrous curriculum vitae, he makes up for his passion. His exchange with a reporter still lingers in my mind, and I guess that will be one of the ways I would look at Sarri from now on. He was asked if he was angry at being the lowest paid coach in Serie A, to which he replied: “”Angry? Let’s not joke. They pay me for something I would have done for free after work. I’m lucky.”
If a manager as passionate as he is cannot guide Napoli towards a reasonable improvement in form this season, I do not know what else can, or who else can.
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