TheNewsGuru

Tag: Napoli

  • Arsenal take decision on appointing Carlo Ancelotti

    Former Napoli manager, Carlo Ancelotti, is not on Arsenal’s list of potential managerial candidates, ESPN reports.

    The Italian was sacked by the Serie A outfit, despite guiding them to the Champions League knockout stage.

    However, Ancelotti was struggling in the league, with Napoli in seventh place.

    Arsenal recently sacked manager Unai Emery and are looking for a replacement, with reports having suggested Ancelotti could become their next permanent boss.

    However, the Gunners hierarchy feel the 60-year-old does not fit the profile of manager they are looking for and are also not convinced by his most recent experiences.

    Ancelotti was fired by Bayern Munich in 2017 and then Napoli midway through his second season, with both clubs languishing outside the Champions League places.

  • Napoli Sack Carlo Ancelotti Amid Arsenal, Everton Links

    Italian side Napoli SC have sacked Carlo Ancelotti just hours after securing qualification for the Champions League knockout stages.

    A nine-match winless run, ended on Tuesday evening with a 4-0 victory over Genk which was the club’s biggest-ever win in the competition, left the former Chelsea coach on the brink.

    Both Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport claimed before the game that Ancelotti was set to be fired whatever the result and Napoli wasted no time pulling the trigger.

    It was learned that Napoli are now expected to appoint former AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso.

    Ancelotti has been heavily linked with both vacancies at Arsenal and Everton, with the latter reportedly set to firm up their interest in the coming days.

    Freddie Ljungberg won his first game, at the third attempt, in his caretaker role in charge of Arsenal and is expected to be in the dugout for Thursday’s game against Standard Liege and Sunday’s against champions Manchester City.

    Duncan Ferguson beat Chelsea in the first game of his interim spell with Everton and face Manchester United on Sunday.​

  • Napoli sack Ancelotti after 4-0 Champions League win

    Napoli have sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti less than three hours after he guided them into the Champions League knockout stages.

    The Serie A club had not won in nine games in all competitions until Tuesday’s 4-0 success at home to Genk.

    Ancelotti was in his second season in charge of Napoli but they sit seventh in the league after that poor run.

    They are the only team to beat Liverpool in 90 minutes this season, defeating the Reds 2-0 in September.

    Last month the manager and Napoli players were in a high-profile dispute with president Aurelio de Laurentiis.

    De Laurentiis ordered the team to attend a week-long training camp but Ancelotti and his players all returned home.

    Ancelotti, who won the Premier League and FA Cup Double with Chelsea in 2009-10, has been linked with the vacant managers’ jobs at Arsenal and Everton.

    He is one of only three managers to win three European Cups/Champions Leagues – along with Liverpool legend Bob Paisley and current Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

    Ancelotti won two Champions Leagues with AC Milan and one with Real Madrid, as well as domestic titles with Milan, Chelsea, Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich.

    He did not appear to know an announcement was imminent after the win over Genk, when he said: “I’ll speak to president De Laurentiis tomorrow and we’ll make the best decision for Napoli.

    “As far as I’m concerned, with certain players coming back and the right conditions in place, this team can still target fourth place.

    “The win tonight is a weight off our shoulders and can give the players a big boost for the future.”

    But a tweet later that evening simply read: “SSC Napoli has taken the decision to part ways with first-team coach Carlo Ancelotti.

    “The friendship and mutual respect between the club, president Aurelio de Laurentiis and Carlo Ancelotti remain intact.”

    Reports in the Italian media suggest that Gennaro Gattuso, sacked by AC Milan at the end of last season, has been lined up as Ancelotti’s replacement.

  • Napoli hold off Balotelli’s Brescia to earn narrow win

    Napoli hold off Balotelli’s Brescia to earn narrow win

    Napoli survived a second-half fightback from Brescia to move into fourth place in Serie A with a 2-1 home win on Sunday as Mario Balotelli opened his account for the visitors.

    Carlo Ancelotti’s side held a two-goal lead at halftime, thanks to strikes from Dries Mertens and Kostas Manolas, but Balotelli pulled one back as Brescia rallied after the break.

    The result leaves Napoli in fourth place on 12 points, six behind leaders Inter Milan, while Brescia are down in 14th on six points.

    Mertens’ powerful finish put the hosts ahead early on before Manolas, who had an earlier goal disallowed for handball, doubled their advantage with a glancing header in first-half stoppage time.

    Brescia’s 19-year-old midfielder Sandro Tonali looked to have pulled one back in style with a long-range screamer before it was chalked off for a foul in the build-up following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.

    Balotelli scored his first goal for his hometown club when he rose to head in a Tonali corner with 23 minutes remaining.

    However, Brescia could not find a leveller despite a period of sustained pressure in the closing stages.

  • Serie A: Napoli win to delay Juventus title celebrations

    Serie A: Napoli win to delay Juventus title celebrations

    Napoli postponed Juventus’ march to the Serie A title and consigned Chievo to relegation with a 3-1 win at the Stadio Bentegodi on Sunday.

    Carlo Ancelotti’s side needed a victory to ensure that the Turin club, who lost 2-1 at SPAL on Saturday, would not wrap up their eighth consecutive league championship with a record six games to spare.

    Two goals from Kalidou Koulibaly either side of an Arkadiusz Milik strike confirmed Chievo’s demotion.

    Even Bostjan Cesar’s late consolation could not save Chievo after a miserable season in which the Verona club have recorded just one win in 32 games.

    The result leaves second-placed Napoli on 67 points, 17 behind runaway leaders Juventus on 84.

    However, Juve can secure the title by avoiding defeat at home to Fiorentina next weekend.

  • Serie A: Insigne rescues Napoli from defeat at Sassuolo

    Serie A: Insigne rescues Napoli from defeat at Sassuolo

    A late Lorenzo Insigne goal rescued a 1-1 draw for second-placed Napoli at Sassuolo in Serie A on Sunday but it was not enough to stop them losing further ground on runaway leaders Juventus.

    Juve finished the weekend with an 18-point lead following a 4-1 home win over Udinese on Friday and with 11 games to play are 15 points from clinching their eighth successive title.

    Napoli, involved in the Europa League round of 16, rested a number of players and also had goalkeeper Alex Meret suspended.

    Sassuolo went ahead seven minutes after halftime when Domenico Berardi turned in Jeremie Boga’s pass from close range.

    Napoli appeared to be heading for a fifth league defeat of the season until Insigne pounced on a mistake in the Sassuolo defence and curled the ball in with four minutes left.

    Unbeaten Juventus, who have won 24 of their 27 games and drawn three, have 75 points with Napoli on 57.

  • UCL: Napoli will be idiots not to qualify, says Ancelotti

    Napoli will be “idiots” if they do not qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, their coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.

    Last year’s Serie A runners-up will clinch their place in the last 16 with a match to spare if they beat Red Star Belgrade at home on Wednesday and Paris St Germain fail to win their match at home to Liverpool.

    “This group seemed almost impossible at the start but we’re in a very good position,” he said.

    “We’ve baked a very good cake and now we just need to put the icing on the top. If we don’t get through, we will be proper idiots.”

    However, the former Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris St Germain, Bayern Munich and AC Milan coach warned that Red Star were an “underrated team.”
    “They have reignited their qualifying chances, they have a well-organised defence and will try to make the most of the counter-attack…We won’t think about the PSG game, we will think about ourselves,” he added.

    Ancelotti was fired by Bayern Munich early last season and said he sympathised with their current coach Niko Kovac, who is also under pressure after a series of disappointing results.

    “I think it’s the same problems I experienced,” he said. “It wasn’t easy for me and I hope it will be easier for him, I wish him all the best. I’m always on the side of the coaches.”

  • Sarri’s team plays well but wins no trophy – Napoli chairman

    Sarri’s team plays well but wins no trophy – Napoli chairman

    Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has taken a swipe at new Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri’s failure to win a trophy during his three year spell in charge of the club.

    Sarri joined Napoli from Empoli back in 2015, but despite winning Serie A coach of the year in 2016-17, was unable to guide the club to any silverware.

    Laurentiis banded Sarri as a ‘one-dimensional’ coach after he left the club for Chelsea this summer.

  • SSC Napoli appoints Carlo Ancelotti as new manager

    Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed the new manager of Serie A side Napoli on a three-year deal.

    Ancelotti, 58, replaces Maurizio Sarri, who led the Italian club to a second-placed finish behind champions Juventus with 91 points.

    “I am really happy and honoured to manage a team with a unique city and incredible fans,” said Ancelotti.

    Meanwhile, Sarri, 59, has been linked with a move to replace Antonio Conte at Premier League club Chelsea.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis praised Sarri for his contribution to the club.

    De Laurentiis said: “I thank Maurizio Sarri for his dedication to Napoli that has given the city and the fans worldwide prestige and emotions.

    “He created a model of play admired everywhere and by anyone. Bravo Maurizio.”

    The Italian has had a highly successful management career, claiming four top-tier league titles, three Champions Leagues and three domestic cups across Europe’s top five leagues.

  • Hamsik breaks Maradona record as Napoli beat Sampdoria

    Marek Hamsik broke Diego Maradona’s all-time scoring record for Napoli as they beat Sampdoria to remain top of Serie A.

    Napoli’s captain scored his 116th goal for the club, on his 465th appearance, to put them 3-2 ahead from close range towards the end of the first half.

    He equalled Maradona’s record last weekend in a 3-1 win over Torino, having failed to score in 13 games.

    Napoli are four points above champions Juventus, who host Roma at 19:45 GMT.

    Gaston Ramirez gave Samp an early lead, with Allan equalising. Fabio Quagliarella then restored Samp’s advantage with a penalty but Lorenzo Insigne equalised before Hamsik’s winner. The league leaders ended with 10 men as Mario Rui was sent off for two bookings.

    Mauro Icardi missed a penalty as Inter Milan remained third following a 1-0 defeat by Sassuolo – their second defeat in a row having not lost in the opening 16.

    Fifth-placed Napoli beat Crotone 4-0, with all the goals coming after the 56th minute.

    Benevento remain bottom, on one point, after a 1-0 defeat by Genoa – the fourth game they have lost this season to a goal in the 90th minute or later. Gianluca Lapadula scored an injury-time penalty.

    BBC Sports