Napoli - Barcelona: The battle of the miserable people

 Napoli is in crisis. Barca has not yet gone through its troubles. Two unstable teams prepare to face each other in the first leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League.

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Napoli officially had a third coach this season just 2 days before welcoming Barca. Walter Mazzarri, who was appointed to replace Rudi Garcia in November 2023, was fired after a 1-1 draw with Genoa in Serie A. He will be replaced by Francesco Calzona, who will take on two concurrent coaching roles of Slovakia and Napoli.

Coach Francesco Calzona has only been in office for 2 days

Talking about this decision, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis explained on Sky Italia: "It's painful to say goodbye to a friend (Mazzarri - Reporter), but we need to bring more things to the fans." . Stadium manager Diego Armando Maradona also expressed confidence when talking about his replacement. He commented: “Calzona worked with Sarri and Spalletti, and knows 80% of the current players. Let's help him instead of causing difficulties for him, because we all know it will be very difficult to prepare for a match with Barca, even if the team is in decline, it is still Barca."

It sounds contradictory, but that's who De Laurentiis is. President Napoli chose the most inappropriate time to make the most important decision. Be that as it may, Mazzarri did not meet expectations with a record of 6 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses after 17 matches since taking over as head coach from Rudi Garcia. But the question is, with 2 short days of preparation, can Calzona's successor help Napoli create miracles against Barca?

The home team's only belief is probably that their Catalan opponent is also in crisis. Barca has actually been unbeaten in 4 consecutive matches in La Liga, since coach Xavi announced he would leave at the end of the season after a 3-5 defeat at home against Villarreal on January 28. However, according to the Spanish press, this does not guarantee that the former midfielder will be able to stay in peace until the season ends.

Coach Xavi will leave at the end of the season

Diario Sport newspaper said that at the board of directors meeting held on February 1, the club leaders agreed that Xavi would still be fired if Barca could not overcome Napoli to win the right to reach the Champions quarterfinals. League. Obviously, this will go against what president Joan Laporta said before, that he agreed to let Xavi stay in position until the end of the season because he deserves it.

During his two 10-year terms as president, Laporta has only fired one coach, Ronald Koeman. But when the benefits from the Champions League are too great for a team as poor as Barca, someone will have to take responsibility for the failure. But from the present perspective, no one else is more suitable to be the scapegoat than "walking dead" Xavi.