Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has a new coach at Napoli as the Serie A champions have appointed Walter Mazzarri to take charge of the team till the end of the season, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Napoli were in talks with Igor Tudor up till Monday, but the deal fell through as both parties failed to reach a compromise.
Last season, Napoli won the Scudetto for the first time in 33 years. The team was led by Luciano Spalletti, and with him as coach, attackers like Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia flourished.
Osimhen bagged 26 goals and four assists in the Serie A to win the best striker, while Kvaratskhelia scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists, carting home the league’s best player award.
However, after winning the league, coach Spalletti left the team first on sabbatical and then he took on the Italy Job. Napoli then appointed French tactician Rudi Garca to take over the tole.
Unfortunately, things have not gone well as they attempt a title defence this season, as the Serie A champions have failed to hit their levels of last season. They currently sit fourth in the Italian top flight, 10 points behind rivals Inter Milan.
Following their poor run of form, the club sacked Garcia on Monday who returned to France on the same day. There were talks that they were on the brink of agreeing on a deal with former Marseille boss Tudor. However, that deal fell through.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the club has now decided to appoint Mazzarri after agreeing on personal terms. The Italian will take on the job till the end of the season.
It will be Mazzarri’s second stint in charge of Napoli. During his first, he had a dangerous frontline of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marek Hamšík and Edinson Cavani. This attack was one of the deadliest in the 2011/2012 season as Cavani was third on the top scorers list with 23 goals and they won the Copa Italia.
The 62-year-old coach, who previously spent four years in the Campania capital from 2009 to 2013, is happy to act as a custodian of the club until the end of the season.
Osimhen will be keen to reap the rewards of working with an attack-minded coach who focuses on the centre forward as the spear of the attack instead of Garcia who tried to get other players to score.
