Napoli, Luciano Spalletti dottes the ‘i’s’

Luciano Spalletti presents Napoli-Bologna from the perspective of the partenopei

Recovering from nine consecutive victories between the league and the Champions League, with 10 goals scored in the double-header against Ajax and the clear 4-1 win over Cremonese on the last league day, Napoli are flying on the wings of enthusiasm but Luciano Spalletti, backed by his many years of experience at high levels, urges not to trust a challenge that could be more challenging than any prediction could say, that of Sunday against Bologna.

“Every match is a journey into the unknown, the skill is to make it predictable,” the coach from Certaldo remarked. “It may seem tiring but what we have already done is not enough: the ball has to be picked up every time and every time we have to start from scratch. That’s how soccer works, every time you have to restart and so far we have been very good at getting the ball back every time, that ball.”

Some headaches could come in injury management: in defense Rrahmani will be missing, in midfield Anguissa: “We have very strong midfielders,” Spalletti explained. “The choice between Juan Jesus and Ostigard? In Cremona they were throwing the ball into the box and Ostigard is one of the strongest I’ve coached on headers, while Ajax had a little guy in front, Jesus has important speed and was better suited to cover that pitch. In midfield, on the other hand, we need some strength: we have Ndombele who has the right characteristics.”