Massimiliano Allegri’s bitter outburst sparks debate: Reflections are underway at Napoli
From a convincing 3-0 victory over Frosinone in the league to a crushing 3-1 loss on the road against Villarreal in the Champions League: in the span of just a few days, Napoli has gone from rediscovered confidence to fresh, deep doubts, finding itself once again searching for its identity. It’s time for reflection once again at Napoli, especially in light of Massimiliano Allegri’s comments following the loss in Spain.
“At this point in the season, we need to find a bit of balance because we create a lot up front, but that means we concede quite a few goals when we defend,” said the Livorno-born coach. “We had two chances to make it 2-0, but when the momentum shifted, we made a mistake: that can happen in a game, but from that point on, we stopped playing as a team. If we don’t go to Venice on Saturday with the right amount of humility, it’s a game we’ll come out of with our tails between our legs.”
The situation in terms of qualification isn’t yet definitively compromised, but the two losses inevitably weigh heavily: after the league match in Venice, there will be the clash at the ‘Maradona’ against Bodo/Glimt, a match that already feels like a sort of last chance in Europe for a team that, even last year with Antonio Conte at the helm, started out with high ambitions only to finish with just eight points and a 30th-place finish that led straight to elimination.
After the match against the Norwegians, Napoli will travel to Porto on November 4 for their next European fixture, before flying to Manchester to face City twenty days later. The final three matches of the League Phase will see the Azzurri play at home against Club Brugge on December 8, in Azerbaijan against Sabah on January 20, and seven days later at the “Maradona” Stadium against Viking, who held Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw on Tuesday night.
The club’s confidence in Allegri does not appear to be in question at this time, but the match against Bodo/Glimt will already say a lot about Napoli’s European future and, by extension, the stability of the coaching staff. Because if results fail to materialize, alongside discussions about the team, there could soon be talk about the coaching staff as well, with the coaching market poised to heat up again.
