Newly-appointed Napoli head coach Francesco Calzona has provided an insight into his efforts to gather an understanding of Barcelona’s style of play, ahead of the upcoming showdown between the two clubs.
Napoli and Barca, of course, are primed to lock horns in a mouthwatering Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
Two of the more unpredictable outfits on the continent when it comes to performance, the tie looks something of a toss-up, albeit with the latter potentially boasting the advantage, owing to their more stable managerial position.
Barcelona, of course, are primed to bid farewell to head coach Xavi in the summer, after the Spaniard announced his decision to step down from his post late last month.
Safe to say, though, that Napoli have since firmly outdone their upcoming opponents when it comes to drama.
Just 48 hours out from the first leg meeting between the clubs in Naples, Partenopei president Aurelio De Laurentiis opted to dismiss a 2nd manager of the season, Walter Mazzarri on this occasion sent packing.
And in his place, Francesco Calzona, head coach of the Slovakian national team, has since taken up the reins on a temporary basis.
Speaking before the media on Tuesday night, the subject of his side’s upcoming opponents, in turn, was inevitably put to Calzona himself.
And, in his response, the Italian tactician hinted that he was aware of his potential Napoli appointment as early as last week.
This comes with Calzona having ‘watched Barcelona’s last two matches’, in a bid to gain an understanding of the ‘characteristics’ of the Blaugrana’s stars:
“Barcelona play with a 4-3-3 formation, but I do not focus much on that, but rather on the characteristics of the players. I watched their last two matches.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
