The Italian coach on the eve of the second leg of the round of 16: “It’s the match of the year. There’s no need to do big things to make the team understand its importance”
Respect, but not fear. Because “those who are afraid don’t show up. You have to have the courage to face a strong and healthy opponent.” Francesco Calzona has clear ideas: “Napoli must play everywhere and try to win every match.” There is no doubt about one thing, however: “This is the match of the year”.
new identity
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At Montjuic, 90′ (or 120′) will be fundamental for both teams: to redeem a disappointing season so far, to pass to the quarter-finals but above all to continue the race towards the 2025 Club World Cup: Barcelona is also fighting with ‘Atletico, Napoli wants to overtake Juve in the FIFA rankings: “There is no need to do big things to make the team understand the importance of the match: not everyone can play the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona – Calzona again – . I didn’t use my time like that, we focused on other things because granting certain things can become fatal.” Compared to the first leg, where he made his debut 48 hours after being made official as the new coach, it is already a more personal Napoli: “We have changed a lot, the team is more compact and concedes less: we manage to create more, we are scoring enough, we defend forward and I don’t like running backwards. The credit goes to the guys who made themselves available and made giant strides: the journey is not over, we have a lot to do to become what I would like.”
the race of the year
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In short, you can’t go wrong with the match of the year, because it can also restore enthusiasm for the chase for a Champions League spot: “We also have to recover in the championship to improve the rankings – concludes Calzona -. Tomorrow is an important match, getting through means a lot at a club level and for the enthusiasm of the team.”
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