An impossible task? Calzona takes over Napoli 48 hours before facing Barca in Champions League
It might be an impossible task but new Napoli coach Francesco Calzona has taken over the defending Serie A champion 48 hours before facing Barcelona in the Champions League
ROME (AP) — If Francesco Calzona didn’t already know most of Napoli’s players, it might be an impossible task: He became coach of the defending Serie A champion 48 hours before facing Barcelona in the Champions League.
But Calzona knows Napoli through and through. He was an assistant to Maurizio Sarri with the Partenopei from 2015-18 and was on Luciano Spalletti’s staff in 2021-22.
Under Sarri, Calzona was credited with coming up with the idea of Dries Mertens’ highly successful move to a false 9 position. Then with Spalletti, he helped to lay the foundation for Napoli’s run to the Serie A title.
Calzona left before the title run when former Napoli captain Marek Hamsik — who still holds the club appearances record with 520 — suggested he take over as the coach of Slovakia’s national team.
