Napoli sack Garcia and appoint former coach Mazzarri

Walter Mazzarri made a shock return as Napoli manager on Tuesday after Rudi Garcia fell victim to a dismal start to the Italian champions' Serie A title defense. Garcia lasted just five months at Napoli after replacing Italy coach Luciano Spalletti, failing to inspire a team which had kept almost all the stars of last season's first Scudetto since 1990. Napoli are 10 points behind league leaders Inter Milan in fourth and have been in turmoil for weeks as May's historic title triumph began to increasingly look like a one-off. It was obvious that Garcia was not the answer even before he lost to Empoli at home 1-0 and that game sealed his faith. But appointment of Mazzarri is a surprise, Well, sort of…

The Italian media are already ‘sassing’ out owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, who did this in order to prepare the club of the arrival of Antonio Conte in June 2024. When he held talks with Igor Tudor yesterday, Napoli owner insisted that he contract is only for one year, while the Croatian wanted it to be until 2025. He didn’t want to be the short term solution before De Laureniis brings some more famous manager, and the Italian billionaire wants just that. He already talked with Conte, who rejected the offer, insisting he wants to take this season off and spend time with his family. Once that is over and he feels ready to return to work, Napoli want to be first in line.

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With Mazzarri as the short term solution, De Laurentiis can now negotiate a good package with Conte and appoint him in June 2024, when Mazzarri’s contract ends. The 62-year old tactician has been out of business since 2022 and accepted a six-month contract with one million euros wage. This is his second coming to Naples, where he was coaching from 2009 until 2013. He won the Italian Cup with Napoli in 2012, beating undefeated league champions Juventus in the final to win the club's first trophy in over two decades.