Napoli sack Walter Mazzarri and bring in Francesco Calzona two days before Barcelona Champions League clash

Napoli have sacked head coach Walter Mazzarri and replaced him with current Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona just two days before their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Barcelona.

The Partenopei’s Serie A title defence was over before it started this season, with title-winning boss Luciano Spalletti’s successor Rudi Garcia earning the sack in November and his replacement Mazzarri failing to improve the situation.

A last-gasp 1-1 draw at home to Genoa on Saturday prompted the club to make its third coaching change since last summer, just 48 hours before facing Barcelona in a Champions League last-16 first leg at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis wrote on social media: “I’d like to thank Walter Mazzarri, a friend of both the De Laurentiis family and Napoli, for having supported the team in such a difficult moment.

"He will always remain in the hearts of the people of Naples and our family. I’d also like to say welcome back to Francesco Calzona, who has worked with us in the past, under both [Maurizio] Sarri and [Luciano] Spalletti.”

Reigning champions Napoli are ninth in the Serie A standings, 27 points behind league leaders Inter Milan and nine points adrift of the top four.

A run of one win in five games in all competitions convinced De Laurentiis to make the change before Barcelona visit Campania.

Under Mazzarri, Napoli won six of their 17 games, losing eight, and dropped from fourth to ninth in the standings.

The champions hoped that a busy January transfer window would help the situation, bringing in Cyril Ngonge, Leander Dendoncker, Hamed Traore and Pasquale Mazzocchi, but they have continued to struggle.

Calzona previously worked as an assistant to Maurizio Sarri at several clubs including Napoli, where the now-Lazio boss was in charge from 2015 to 2018.

He also worked under Eusebio Di Francesco at Cagliari in 2020-21 and returned to Napoli to work under Spalletti in 2021-22.

In the summer of 2022, Calzona was appointed Slovakia manager in his first role as a head coach and led the country to Euro 2024 qualification. He will remain in charge of Slovakia for the upcoming Euro 2024.

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