Mazzari means business at Napoli
Bayern Munich and especially Manchester City have been so strong that Villarreal could face a total wipe-out, unheard of for a team from La Liga. As for Napoli, trailing the league leaders by seven points after their goalless draw with Lazio on Saturday, they don’t quite seem to have what it takes.
The strength of their 3-4-3 formation is the attack: Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi playing behind Edinson Cavani. But the goal return this season has fallen short. Cavani in particular has been well below par. Last season he had 11 by this stage, currently he has six and three of those were in one game against Milan.
He last scored nearly a month ago, which coincidentally was the last goal scored by the entire attack. They were unfortunate against Lazio, when a goal was mistakenly ruled out for offside, but morale is down, above all because Napoli see the Champions League as their priority, for prestige as well as for financial reasons.
Napoli are a proud club but just like the city of Naples they also lack resources. Their wage bill is less than a quarter of City’s and while their top stars such as Cavani and Lavezzi receive €2.2m a year after tax, the rest are paid a lot less.
Making the Europa League two seasons ago was already an achievement considering how they have struggled to survive since the glory days of Maradona — coming third last season was “like winning the title” in the words of their coach Walter Mazzari.
Mazzari is the man who made the difference. As a player he had an average career with minor clubs, much the same as his career as a coach, until he pulled off a miracle with Reggina by keeping them up despite an 11-point deduction for their involvement in the 2006 match-fixing scandal.
Even by the standards of Italian football Mazzari is an obsessive workaholic. He says he works 15 hours a day and his dedication to the job is such that he insists on living alone, away from his family.
“When I take a break I need my privacy and my peace and quiet.”
It seems tough on Daniela, his wife, who helped start him out on his career in management when he was a scout — unpaid — at Bologna, and also on his son Gabriele who he admits sees football as something which has deprived him of a father.
“I’ve been too far away, I’ve seen little of him and I don’t like that any more than he does. His friends are fans of mine but he doesn’t even mention that to me.
“If I’m working, I’m working and that’s it. The family knows that at those times they can’t be with me. It’s a private world and can’t get mixed up with my work. I chose to become a coach because of a sense of mission, like someone who chooses to join the carabinieri or the police force.”
That commitment has earned him a reputation for arrogance, hostility towards the media and ruthlessness to rivals. He admits he finds it difficult to socialise with other managers but claims his prickly reputation is undeserved.
“Those who know me well have a totally different view. If you trust me I am completely open. My players are the best evidence of that; I like to involve them, to always put them at their ease.”
The formula seems to work. Mazzari is a clever tactician, admired by both José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Above all he’s a motivator.
“The game lasts 90 minutes, or rather 90 minutes plus stoppage time, which is what I say to my lads every time we play. Some journalist wrote that I wear short-sleeved shirts whatever the weather as a signal to the players. I don’t know if that’s true, but I’ve been a battler ever since I became a coach.”
City must be favourites, but Italy’s own Sky Blues are no pushover.
