Luciano Spalletti has been appointed as the new coach of Napoli after Gennaro Gattuso departed the club at the end of the season, having failed to book a spot in next Year’s Champions League.
Gattuso was appointed as the new head coach of Naples immediately after sacking Carlo Ancelotti despite a 4-0 UEFA Champions League win over Genk. Napoli, who had finished in Serie A’s top three in seven of the last nine seasons, were seventh in the table after 15 matches when Gattuso was appointed. He took charge of Napoli with the Neapolitan outfit. However, he lost 1-2 in his first game in charge against Parma after a late equalizer from Gervinho at Stadio San Paolo.
Even though he lost a few more league games following his defeat at home, he managed to win against Perugia in the Coppa Italia round of 16. More good news came his way, as he took his team to the Coppa Italia finals after defeating Lazio and Inter Milan in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively. In the finals, Napoli claimed their sixth Coppa Italia trophy, the first since 2014, after defeating Juventus 4-2 in penalties at Stadio Olimpico.
However, Naples eventually got knocked out of the Champions League after losing 4-2 on aggregate against Barcelona and also failed to qualify for Champions League football next season, having placed seventh in the table with 62 points.
After winning silverware in his first season in charge, he was expected to qualify for the Champions League next season. However, the draw against Hellas Verona at home in the final game of the season saw Juventus leapfrog them into the fourth. In addition to this, he failed to win any silverware last season after losing to Juventus in the finals of Supercoppa Italiana. Moreover, he also lost against Atalanta on aggregate in the semifinals of Coppa Italia and got knocked out of the Europa League by Granada.
This resulted in him leaving the club, after which he was appointed as the new manager of Fiorentina. After his departure, the club has been desperate for a new manager, and it looks like they have finally found the man for the job.
“I am delighted to announce that Luciano Spalletti will become Napoli coach on 1 July,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said in a short statement
The Italian tactician, Spalletti, has been out of management since 2019. During his time at Roma from 2005-2009, he managed to win Coppa Italia twice, Supercoppa Italiana one and was also named as the Serie A coach of the year for two seasons in a row. Napoli, who look to regain their spot in the top four, would hope Spalletti does the job for them by leading them in the right direction.
