Napoli is making a managerial change by relieving Walter Mazzarri of his duties before the club begins the UEFA Champions League round of 16. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/napoli-tv-schedule-for-viewers-in-united-states/">Napoli</a> has been struggling mightily this season after <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/napoli-fans-erupt-as-club-wins-first-serie-a-title-in-33-years-20230505-WST-431763.html">winning the Scudetto</a> in the 2022/23 campaign. The departure of Luciano Spalletti has prevented Gli Azzurri from reaching last season’s heights. However, the club brought in Mazzarri to salvage something positive out of this season.



That has not been the case. A midseason <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/napoli-readies-replacements-for-outgoing-manager-rudi-garcia-20231113-WST-469693.html">replacement for Rudi Garcia</a>, Mazzarri won just four games out of his 12 <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/serie-a-tv-schedule/">Serie A</a> contests in charge. While the Italian did see Napoli through the group stage in the UEFA Champions League. Domestically, Napoli has fallen to ninth in the Serie A table. Remarkably, this makes Napoli the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/napoli-make-history-as-worst-serie-a-champions-in-last-60-years-20240218-WST-490362.html">worst defending champions in the last 60 years</a> of Serie A. Currently 27 points behind league leaders Inter Milan, that is the largest gap a defending champion has faced at this stage of the competition in the last six decades.



Initially, reports stated the upcoming round of 16 clash in the UEFA Champions League against Barcelona would be Mazzarri’s last chance to save face at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Now, his fate is secured days before that game starts. According to several reports, the draw at home against Genoa in the recent matchday was Mazzarri’s final game in charge. <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1759657582120079415" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fabrizio Romano</a> is stating Napoli has already targeted a replacement manager that will last until the end of the 2023/24 campaign. That coach’s first game in charge will be against the defending LaLiga champions, Barcelona.



<h2>Napoli replaces Walter Mazzarri with a familiar face</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="670" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240219_WST_490646_Napoli-Francesco-Calzona-1200x670_0cec4283.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=670" alt="" class="wp-image-490647" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Napoli-Francesco-Calzona-1200x670.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Napoli-Francesco-Calzona-300x168.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Napoli-Francesco-Calzona-768x429.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Napoli-Francesco-Calzona.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



In a perfect world for Napoli supporters, Luciano Spalletti would step away from his job with the Italy national team to lead Napoli once again. That is not the case, but Napoli is getting someone who spent time in the system with Spalletti. Francesco Calzona, a former technical coach and assistant manager at Napoli, <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1759668276131475941" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">will head the club</a> in his first first-team job at club level.



Calzona is the head coach of the Slovakia national team, where the Italian has had relative success. With a 50% win rate through 14 games, Calzona has helped Slovakia since becoming the side’s head coach in the summer of 2022. The highlight was qualifying for Euro 2024 as a runner-up in Group J. Through 10 games, Slovakia picked up seven wins and a draw. The side did lose twice to Portugal by one goal each time. However, positive results against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland propelled Calzona and Slovakia to the tournament proper. 



Calzona will stay on as the head coach of the Slovakia national team despite his work with Napoli. Therefore, regardless of what happens in Naples, Calzona will be in the dugout this summer in Germany. Slovakia is in a group with Belgium, Romania and one of the teams qualifying out of the playoff phase. 



Slovakia has a friendly against Austria in March. Yet, that will take a backseat to Calzona’s work with Napoli as he looks to guide the side to success in the closing stages of the 2023/24 campaign. 



PHOTOS: IMAGO

Napoli sacks Walter Mazzarri before Champions League fixture

Napoli is making a managerial change by relieving Walter Mazzarri of his duties before the club begins the UEFA Champions League round of 16.

Napoli sacked manager Rudi Garcia on Tuesday, and it officially replaced the Frenchman with Italian Walter Mazzarri. Mazzarri was the manager of <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/napoli-tv-schedule-for-viewers-in-united-states/">Napoli</a> from the 2009/10 season to 2012/13. He led Napoli to its best league finish in over 20 years when Napoli finished second that season in Serie A. He steps in for Rudi Garcia, who has been under fire for Napoli’s performances this season.



Rudi Garcia only lasted three months with Napoli. He replaced Luciano Spalletti after the Italian parted ways with the club. Last season, Spalletti led <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/napoli-fans-erupt-as-club-wins-first-serie-a-title-in-33-years-20230505-WST-431763.html">Napoli to the club’s first Scudetto</a> since Diego Maradona represented the club in 1989/90. Despite retaining most of the stars of that title-winning side, Napoli has not been able to repeat the success Spalletti delivered. 



Currently, the Italian side is fourth in Serie A. After 12 games, Napoli has six wins, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/napoli-draw-against-milan-with-stunning-second-half-comeback-20231029-WST-465803.html">three draws</a> and three losses. Most recently, a loss at home against relegation candidate Empoli spelled the end for Garcia. Napoli is 10 points adrift of league-leading Inter Milan. In the UEFA Champions League, the club has seven points after four games. Therefore, it is on the brink of reaching the knockout stages for a second straight season. Still, the league performances have not been strong enough for the new standard at Napoli.



The performances under Garcia were far too inconsistent for club president Aurelio de Laurentiis. Also, de Laurentiis was not overly fond of Garcia to begin with. After hiring the Frenchman, the club president admitted that he was not at the top of the list. However, the club rolled with Garcia, which may have set it behind the pace in Italy.



<h2>Napoli turning to a familiar face in Walter Mazzarri</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231114_WST_470045_Rudi-Garcia-1200x675.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-470047" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Rudi-Garcia-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Rudi-Garcia-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Rudi-Garcia-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Rudi-Garcia.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure><figcaption>Rudi Garcia’s Napoli has been struggling compared to last season’s Serie A champions.</figcaption></figure>



Walter Mazzarri has had a journeyman career as a manager. Yet, the major focus of his clubs is in Italy. As stated, his first stint with Napoli started in October of the 2009/10 season. At the time, Napoli was in 14th. Immediately after hiring Mazzarri, Napoli went on an unbeaten run in the league for 15 games. Seven of those games were draws, and eight were wins. Yet, Napoli conceded far fewer goals under Mazzarri. In the end, Napoli finished sixth in that first season. Then, over the next three years, Napoli had finishes of third, fifth and second in Mazzarri’s last campaign.



There were <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/napoli-readies-replacements-for-outgoing-manager-rudi-garcia-20231113-WST-469693.html">several other names Napoli was considering</a> to replace Garcia in the current campaign. For example, rumors suggested Fabio Cannavaro and Igor Tudor. For Napoli, Mazzarri was the safest choice given his success managing in Serie A with Napoli in the past.



After Napoli, though, Mazzarri did not succeed with Inter Milan, Torino or Cagliari. With Cagliari, Mazzarri signed a three-year contract early in the 2021/22 season. However, Cagliari found itself in a relegation battle, and the club sacked Mazzarri in May of that campaign.



<h2>A gauntlet to start his second stint</h2>



Napoli sacked Garcia right before a brutal spell of games both domestically and in Europe. That starts in late November on the road against Atalanta, the club directly beneath Napoli in the table. After that, Napoli travels to Spain to face Real Madrid in matchday five of the UEFA Champions League. The two league games following the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu are home to Inter Milan and at Juventus. Napoli then rounds out its Champions League group stage against Braga at home. 



Mazzarri will instantly be under the microscope, and this may all happen without Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian has no expected return date.



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Napoli names Walter Mazzarri as replacement for Rudi Garcia

Napoli sacked manager Rudi Garcia on Tuesday, and it officially replaced the Frenchman with Italian Walter Mazzarri.

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Napoli sacks Walter Mazzarri before Champions League fixture

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Napoli names Walter Mazzarri as replacement for Rudi Garcia