Fabio Cannavaro revealed that Napoli never offered him to replace Rudi Garcia as coach, but emphasized that he should not only be judged based on his experience as coach of Benevento, a club which this season was relegated to the Italian League Serie C. Cannavaro coached the club last season.
The 2006 Italian World Cup winner was briefly linked with the Napoli job, but the Partenopei have now hired Walter Mazzarri as caretaker coach until the end of the season.
“There isn’t anything. “I watched the Napoli vs Empoli match close to (Aurelio) De Laurentiis to honor the President,” Cannavaro told Sport Mediaset on Sunday, November 19 2023.
When asked if he hoped to become Napoli coach, Cannavaro replied: “How can I believe it if they never call me? They have signed Mazzarri now. He knows the environment well. Hopefully, he will resolve this situation.”
Cannavaro manages a number of clubs in China and the Chinese national team, but only coaches one team in Europe. That happened between September 2022 and February 2023, when he won three of 17 matches while coaching Serie B side Benevento.
“Every appeal must be considered whether it is Italy, Europe or elsewhere,” he said. “People know that I have the opportunity to realize my ideas and spread my experience. Of course, if I were only judged based on what happened in Benevento, I would be limited.”
“Look at (Roberto) De Zerbi. It was difficult at first, now he is a coach in the Premier League. Likewise with Mazzarri, who recovered from an unpleasant situation but remained a coach. (Marcello) Lippi was fired, but then he won the World Cup,” said the Napoli defender from 1991-1995.
Napoli are fourth in the Italian Serie A, 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan. Home form has proven to be a particular problem for Garcia, with the team’s last win in all competitions at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona coming against Udinese on September 27.
