Matches against Udinese, Lecce, and Fiorentina, and the one in the Champions League against Madrid, are supposed to be decisive. Tudor is the frontrunner to take over.
There is a strange coincidence of tweets, somewhat unsettling when viewed from Rudi Garcia‘s perspective. On Sunday night, after the draw with Bologna, president De Laurentiis, sent a tweet that not everyone understood,”Napoli starts again from Bologna. Well done, everyone.”
The president expressed a similar sentiment at the end of November 2019 saying, “Well done, coach, and well done to our players. Less than two weeks later, Carlo Ancelotti was fired.
Now, it’s not as if a movie producer is repeating the same scripts, but there’s no doubt that if there isn’t a turnaround in results, Garcia’s position will be shaky. Ancelotti was sacked because the president feared losing qualification for the future Champions League, which eventually happened anyway.
Garcia’s time is running out, there are four games before the October international break. In the three matches against Udinese, Lecce, and Fiorentina, Napoli needs to climb the league table while also achieving a good result against Ancelotti’s Real Madrid to maintain a path to reaching the Champions League round of 16.
The Substitute
Antonio Conte is available, but he doesn’t seem convinced about Napoli, and the president remains committed to the 4-3-3 formation. However, the playing system shouldn’t become dogmatic, especially if Garcia fails to produce results.
In this regard, De Laurentis will turn to Igor Tudor, who did well in Verona and also had a good season in Marseille. His preference for a three-man defense might not be a limitation, and as a coach, he can adapt.
Among those considered during the June casting process was Christophe Galtier (who might be heading to Marseille), whom De Laurentiis had actually preferred over Garcia. In the meantime, the hope is that Napoli bounces back quickly under Rudi.
