Walter Mazzarri ends up on the Napoli bench, which will be led by Francesco Calzona for the rest of the season. At the same time, the 55-year-old Italian remains the coach of the Slovak national team.
“Walter Mazzarri is a family friend and to fire someone like that is painful. He helped us in a difficult moment, but we also have to think that Napoli fans demand something more,” said president Aurelio De Laurentiis on Mazzarri’s departure. “We welcome back Francesco Calzona, who has worked with us before,” he added to the old face under Vesuvius.
I thank Walter Mazzarri, a friend of the De Laurentiis family and of Napoli, for supporting the team in a complex moment. He will remain in the hearts of Neapolitans and our family. Welcome back to Francesco Calzona, who has already worked with us with both Sarri and Spalletti
— Aurelio DeLaurentiis (@ADeLaurentiis) February 19, 2024
Mazzarri returned to the Napoli bench in mid-November when he replaced Rudi Garcia, but failed to improve his results, recording just six wins from 17 competitive games (6-4-7).
De Laurentiis originally wanted to wait until the summer to make a replacement, but given that the defending champions have slipped to the middle of the table, he decided to make the change before the Champions League round of 16 with Barcelona.
The Partenopei is to return Francesco Calzona to the higher ranks, who will not be unknown to most of the players, as he was a technical coach in Naples in the 2021/22 season and previously held the position of assistant coach to Maurizio Sarri for three years. The native of Vibo Valentia will continue to lead the Slovak national team, with which he fought his way to the upcoming European Championship.
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