Tag: Napoli

       BARCELONA GOALKEEPER NETO KEEN ON SIGNING FOR NAPOLI THIS SUMMER

According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Neto is hoping to complete his move to Napoli before the ongoing week ends. The Catalan giants are ready to let the Brazilian goalkeeping ace walk away from Camp Nou for free, but they want him to forego the rest of his wages before joining the Serie A giants. Barcelona might have been on a roll in the summer transfer window thus far, but there is still a lot of work to be done before Xavi Hernandez has his desired squad at his disposal. While they have signed several top-class players, they remain in the market for a few more additions.

At the same time, Barcelona will need to lighten the wage bill to register the new signings while balancing the books at the same time. The Blaugrana left behind several players in Barcelona before embarking on the pre-season tour to the USA, but none of them has come any closer to sealing their departures. However, one player who might finally be inching closer to the exit door at Camp Nou is Neto. Continue reading        BARCELONA GOALKEEPER NETO KEEN ON SIGNING FOR NAPOLI THIS SUMMER

Claudio Ranieri admits difficult times with AS Roma since taking charge

Claudio Ranieri has acknowledged that he is facing difficulty in helping Roma secure a top-four finish to the Serie A season. The Italian manager was appointed as the caretaker manager last month but he has since struggled to change the club’s fortunes with a couple of defeats from the opening three matches.

One of those came at the weekend where Roma suffered a damaging 4-1 defeat to Napoli and speaking after that game, the veteran acknowledged that he is giving his best to resurrect the club’s run of form, he said: “We’re doing everything. We’re going through a period where we concede from the first attack in the first half. We were able to equalise – I don’t know how – but they scored the second goal from their first attack after the break. It is hard, you try to help the group, but the other team runs more. It’s difficult to help them, it is difficult, but we’re not giving up. It is hard but we’re doing our best.”

With the result, Roma have dropped four points behind the Champions League places and they have a tough task ahead with four of the remaining eight matches on the road, where they have managed just five wins through the campaign. Elsewhere, they also have a home meeting against Juventus during the run-in and things don’t look bright for Ranieri’s men, unless they find a sudden trust in confidence.

Roma’s next game comes against Sampdoria on the road and the match should pose plenty of questions over their credentials. Sampdoria are currently just three points behind them on the table and they have shown that they can compete against the elite after succumbing AC Milan to a 1-0 defeat at the weekend. Roma have won just one of the previous three meetings against Sampdoria.

Kalidou Koulibaly hoping to repay Napoli with Scudetto

Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has revealed his ambition of winning the Scudetto with the Naples outfit after they failed to do so during the previous campaign. The Serie A outfit were on course to end Juventus’ dominance for the Scudetto last term but their challenge feel apart during the final months which saw them finish second with a six-point deficit.

Despite the outcome, Koulibaly was recently named among the African Player of The Year contenders and speaking about the same, he said: “The most important thing is that I always try to improve so I can show everyone that I can be one of the best defenders in the world. For me, when I scored this goal I was really happy. I really want to win something with Napoli, they give me a lot of love and confidence. I want to give something back to them and I hope it will be the Scudetto.”
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Carlo Ancelotti – Napoli are destined to improve

Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has suggested that his side are destined to improve despite making a good start to the Serie A season. The Naples outfit have already acquired nine points from the first four games of the new campaign but Ancelotti has lamented the need for improvement as the season goes along.

Speaking after the 1-0 win over Fiorentina, Ancelotti said: “Napoli are destined to improveand we must do so quickly.We now have a lot of games coming and that will help us. They are all of a high level and all in all we are ready. So many reasons [for the change of formation]. It reduces the defensive role of Insigne. The team can defend well in either system and I’m more used to the other way of playing but I don’t see problems with this. We were solid, compact, and sometimes a bit disjointed and off balance.”
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