Napoli appoints Mazzarri as a stop-gap while waiting for Conte, why Tudor was dropped

Napoli are already thinking of a new coach in the next summer after appointing Walter Mazzarri on a seven-month contract on Tuesday.

Napoli are already looking for someone else for the future, with names mentioned including Antonio Conte, Vincenzo Italiano, Francesco Farioli, and Igor Tudor.

Rudi Garcia was officially fired on Tuesday after just 16 games in charge, having inherited the Scudetto-winning squad from coach Luciano Spalletti.

While Tudor had been in talks with president Aurelio De Laurentiis, it was reported that the patron preferred Mazzarri largely because he was happy with a contract just to the end of the season, whereas the Croatian wanted more guarantees.

That also makes it difficult to believe the story in L’Equipe, which claims Tudor is already being lined up for a two-year contract that starts in the summer of 2024.

 

A more likely alternative is that De Laurentiis is waiting for Conte to finish his Sabbatical, having taken time out to be with his family after the disappointing period at Tottenham Hotspur.

There are other names in the mix too doing the rounds in the Italian media.

Napoli had already approached Italiano over the summer when Spalletti left, as he is the closest in spirit to that 4-3-3 formation, but decided to remain with Fiorentina.

That might not necessarily be the case next season when Italiano could be available again.

An intriguing name on the list is Farioli, who is currently top of Ligue 1 with OGC Nice, although his approach is more defence first rather than attack.

Raffaele Palladino has impressed at Monza and would love this role, seeing as he is from Naples, but never managed to play for the club.

 

Further down the list, there is Thiago Motta, who again had been in talks with De Laurentiis when Spalletti left and seems ready to take the next step up after Bologna.

Eusebio Di Francesco is more of a wild card

, especially as many of his jobs since leaving Roma have ended in dismissal.

Meanwhile, Mazzarri who famously stuck with the 3-5-2 throughout his career, but already dropped hints recently that he could switch to 4-3-3 for this return to Napoli.

Luciano Spalletti won the Scudetto using a 4-3-3 formation only last season and when he decided to walk away, De Laurentiis said publicly that he based his choice of the next coach on who could continue those tactical ideas.

This brought in Rudi Garcia, but he was fired after just 16 games in charge between Serie A and the Champions League.

Now Mazzarri has been appointed, raising a few eyebrows considering he is famous for the 3-5-2 or at most 3-4-1-2 formation, which he used at Napoli from 2009 to 2013.

However, according to Sky Sport Italia, Mazzarri has promised De Laurentiis that he will adopt the 4-3-3 formation in this second tenure at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The coach already hinted as much when speaking to the Corriere dello Sport a couple of weeks ago.

“I really admire the way Spalletti set Napoli out tactically. I was never able to use the 4-3-3 before, because I didn’t have the players suited to that system.”

Inheriting the reigning Champions of Italy, Mazzarri might get that opportunity at long last.

He had on occasion used a four-man defence at Cagliari in his most recent role, but that did not last long before reverting to type.