Napoli director Giovanni Manna said on 20 October that coach Max Allegri was “absolutely not in doubt” before Napoli's Champions League match against Bodo/Glimt. The game was due to be played at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where Napoli needed their first Champions League points of the season.
Manna backs Allegri
Manna told Sky Sport Italia: “We are constantly exchanging ideas, when we win or lose. Naturally, if we lose two in a row, including an ugly defeat to Venezia, it’s natural the President wants to be reassured.”
The director of sport added: “The coach is absolutely not in doubt. We know that the squad we gave him needs some adjustments, we were well aware of that. We need to raise the attention level and get out of this situation with consistency of both performances and results.”
Dinner with De Laurentiis
President Aurelio De Laurentiis had dinner with Manna and Allegri.
Manna said: “There are many meetings that don’t get so much publicity. We’ve got to shut up and work, bring home points and put in an important performance. There’s no point thinking about Serie A right now, we need to knuckle down and get out of a situation that is not pleasant.”
Champions League context
Napoli were due to play Bodo/Glimt at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on 20 October. The match was scheduled for 20.00 UK time (21.00 CEST).
Having lost to Arsenal and Villarreal, Napoli needed their first Champions League points of the season against Bodo/Glimt. Football Italia reported that Napoli confirmed their faith in Allegri.
Squad adjustments and age profile
Manna said: “It’s not fair to say the average age of the team is high, because there are other sides whose average is skewed by a couple of teenagers, otherwise they are very similar to ours. Di Lorenzo is the captain, we cannot complain about him, Rrahmani, Politano and Lobotka. This squad is not at the end of the road, we knew that the idea was to bring in younger players, we were unable to do it this summer, but that is a further step for the next session.”
Football Italia reported that Napoli on average have the highest age in Serie A and the second highest in the Champions League. Football Italia also reported that there were seven players in Napoli's starting XI against Bodo/Glimt that won the Scudetto under Luciano Spalletti four years ago.