Napoli coach, Luciano Spalletti, believes Barcelona is ‘as strong as they were with Leo Messi’ and sees one similarity between Victor Osimhen and Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli host the Blaugrana at the Stadio Maradona tonight in the second leg of the Europa League knockout round play-offs. The first leg at the Nou Camp last week ended in a 1-1 draw.
Ahead the testy game with Barcelona, Spalletti said Napoli will rely more on Osimhen, stating “With that header against Cagliari, he proved to have a sort of animal fury which is much-needed in key moments,” the coach said.
“Maradona had the same thing and somebody else should have it in our team. You can see Osimhen has it when he faces his opponents. He has outstanding characteristics and some extra qualities that are not easy to find in other players.”
“We should not be affected by sporadic events, but focus on our strengths which brought us to this position in the table,” said Spalletti.
“Surely, we are looking for a different game than the one in Cagliari. We are not a team for physical clashes; we must keep the ball on the ground.
Lorenzo Insigne is among those available, but the Italy winger missed two of Napoli’s last five Serie A games due to muscular issues.
“He trained, like Politano and Osimhen who hasn’t suffered any further problem to his knee,” said Spalletti.
“Di Lorenzo is fit, Malcuit is out for two or three weeks. We are assessing Hirving Lozano day by day. He needs to feel the shoulder solid. He’ll need to undergo further exams.
“Insigne will start the game. He has the personality and the technique to determine the result.
“I’ve read many things about him. He liked to take a position and I am convinced that tomorrow he’d stand by our side. We can become a team worthy or Maradona. He liked spectacular football and I am sure he’d like to see it tomorrow.”
Post a Comment