SARRI: "WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID"
Maurizio Sarri was in a focused mood at the news conference ahead of Napoli’s Champions League match in Manchester. According to the Napoli boss, his side’s opponents are "on another level compared to other teams in the group. But we will have to go out onto the pitch without fear," he underlined.
"This game might be the least significant in our schedule, because City could well win all their games. So we'll probably end up playing for qualification in other matches. That said, getting a result against City would be beneficial to us. I think Manchester City are the best team in Europe, a representation of the man I think is the best coach in Europe. But we should not be afraid of trying to impose our game. I want eleven players with the courage to go and play at City".
"It’s natural to have a degree of awe, just as it is to show respect for a footballing giant. The impact watching Manchester City on TV had on me was stronger than what I felt watching Real Madrid last year. But that isn’t reason to feel like you’ve already been beaten. In fact, matches like these are the ones that really allow you to grow and make the progress needed to compete at the highest levels. They are a goal machine and, above all, they do not allow you to control the game. When it comes to winning possession back, they have lots of men who press and constantly fight for the ball. We need to be bold and not let that condition us – we must try and play in the way we know how."
City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the way Napoli play, and his compliments were well-received by Sarri: "It’s an honour for us to hear such nice things from a coach who, for me, will go down in history. Thirty years ago, Arrigo Sacchi changed football. Now Guardiola has changed the game and, in future, we’ll have an even clearer understanding of how important he has been in the new development of football," he said.
(Foto LaPresse)
