Napoli in crisis - Osimhen scandal, manager chaos and fans feud with owner
They are the champions of Italy, but Napoli find themselves in disarray.
Six months on from winning their first league title since 1990, the Partenopei have appointed their third permanent manager this calendar year. That's after a crisis-ridden start to the campaign left them 10 points adrift of league leaders Inter Milan going into the November international break.
When Serie A resumes next weekend, Rudi Garcia won't be there, dismissed already with Walter Mazzarr returning to Naples for a second spell more than a decade after his first came to an end. His almighty task will be to revitalise an underperforming squad, salvage the season and help bring together an increasingly divided club.
But how's it all gone so wrong? Mirror Football is here to answer.
Rudi's road to ruin
When the acclaimed Luciano Spalletti announced before the end of last season that he'd be leaving Napoli, fans were gutted - and surprised. How could a manager who's just achieved sporting immortality in the football-adoring city of Naples walk away at the height of his career?
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It was reported that Spalletti would be going on a sabbatical year but by August he'd been chosen as the successor to Roberto Mancini in charge of the Italian national team, suggesting there was something greater at play behind his exit. In the meantime, divisive club president Aurelio De Laurentiis - a 74-year-old film producer who bought Napoli in 2004 after bankruptcy led them to the third division - had the task of choosing Spalletti's replacement.
Ex-Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte appeared to be his No.1 candidate, but the four-time Scudetto-winning boss reportedly rejected the job in the wake of Spalletti's shock departure. Luis Enrique was the next big name to be linked, but De Laurentiis has since insisted that it was 'lucky' the Spaniard ended up at Paris Saint-Germain instead.
"I called Luis Enrique too and luckily he went to France," the Napoli president remarked in October. "Look at the results he's having. He didn't convince me during a round of talks that lasted three days. I called many coaches."
Luciano Spalletti led Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years last season (Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)Among those was Thiago Motta, who aged 41 has made his name as one of Europe's most promising and tactically innovative coaches - just take a look at his 2-7-2 formation. The former PSG midfielder looked like an exciting option who could replicate Spalletti's fluid football with a crop of technically-gifted stars.
Enjoying his time in the north of Italy as manager of Bologna though, Motta turned down De Laurentiis' advances. "He didn't want to take the risk of replacing a coach who had achieved so much," the controversial owner explained.
With other high-profile candidates such as Julian Nagelsmann, Rafa Benitez and Paulo Sousa mentioned in the running, De Laurentiis went left-field and raised eyebrows. French boss Rudi Garcia, who'd been sacked by Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al Nassr after less than a year in charge, was given the prestigious job and returned to Italy following his three-year spell with Roma between 2016 and 2019, later managing Marseille and Lyon.
Antonio Conte has been out of work since being dismissed by Tottenham in March (Clive Rose/Getty Images)His appointment was met with immediate skepticism but his early results were promising - even after losing star defender Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich and De Laurentiis only using a portion their additional funds to bolster a squad which was deemed to have greatly over-performed last season . Napoli won their opening two games to begin their title defence in style, with star striker Victor Osimhen - who somewhat surprisingly stayed at the club during the summer transfer window - scoring three times.
Starting with a 2-1 loss at home to Lazio, however, Garcia's side failed to win any of their next three league fixtures before a patchy run of form ensued both domestically and on the European front. De Laurentiis came out to defend the French manager last month but after just one win in four games and a meek 1-0 loss at home to Empoli this past Sunday, his position became untenable.
Although they're on course to qualify for the Champions League knockouts behind Group C rivals Real Madrid, having picked up seven points from the first four games, Napoli's results in Serie A and the constant comparisons to Spalletti's reign have brought an wave of negativity over the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium - but perhaps not as much as what's been happening off the pitch.
Rudi Garcia was this week sacked as manager of Napoli after just five months in charge (Vincenzo Izzo/LightRocket via Getty Images)The Osimhen scandal
If you haven't followed Napoli's results this season, you'll almost certainly have seen or heard of what happened to Victor Osimhen. After missing a penalty and acting angrily to being substituted by Garcia in their 0-0 draw away to Bologna in September, the talisman behind Napoli's title triumph was mocked by the club's own TikTok account.
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His agent, Roberto Calenda, claimed in a strongly-worded statement that Osimhen was considering legal action against Napoli - and things only got worse between player and club. After the Nigeria international snubbed penalty duties in their very next game, allowing Piotr Zielinski to take over and score alongside Osimhen in a 4-1 win at home to Udinese, another video emerged using sped-up audio comparing Osimhen's head to coconut.
The racial undertones were clear to critics and so began a scandal surrounding the 24-year-old. Osimhen removed all images of him wearing a Napoli shirt from his Instagram page and to this day they haven't been re-uploaded.
While the ex-Wolfsburg and Lille striker continued to play for his side and acknowledge how supportive Napoli's fans have always been, there was a palpable tension around the training ground which didn't help Garcia's cause as results began to dip. The club said they didn't intend any offence but soon their social media executive, Alessio Fortino, announced his resignation amid a storm of criticism.
Victor Osimhen missed a penalty against Bologna before acting angrily to being subbed off (Antonio Balasco/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images)"It is wrong on every level," former Arsenal and Barcelona forward Thierry Henry told CBS Sports. "What are we talking about? It is, first and foremost, your own team. This is what you do to your own player?"
"You thought about it, and you say, 'You know what, I have an idea: let me create a video'. Really? This is what you create? Your own player! And yes, it is racist."
It's been reported that Osimhen still hasn't forgiven Napoli for the videos but in October he played down suggestions that he's looking to leave in the January transfer window. During an interview with former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli and ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, the Nigerian affirmed: "I am happy at Napoli."
"People don't know how difficult it is to play in Serie A. From a tactical and physical point of view, it's one of the most difficult leagues to play in."
Victor Osimhen wants to stay with Napoli despite their struggles (Ivan Romano/Getty Images)De Laurentiis faces fan fury
For followers of Italian football, this isn't new. From the condition of their famous stadium, formerly named San Paulo, to increased ticket prices and strict rules regarding banners and flags, Napoli's supporters hardly have a healthy relationship with De Laurentiis - much like Spalletti's was reported to be by the end of his tenure.
Even when Napoli were 13 points clear at the top of the table, their ultras remained unsatisfied with bigger problems at the club and decided to go silent during a shock 4-0 defeat to AC Milan in April. Italian outlet ANSA claimed that the president had been placed under police protection ahead of their next game at home to Milan, a Champions League quarter-final second leg, just a few weeks later.
The cheapest tickets for the match were priced at an eye-watering €90 (£80), causing anger among the Napoli fan base. A 1-1 draw which allowed Milan to go through on aggregate didn't ease tensions, nor did the questionable decision to appoint Garcia in June.
It's also been much less value for money watching Napoli this season, as despite sticking with Spalletti's 4-3-3 formation, a number of key players from from their title-winning campaign have underperformed. This time last year, Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was one of the hottest prospects in world football, yet he didn't even start against Empoli.
Napoli supporters protested against ticket prices and rules on stadium displays (Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images)Mazzarri makes his return
It's been more than a decade since Walter Mazzarri took charge of his final game as Napoli manager, yet it almost feels like the club have taken 10 years' worth of steps back since lifting the Scudetto in May. Mazzarri's return personifies the mess in which De Laurentiis and co now find themselves - and he wasn't even their first choice.
After Conte once again snubbed an offer, former Udinese, Hellas Verona, Marseille boss Igor Tudor, who spent most of his playing career with Juventus, was heavily tipped to succeed Garcia and held talks with the Napoli hierarchy earlier this week. The negotiations were short-lived, though, as Tudor wanted a contract until the summer of 2025, a demand which De Laurentiis refused to bend to.
Instead, he turned his attention to Mazzarri, who boasted a 48.9 per cent win record over 182 games during his first stint at Napoli. That came to an end in 2013, as the now 62-year-old swapped jobs with then-Inter Milan boss Benitez.
Mazzarri lasted little over a year at San Siro and the same happened in his next job, Watford. A two-year spell with Torino rejuvenated his career for a brief period before a struggling eight-month stint with Cagliari again ended in the sack.
Walter Mazzarri first managed Napoli between 2009 and 2013 (ROBERTO SALOMONE/AFP via Getty Images)Get involved! Will Walter Mazzarri save Napoli's season? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
Out of work since May last year, Mazzarri has been parachuted in with the aim of turning Napoli's fortunes around. His fondly-remembered first spell at the club was certainly a successful one, winning the 2012 Coppa Italia while boasting a team which included Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi before finishing second in Serie A the following season.
The only message from De Laurentiis has been a simple tweet saying: "Welcome Walter." But this isn't the time for talk, it's the time for action.
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