The former Napoli coach, now Slovakia coach, Francesco Calzonagave an interview to Corriere dello Sport: “When I arrived, seven and a half months had already passed, with the results we know. I said over and over again that I encountered difficulties and problems that I didn’t expect to find. You know what it is Was it the thing that caused the worst damage?
The obligation of having to constantly chase victory, due to the largely compromised ranking, put the group in crisis. I’ll give you the example of the 1-1 draw at San Siro with Inter. They were coming off fifteen successes in a row, we played a much more than decent match and yet that draw was experienced by the environment with disconcerting disappointment. We were forced to win and we didn’t have a mental condition up to the task. On some occasions we also played good football, but good football wasn’t enough, we needed the three points. Nothing was valued anymore. And that’s not all. 95% of the things that were written or told on TV by respectable and well-dressed journalists… However, almost all of the conflicts and inconveniences that were reported from Castel Volturno did not occur. Jokes.
De Laurentiis? Look, the president had an exemplary attitude towards me. He asked questions, he inquired, but never interfered, before meeting the team he asked for permission. Immediately afterwards he explained what he had talked about.”
