Let’s discuss this guy… I feel positive about him and if we can get through the tough fixtures we have coming up then he should be our coach for next season…
The positive part of me looks at him and thinks oh he's really calmed the waters, and he must have the trust of the players, but the negative part of me looks at two players in particular who are suddenly contributing in a lot and thinks their agents may have had more to do with it.
If we had him from the beginning we'd be much further ahead. He's brought back what was started by Spalletti, the job Rudi and Walter were supposed to do. He's only been here 2 weeks? If he can somehow find a way to get us past Barca and/or get us into the top 4 I want us to keep him for next year. I don't care for 'big name coaches'. He looks like he has something to prove as a coach, I hope he continues to find success.
He's something of a late bloomer. He sold coffee for a living while playing/coaching part-time amateur football. The high point of his playing career were 3 matches in Serie B. He mostly rode his way up the coaching ladder through his time with Sarri, but had spells working with di Eusebio (half a season at Cagliari) and with Spalletti at Napoli (only in the season before we won the league). He became a manager proper in his own right after Hamsik recommended him to Slovakia FA.
Spalletti spent his playing time mostly in Serie C as well. The right tactical mind and management skills for coaching don't always line up with the physical capabilities needed to compete at the highest level on the field.
Filippo played a starring role for Juve and ACM. Scored both goals when they beat Liverpool in the 2007 UCL final. He and RvN were the last of the classic goal poachers. Simeone made a decent career for himself with Lazio.
Calzona did his first interview as our new manager. Cronache di Spogliatoio will publish the video Monday in full on YouTube, but bits from the interview will be posted every day until then. LA PRIMA INTERVISTA DI CALZONA IN ESCLUSIVA A CRONACHE: «QUANDO MI HA CHIAMATO IL NAPOLI...».Francesco Calzona ha conquistato 7 punti su 9 disponibili da quando siede sulla panchina del Napoli, pareggiando inoltre con il Barcellona in Champions League. Ma com’è stata la prima… pic.twitter.com/1apO0zRCo0— Cronache di spogliatoio (@CronacheTweet) March 7, 2024
After Inter, when he said that we played well, I would fire him right away. But then he said we were still a long way away from Inter, and that puts things into perspective. Yes, considering that, it was as far as we could go. He surely does deserve a chance, and he seems to be passionate enough to care about the team, but reasonable enough to not act like Mourinho when things go badly.