Francesco Calzona appeared resolute when he spoke to the media on the eve of Napoli v Barcelona. Here’s what the boss had to say:
“Tomorrow is the biggest match of the year for us. Getting through to the quarter finals would mean so much for the club and for team morale."
“If you’re scared of these types of matches, you shouldn’t even show up. We’re not afraid at all. We’ve got to have that boldness to face a such big opponent. We need to believe in ourselves and how good we are.
“Barcelona have lots of star players but I’m happy to be coaching my lads because they’re a quality group.
“I don’t need to explain to my players how important this match is. There’s an emotional drive at the core of these types of games. I’ve focused more on technical skills than motivation with the boys. We still have to perfect some technical elements and continue growing.
“I think we’ve changed a lot over the past few weeks. We’re defending higher up and we’re creating more chances. This is all down to the lads and the huge leaps they’ve made in their progress.
“There’s still a long way to go. We still need to develop a lot more to reach the levels I want to get to.
“Beyond the line-up and formations, I want to show that we’re a team tomorrow. We need to be solid and play compactly. We can only reach our goal by doing the right things.”
