Giovanni Di Lorenzo is not hiding his ambition and has spoken openly about Napoli's desire to progress beyond the last-16 stage in Europe's premier club competition for the first time.
The Azzurri skipper was speaking to the media ahead of Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.
"Eintracht are a team with great quality and experience," Di Lorenzo began. "We have to be up to the level needed in this competition
"We know that this is a match of utmost importance in our club's history.
“We don't see ourselves as favourites or as underdogs. We want to continue producing results in Europe as well.”
The full-back has accumulated a wealth of international experience over the years, including Euro 2020 success with Italy.
"I've definitely improved over the years and I can see the same unity and togetherness we had in the Italy camp when we won the Euros. We want to go as far as we possibly can because the Champions League is a big stage.”
The captain also brushed off any suggestion that playing on two fronts – Champions League and Serie A – might mean dropping a few points in the Italian league.
"We're not at all worried in that sense. We're doing really well in Serie A and we know what we're capable of, but now our minds are on this Champions League match tomorrow.
"We know Napoli have never reached the quarter-finals of this competition and it's something we really want to do.”
