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Having already decided on Napoli’s new short-term coach, the crew to assist Francesco Calzona and centre-forward Victor Osimhen until June is set to be announced.
Victor Osimhen will work with his third manager in 2023-24, with Napoli dismissing Walter Mazzarri this week after the erstwhile Azzurri boss replaced Rudi Garcia in November.
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21:20 - 19.02.2024
Francesco Calzona: Osimhen gets familiar face as third Napoli manager this season
Francesco Calzona was a part of Luciano Spalletti's Napoli team that included Victor Osimhen before he left to Slovakia.
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19:05 - 19.02.2024
Victor Osimhen: Is Eagles striker causing Napoli dressing room discontent?
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Francesco Calzona to manage Osimhen until June
The interim Napoli boss worked at the club as an assistant manager from 2015 until 2018 and as technical director between 2021 and 2022. Francesco Calzona returns to the club after Aurelio De Laurentiis decided to jettison Mazzarri earlier this week, with the new hire combining this role with his Slovakia national team head coach remit.
The managerial change makes it Osimhen’s third manager in a tumultuous Scudetto title defence, with the Partenopei languishing in ninth after 24 games, 27 points adrift of champions-elect Inter Milan. Napoli’s top man has netted seven Serie A goals this term, a drop-off from last season when he found the back of the net 26 times to become Africa’s first Capocannoniere.
With Osimhen back from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Nigeria, the centre-forward could return to the Napoli side imminently, fitness permitting. Mazzarri is no longer in situ, though, and reports in the Italian media have revealed the coaches to assist Calzona and the Super Eagle until the campaign’s culmination.
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The Napoli coaching crew to support Osimhen
According to DAZN’s Orzario Accomando, Simone Bonomi will serve as Calzona’s right hand, a partnership that has seen stints at Empoli and a previous collaboration at Napoli under the experienced Maurizio Sarri. Francesco Sinatti has been appointed Napoli's first-team coach, working with Calzona at Empoli and Napoli under Sarri before assisting Luciano Spalletti at the club.
Filling in as Napoli’s chief analyst is Marco Brini, currently employed by Slovakia alongside Calzona, while Gianluca Grava is expected to combine a first-team coaching role with his present position as the technical director for the youth teams.
Another reported returnee is Napoli legend Marek Hamsik, even if the retired midfielder’s position is undefined as he has yet to secure a UEFA coaching licence, and this could ultimately be prohibitive.
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What Napoli and Osimhen have to play for under Calzona
If De Laurentiis’ latest hire sees out his four-month deal, Osimhen could be pivotal as Napoli seek to end in the Champions League places — they currently sit nine points shy of fourth-placed Atalanta — and navigate a European knockout tie with Barcelona, with the first leg to come at the Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday.
Calzona’s first Serie A fixture is a visit to relegation-threatened Cagliari on February 25.
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