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Carlo Ancelotti has suffered more than his fair share of disgraceful sackings in his long and illustrious careers — the Goodison tunnel comes to mind of course — but last night’s sacking by Napoli may top them all.
Within an hour of the 4-0 beatdown of KRC Genk at the San Paolo, which qualified Napoli for the Champions League knockout rounds, Ancelotti was summarily dismissed by Aurelio De Laurentiis after almost 18 months in charge. Granted, Ancelotti, who lead the Partenopei to second behind Juventus last season, was in the middle of one of his classic “bad moments”, but the win did end a 9-match winless streak (7 draws!) in all competitions. Who sacks a manager after stopping a skid? ADL, that’s who.
SSC Napoli has taken the decision to part ways with first-team coach Carlo Ancelotti.
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) December 10, 2019
The friendship and mutual respect between the club, President Aurelio De Laurentiis and Carlo Ancelotti remain intact.
In any case, the 60-year-old Ancelotti, whose next assignment will be his 10th head coaching job, was immediately linked with the open positions at Everton and Arsenal. Sky in England claim Everton “will begin contract talks” on the double with Uncle Carlo, while Sky in Italy claim it’s Arsenal who will do the same. Meanwhile, former AC Milan strongman Gennaro Gattuso is reportedly in line for the interim job in Naples — talk about a potential for some fireworks with that one! — and he’ll have his work cut out for him with Napoli in 7th and 6 points behind 6th-place Atalanta.
Gennaro Gattuso will be new Napoli manager. He’ll take Ancelotti’s place. Total agreement for 6 months contract + option for one year more (2021). Confirmed, dome and signed. Here we go! #Napoli #SerieA #Ancelotti
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 11, 2019
Ancelotti’s time in Naples may have ended badly — and in fairness, his winning percentage (52%) was the lowest in two decades, since his stint at Parma in the late ‘90s — but he remains one of biggest names in football management. He’s not one usually to take over teams in the middle of their seasons, but neither was José Mourinho just a few weeks ago.
Could you imagine, José at Spurs and Carlo at Arsenal? M-m-m-m-m-madness!
“I’ve got huge respect for him. I’m sorry to hear that [he has been sacked].
“I know it has been a tough situation for him lately. I saw his interview before the game and it was typically classy in what seemed like a tough time for him. He’s always handled himself brilliantly.
”I think he can manage anywhere in the world at the top level, of course.”
-Frank Lampard; source: Sky