The title battle in Italy remains exciting because leader Juventus missed points this week. But with Napoli they are mainly in fifth place in their heads. And the Champions League. This is evident from an interview by Dries Mertens with UEFA.
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Mertens became club top scorer this season and has now scored 125 goals for the Partenopei. The Red Devil feels that his club is confident again after the won cup final and is therefore looking forward to the return game in the championship ball against FC Barcelona.
“It will not be easy, but we are confident,” said Mertens, who played 1-1 with his club at home against Lionel Messi and co. “The key is that we have to score, because if we don’t then we will be eliminated. But with good preparation, you never know what can happen. ”
Mertens also returned to his contract extension. “The people here breathe football. Not only the young, but also the grandmothers for example. It’s crazy! I think this is something special about Italy: waking up, drinking coffee in the morning and just talking about football. They call me ‘Ciro’ here, which is a typical name from Naples. I think because I started to live like them. I go into the city a lot, I love the food, I love the sea, I love all the islands here. ”
Anger
In the meantime, Mertens and Gattuso are his third coach in three years. “In the first season under Maurizio Sarri I was only six games in the starting line-up and so I was always angry. You are so important to me, to the team, and don’t worry, you get your chances, he said. One day he put me in a rush. I’m still very much in favor of that because it changed my life. It is actually incredible because I never came here to become the all-time top scorer. ”
Carlo Ancelotti was fired in December to make way for Gennaro Gattuso. “I think Gattuso is the perfect coach for Napoli at the moment because he also gives many opportunities to young players,” said Mertens. “I also think he can be a very good coach for the future of this club. He has won many trophies as a player and he knows what it is like to win. The team has missed that so far. ”
Napoli will play against Udinese at home on Sunday. Mertens and co count 53 points after 33 match days. That is the same as Milan and four less than AS Roma. The club is already certain of a ticket to the Europa League because of the cup win.
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