By Canadian Press

Italian champion Napoli set to kick off title defense with new coach but same spirit

Aug 17, 2023 | 6:37 AM

MILAN (AP) — Napoli fans are getting ready to start where they left off three months ago.

The southern city of Naples has barely stopped celebrating since the team ended a 33-year wait for the Italian league title and the streets are still festooned with the club’s colors.

Chants of “champions” rung out at Napoli’s final few matches last season after the club clinched the Serie A title with five matches to spare and those same chants will be joyously sung when the team opens this season at newly-promoted Frosinone on Saturday.

But it will be something of a new-look Napoli that takes to the field, not least because there will be a new face in the dugout.

Luciano Spalletti — the coach whose attacking tactics garnered plaudits from all over Europe — left the team, saying he needed a break, and was replaced by Rudi Garcia.

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The 59-year-old Garcia has bucked a trend by leaving Saudi Arabia. The French coach left Al Nassr by mutual agreement in April, not long after it signed Cristiano Ronaldo and before the country’s clubs began signing some of Europe’s top players en masse.

Garcia is familiar with Italian soccer, having coached Roma for two-and-a-half years, but the only trophies in his managerial career came 12 years ago when he steered Lille to the French league and cup double.

However, Spalletti’s trophy cabinet was also relatively bare when he arrived at Napoli and the team didn’t fare too badly under him.

In Garcia’s favor is the fact that Napoli remains largely unchanged from the team that stormed to the Serie A title last season, impressing in Europe, too.

“We are ready to start the season,” Garcia said after the team’s final friendly match — a 2-0 win over Apollon Limassol. “What matters is being in the best condition for the match at Frosinone. We need to put on a good performance because we are facing a fighting opponent.”

Napoli’s biggest boost of the offseason is that it managed to keep hold of forward Victor Osimhen despite reports of the lure of the cash-rich Saudi clubs. Osimhen helped Napoli to glory last season, with 26 league goals, and will again spearhead the attack along with last season’s revelation: winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

However, the Serie A champions saw another one of their key players — South Korea defender Kim Min-jae — leave for Bayern Munich.

Kim was Serie A’s best defender last season and played all but three of Napoli’s 38 league games.

In an attempt to fill the gaping hole left in the defense, Napoli has signed Natan from Brazilian club Bragantino. At 22, Natan is relatively unknown and still has room for improvement but little was known about Kim when he arrived last year as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly.

Apart from the arrivals of Natan and Sweden midfielder Jens Cajuste, Napoli has seen little action in the transfer market. That might in part be due to the departure of sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli — the man who signed “Kvara” and Kim and a host of other influential players like Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone.

But that means that the team will undoubtedly still have the spirit that helped it sweep aside its rivals last season.

“We’re coming off the back of a wonderful season and we’re aware that a new adventure is starting now,” Napoli forward Giovanni Simeone said. “Playing with the Napoli shirt pushes you to give everything for this team and for this city.

“Our desire is to confirm the winning identity that we acquired during last season.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press